GLORILLA, MUNI LONG & MORE NAMED IN RIAA’S CLASS OF 2022 THANKS TO FIRST-TIME PLAQUES

GloRilla, Muni Long and more have joined an exclusive club created by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) thanks to their achievements last year.

On Thursday (January 5), the RIAA revealed its selections for the #RIAAClassOf 2022 list. The list celebrates 39 freshmen artists who had their first gold or platinum certification in 2022 on a recording that came out in the last two years.

GloRilla was included on the list after she earned a Gold plaque for her single “Tomorrow 2” with Cardi B. Armani White was also added for his song “Billie Eilish” which earned a gold plaque.

On the platinum front, R&B singer-songwriter Muni Long joined the list thanks to her single “Hrs & Hrs” shifting over one million units. Additionally, SleazyWorld earned a spot for his record “Sleazy Flow” also doing over a million.

Each of the aforementioned songs saw moderate chart success as well. Big Glo’s “Tomorrow 2” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, White’s “Billie Eliish” reached the No. 58 spot and Sleazy’s “Sleazy Flow” debuted at No. 47.

Muni Long’s “Hrs & Hrs” jumped from No. 7 to No. 1 on the Emerging Artists chart and went from No. 83 to No. 34 on the Hot 100. The single also landed in the Top 5 on the Hot R&B Songs and the Top 10 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

“Whenever a Gold, Platinum or Diamond certification is earned, it represents massive engagement from an artist’s fans, and a remarkable achievement by the artist, their creative teams, and their record label,” RIAA COO Michele Ballantyne said in the official announcement. “And when it is your very first RIAA award, it’s even more special. We are so encouraged by the success of this #RIAAClassOf 2022 and are honored to help celebrate their immense talents.”

While freshmen talent was kicking down the door over at RIAA, seasoned veterans such as Drake, Post Malone and Swae Lee were dominating the field. The 6 God surpassed Eminem by becoming the highest-selling RIAA singles artist of all time.

Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” made history by becoming the highest charting RIAA-certified single in history at 17 times platinum in November.