Chris Stapleton Goes Triple & Quadruple Platinum, Earns 7 New RIAA Certs
In two days, it will be the 3-year anniversary of Chris Stapleton’s debut album Traveller being released to the public. And three years later, Traveller still currently sits at #6 on the Country Albums chart. It’s one of three albums Stapleton still has in the Top 20, with From ‘A’ Room: Vol. 1 sitting at #10, and From ‘A’ Room: Vol 2 at #16. It just underscores the incredible sales performance for the reigning ACM and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year that continues to defy all odds and expectations.
Now Chris Stapleton has even more additional heavy metal to be added beside his name. Just announced, Traveller has officially been certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA. Additionally, From ‘A’ Room Vol. 1 has officially gone Platinum, and From ‘A’ Room Vol: 2 has gone Gold. The distinctions come from a combination of pure album sales and streaming equivalents. The albums were officially certified by the RIAA on April 26th.
And that’s not all. Along with the album certifications, his recent #1 single “Broken Halos” has been certified platinum, as have his other songs “Parachute,” “Fire Away,” and “Nobody To Blame.” And his cover song of “Tennessee Whiskey,” which played a big part starting this whole run when he performed the song with Justin Timberlake on the 2015 CMA Awards, has now been certified Quadruple Platinum considering sales and streams.
Grand total, that mean Chris Stapleton walks away with 6 new platinum certifications, and a new gold certification. Add that on top of 7 ACM Awards, 7 CMA Awards, and 5 Grammy Awards, he’s not doing too bad for himself.
Stapleton will be starting off on his extensive All American Roadshow Tour in June with openers Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:23 am
Remember that CMT joke a while back when they said “You’re welcome Chris”?
The joke’s on all of them. All the talentless cretins who tried to belittle him on national television.
They reaped what HE sewed for years.
It’s about time he got his due.
Damn good for him.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:51 am
There was a CMT joke? Huh?
May 2, 2018 @ 10:10 am
CMA’s, I meant. 2016 CMA’s to be exact.
May 2, 2018 @ 9:12 am
When was the last 4x platinum (or greater) song and last 3x platinum (or greater) album in country music? I’d have to think it’s been several years for both back to either Taylor Swift or maybe Cruise for FGL?
May 2, 2018 @ 9:28 am
Yeah, I was hoping to declare something to the effect of “First time a country artist has gone ‘X’ Platinum in ‘X’ years!” but Sam Hunt pretty much screws up that exercise.
May 2, 2018 @ 9:35 am
I know “Country Girl (Shake it For Me)” by Luke Bryan went 4x platinum, not sure about any others recently
May 2, 2018 @ 9:51 am
As far as albums, I think Sam Hunt was the most recent. He went 3x platinum for his “Montevallo” album.
Some other certifications from albums released the last 15 years:
8 Million: Carrie Underwood “Some Hearts”
6 Million: Dixie Chicks – “Home,” Taylor Swift – “Speak Now” and “Red”
5 Million: Gretchen Wilson “Redneck Woman,” Zac Brown Band “The Foundation,” Rascal Flatts “Me and My Gang” & “Feels Like Today”
4 Million: Lady A “Need You Now,” Luke Bryan “Tailgates & Tanlines” & “Crash My Party,” Jason Aldean “My Kind of Party” Kenny Chesney “When The Sun Goes Down,” Tim McGraw – Live Like You Were Dying”
3 Million: Eric Church “Chief” and Carrie Underwood “Play On”
May 2, 2018 @ 9:55 am
Also, Alan Jackson’s “Greatest Hits Vol 2” hit 6 million.
May 2, 2018 @ 9:34 am
Let this be a statement to all those who want to turn country into monogenre pop.
May 2, 2018 @ 9:45 am
Good for Chris. Not a huge fan, but compared to the current crop he’s in a whole ‘nother galaxy. Much deserved.
May 2, 2018 @ 10:14 am
I’ve forgotten how huge Rascal Flatts was for a while there.
May 2, 2018 @ 10:55 am
I wish there was an accurate way to measure exactly how much “kaboom factor” Marty Stuart will get from touring with Chris Stapleton. I would think playing to packed areas would send album sales, digital downloads and merchandise skyrocketing almost instantly? Man that would be some ride! Good for both of them! Awesome to see the mix of new & old legends !
May 2, 2018 @ 12:03 pm
Excellent! So well deserved. Can’t wait for the July show.
May 2, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
I think Chris Stapleton will be one of the only current acts, if not the only, to break the 10-million sales RIAA mark eventually.
1. Garth – 148 mil
2. George Strait – 69 mil
3. Shania – 48 mil
4. Kenny Rogers – 47.5 mil
5. Alabama – 46.5 mil
6. Alan Jackson – 43.5 mil
7. Taylor Swift – 41.5 mil
8. Reba – 41 mil
9. Tim McGraw – 37.5 mil
10. Willie Nelson – 31.5 mil
11. Dixie Chicks – 30.5 mil
12. Brooks & Dunn – 27.5 mil
13. Kenny Chesney – 27.5 mil
14. Faith Hill – 25.5 mil
15. Toby Keith – 25 mil
16. Vince Gill – 24 mil
17. Johnny Cash – 23.5 mil
18. Hank Jr – 19.5 mil
19. Carrie Underwood – 19 mil
20. Rascal Flatts – 18.5 mil
21. Randy Travis – 18 mil
22. LeAnn Rimes – 16.5 mil
23. Anne Murray – 14.5 mil
24. Patsy Cline – 14.5 mil
25. Martina McBride – 14 mil
26. John Michael Montgomery – 14 mil
27. Keith Urban – 14 mil
28. Charlie Daniels Band – 13.5 mil
29. Trisha Yearwood – 12.5 mil
30. Clint Black – 12.5 mil
31. Travis Tritt – 12 mil
32. Luke Bryan – 12 mil
33. Dwight Yoakam – 11.5 mil
34. Jason Aldean – 11 mil
35. The Judds – 10.5 mil
36. Billy Ray Cyrus – 10.5 mil
37. Blake Shelton – 10 mil
May 2, 2018 @ 1:02 pm
Wow I often forget how big Faith Hill used to be and Martina McBride never would have guessed.
