Luke Combs Becomes First Artist to Earn Three Diamond Country Singles Certified by RIAA
Luke Combs has made a habit out of making history during his near-decade in the spotlight since breaking through with his multi-week No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit “Hurricane” in 2017.
Now, the two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner has earned five new RIAA certification plaques. Most notably, Combs’ songs “When It Rains It Pours” and “Hurricane” have been certified Diamond by the RIAA, making Combs the first artist to have three Diamond country singles certified by the RIAA. These two new Diamond-certified songs join Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy,” which was certified Diamond last year.
The songs also join the handful of other country singles that have earned Diamond certification from the RIAA, including Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” Kane Brown’s “Heaven,” Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know” and Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.”
During a Grand Ole Opry appearance Tuesday night (Aug. 13) celebrating his five years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry (Combs was inducted as a member on July 16, 2019), Combs was also honored for his 2022 album Gettin Old earning Platinum certification, and for his 2019 album What You See Is What You Get being certified 5x Platinum. Additionally, Combs’s Grammy-nominated version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” was also certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA.
Combs has been out on his headlining Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour for much of this year, and upcoming, has shows including festival dates at Country Thunder Alberta and YQM Country Fest, in addition to his own Bootleggers Bonfire, a special multi-day event just for Combs’s fanclub, set for October in Miramar, Florida.
Jessica Nicholson
Billboard