Rihanna achieves 110 million digital song certifications

Rihanna has achieved 110.5 million digital song certifications.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reported on Wednesday (09Nov16) the Barbadian singer achieved the record-breaking tally of 110.5 million cumulative digital song certifications, which includes 48 million new RIAA Digital Single Certifications.

Certifications are awarded every time a song is downloaded or streamed 150 times in the United States.

The Work singer first smashed the 100 million threshold last year (15), becoming the first and only artist to do this. And on Wednesday her record company posted a picture of her with her award from the RIAA as she achieved the 110.5 million mark.

RIAA Chairman and chief executive officer Cary Sherman said in a statement the accomplishment is an historic feat and a testament to the 28-year-old’s extraordinary career.

"Gold & Platinum is the industry’s premier way to celebrate achievement in the marketplace," said Sherman. "We’ve given awards to artists for nearly 60 years, but it’s rare that we have the opportunity to recognise a milestone like the one Rihanna has reached. Congratulations to Rihanna! She has not only surpassed RIAA’s 100 million mark, but also is the first artist to do so."

Since entering the music industry in 2003, Rihanna, has been awarded a record number of song certifications, including a multi-Platinum award for Calvin Harris production We Found Love and six times multi-Platinum for 2012’s Stay.

The Grammy Award-winning artist’s eighth studio album, ANTI, was released in January (16) and peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, moving 166,000 equivalent-album units in its first full-tracking week. After two days of its release, Anti was certified platinum by the RIAA, as a result of Samsung purchasing one million copies of the album in advance that were then given away as a free download.

In addition to her cumulative song honours, Rihanna’s career album awards total 7.5 million sold in the U.S.