May 2, 2018 @ 1:12 pm
I agree that Faith Hill’s sales accomplishments probably get overlooked. She was actually the first country female artist to every go multi-platinum with a debut and sophomore record. While her worldwide success of “Breathe” hit 8 million, she impressively sold 6 million with “Faith” in 1998 and “It Matters To Me” in 1995, along with several other multi-platinum records.
May 2, 2018 @ 2:47 pm
Since Willie’s commercial peak was the 70’s and 80’s I am a little surprised his total is “only” 31.5 million. People bought a lot of albums back in those days and five, six million sellers were common; at least in rock. Red Headed Stranger sold over two million and Stardust over five. Since he has released something like 749 records, his per average sales are not that high. (I actually think it is 83 counting live, holiday and soundtracks). I do realize many of his releases came in the past 15 years as sales overall declined. Anyway, good to see him in the top 10.
May 2, 2018 @ 6:06 pm
From the amount of comments, it seems that a lot of people are worn out on Stapelton as I am.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:05 pm
Get the name Stapleton right.
May 3, 2018 @ 12:52 pm
Who cares? I like Country Music, not his version.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:24 pm
Chris is the real deal and so deserving. Finally getting the recognition and accolades for his incredible gift and years of hard work. Best voice on the planet ❤️❤️❤️ Keep ’em coming, Chris!!!
May 2, 2018 @ 10:21 pm
Stapleton is total proof that country music does not need radio anymore. People want to listen to actual roots music these days. The numbers do not lie. Very happy for him. He deserves it after putting so much work in to this stuff for so many years. Amazing!
May 3, 2018 @ 5:41 am
I totally agree. Radio is a lost cause. So much great music coming out of the Americana and Roots Country scene. Its all bypassing the radio.
May 3, 2018 @ 9:19 am
Radio sucks and is only getting suckier.
97.5 WAMZ out of Louisville had an ad I heard on Tuesday promoting them adding the Bobby Bones show. I immediately removed that preset. Because I can guarantee you the number of ads promoting the BB show will far outnumber the number of palatable songs they play.
I have 12 presets including both Rock and Country. About 8 of them are static free at any one time. 2 of the stronger signals are pop country. 6 are rock. 2 weak signals are decent country stations that don’t cover my entire travel envelope–usually static. And now 2 are vacant.
I worked on my Spotify playlist last night!
May 3, 2018 @ 1:22 am
I have a question. I like Chris very much. But I have read comments (some here) that his 2 new albums were basically extensions of Traveller and his older music. How do you see him evolving as an artist? What will his new music be like? I read Alan Jackson’s statement that he likes Chris, but he’s not Country. I feel more Southern Rock. But I do love his music. So. Where does he go from here? Will there be a new sound?
May 3, 2018 @ 7:01 am
Good question. and I totally get it that he is not country in the sense of being a George Strait or Alan Jackson.
William Micheal Morgan would be a better proxy for what classical country would be today.
In any matter, I would take a Stapleton song over 99% of what is on today’s radio. And most importantly, if it can influence the mainstream artist to release quality songs it will only be a net benefit.
Radio and labels only cares about sales and profit which is why they push for those monogenre songs (to attract as many “customers” as possible).
The only solution would be that all country fans ditch the radio and start listening to real country music. When country radio and sales go down to the benefit of independant artists, they will have to react. It’s simple as that. I like burgers but I never bought a burger to McDonalds et al. I’ll buy one the day that they make real burgers. Same logic here.
May 3, 2018 @ 8:25 am
Where Chris Stapleton goes from here is a very good question. All this momentum is from Traveller. Those “From ‘A’ Room records were just like an addendum to what he did with Traveller. I think motivation is going to be a big issue with Stapleton moving forward. Most of the songs on the two From A Room volumes were already in his library. Things are nice and easy for Stapleton at the moment. If he’s going to keep this going, he’s going to have to find a fire inside we haven’t seen since he recorded Traveller. It will be the challenge of Dave Cobb and Stapleton to find passion. Otherwise eventually this momentum will peter out, though who thought it would last this long?
May 3, 2018 @ 5:00 am
Stapleton is a living proof to those lazy artists that you don’t need to release crappy music in order to sell (monogenre, EDM, hip hop). You might not like his music per se but he is an independent artist who cares about music. Kudos to him!
May 3, 2018 @ 6:16 am
Yes indeed.
May 3, 2018 @ 7:06 am
This is truly an incredible feat especially in the upside down shit show state that the music industry is currently in. Chris is truly a huge talent but at the same time it seems that he is also the whipping post for all of the faux-country douche bags who get extremely offended when he cleans up at award shows and takes away from the bullshit fuck heads that were so used to being the only guys making waves. Agreed it is hard to put Stapleton in a particular genre and love him or hate him he is one badass motherfucker, regardless of what terrible shit he has helped pen in the past. I’m sure his legacy from the Steeldrivers cancels that out!
May 3, 2018 @ 9:23 am
Somehow I don’t see him busking outside Bridgestone Arena any time soon.
So, hooray for that!
May 3, 2018 @ 11:41 am
these guys give a unique perspective on him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gptsfGD6PeI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imE7Nq87e4U