Drake Surpasses Eminem As Highest-Selling Singles Artist In RIAA History

Drake has been crowned the highest certified singles artist in RIAA history, eclipsing fellow commercial juggernaut Eminem.

The 6 God continued his record-breaking run on Thursday (December 8) by earning 10 new plaques from the Recording Industry Association of America, taking his total to 184 million singles sold.

That figure pushes Drake past Eminem, who was previously awarded the distinction in March after achieving 166 million units for his singles catalog.

Drizzy’s historic RIAA haul includes two diamond certifications for “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance,” commemorating at least 10 million units in the U.S.

.@Drake is now the highest certified singles artist in @RIAA history, passing @Eminem (184 million units as a lead).

— chart data (@chartdata) December 8, 2022

With that, he’s now just the third act in history to score at least five diamond singles. “God’s Plan,” “SICKO MODE” with Travis Scott and “Life Is Good” with Future are the other three to achieve the feat.

Drake’s shiny new hardware puts him in rare company with Bruno Mars and Post Malone, who have six and five diamond singles, respectively.

The Toronto native is also closing in on the record for the highest certified RIAA song, which is jointly held by Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” which are both 17x-platinum.

Drake’s 2018 Scorpion hit “God’s Plan” soared to 15x-platinum status on Thursday, extending its lead as the biggest-selling single in his catalog.

There’s another close competition brewing between Drake and JAY-Z. Last month, the OVO hitmaker tied Hov’s record for most No. 1s on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart among rappers with 14 thanks to his latest chart-topping effort, Her Loss.

Drizzy is a perfect 14-for-14 on the chart going back to his major label debut album Thank Me Later, which dropped in 2010. JAY-Z’s streak began with his third LP Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life in 1998.