“Uptown Funk” receives Diamond Certification
More stories from Matthew Salmon
“Uptown Funk,” the hit single by producer Mark Ronson and singer Bruno Mars, officially reached diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Oct. 18. It is one of few songs to reach this status.
Released in Nov. 2014 by RCA Records, “Uptown Funk” quickly became a No. 1 hit around the globe. It has reached a combined 10 million sales and streams, making Ronson and Mars the 10th act to reach diamond status since the honor was established in 1999 and the song the 13th to make the list. The single is also the fastest song to reach diamond of all-time, receiving the certification in less than two years of its release.
“Uptown Funk” has sold over 12 million in downloads and 938 million audio streams in the United States, according to a press release. It has been streamed over 1.9 billion times and its music video has been viewed over 1.9 billion times, making it the fourth most viewed video on YouTube ever. It also received three Grammy Awards in 2016 for Record of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Remixed Recording. The song’s groovy sound and uptempo beat is a nod to the sounds of 1980s-era funk.
Other songs that have reached diamond status include Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” Eminem’s “Not Afraid,” Katy Perry’s “Firework,” and Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” “Uptown Funk” spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. According to Forbes, the song reportedly generates $100,000 per week for streaming on Spotify alone. It also broke the record for the greatest number of streams in one week in the US, with 4.8 million streams.
Ronson has been working extensively on producing Lady Gaga’s newest album, Joanne, which was released on Oct. 21, while Mars recently released a new single, “24k Magic.” Released last month, the sequel single to “Uptown Funk” debuted at number five on the US Billboard charts. “24k Magic” already has over 100,000 streams and 12.8 million downloads, as well as over 74 million views on YouTube. Mars’ newest album of the same name is set to be released on Nov. 18 by Atlantic Records.