RIAA: Beyoncé Becomes the First American Artist to Achieve 150 Million Singles Sales

Nothing short of enormous was Beyonce’s record-breaking week at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Bey’s numerous catalog updates propelled her to yet another set of historic milestones, as if surpassing Pop megastars Taylor Swift and Rihanna to become the female artist with the most titles in the RIAA’s 72-year history wasn’t reason enough to boast.

The RIAA revealed a huge update to Beyonce’s certification statistics on Tuesday, December 17. The update included over 60 titles, several of which were raised to Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum, or even Diamond status.

Together, those shiny new plaques increased the diva’s total solo career single sales to 161.5 million, making her just the fifth artist in the history of the organization to have single sales over 150 million, behind Drake (244 million), Rihanna (183 million), Eminem (167 million), and Kanye West (163 million).

In contrast to the previously mentioned, Bey is the only American-born singer to reach the feat, surpassing her closest rivals Chris Brown (114.5 million), Katy Perry (121.5 million), and Taylor Swift (137.5 million).

Beyonce is currently one of the best-selling female artists in the United States, with 145 million certified sales from her album and singles combined.

Only Mariah Carey (149 million), Taylor Swift (194.5 million), and Rihanna (211 million) have sold more among women as of this writing.