At the top of October international superstar Ed Sheeran welcomed a slew of certification upgrades from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) including a 16x Platinum plaque for his 2014 megahit ‘Thinking Out Loud.’

The award toasts sales equivalence of 16 million in the United States.

Making it the highest-certified hit in the 71-year history of the RIAA at the time, the ascent to 16x Platinum saw it snatch the honor from the previous titleholder – Drake‘s 2018 ‘Scorpion’ hit ‘God’s Plan’ – by just 1 million units.

Just weeks later, however, the Canadian hitmaker welcomed his own slew of certification upgrades including an update to ‘Plan’ that put him squarely beside Sheeran.

As reported here, on Drake’s 37th birthday (October 24) and the week that followed the Rap superstar was presented a series of plaques from the RIAA.

The updates pushed his cumulative digital single sales to 233 million in the U.S., making him the first artist ever to sell over 200 million singles in American history.

Among those top-selling hits was ‘God’s Plan,’ which sits in RIAA record books for sales of 16 million – a feat that ties him with Sheeran for highest-certified solo hit of all time.  Further, the song maintains its titling for the highest-certified solo Rap hit ever.

As of time reported, there are only three songs certified as high or higher than ‘Thinking’ and ‘Plan’: Imagine Dragons‘ ‘Radioactive‘ (16x Platinum), Lil Nas X‘s Billy Ray Cyrus-assisted hit ‘Old Town Road’ (17x Platinum), and Post Malone‘s 18x Platinum-certified ‘Sunflower’ (which features Rae Sremmurd star Swae Lee).

[source]

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