Joe Hahm, Chester Bennington, Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell of ... [+]
It’s been more than 20 years since Linkin Park broke out from the underground and became one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. Since then, the group’s popularity has barely wavered, even after the death of frontman and lead singer Chester Bennington. The rockers have a new reason to celebrate, as they’ve just been awarded one of the greatest honors that musical artists can earn in America.
Linkin Park’s single “In the End” has officially been declared a diamond-certified song in the U.S. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the organization that certifies when songs have hit certain sales and consumption thresholds, announced the award on Tuesday (February 27).
Songs and albums are certified diamond by the RIAA once they have moved at least 10 million equivalent units in the U.S. That sum is usually made up of both pure sales and streaming equivalents.
“In the End” marks Linkin Park’s first diamond single in the U.S. The smash makes quite the leap to diamond status, as it didn’t appear close to that milestone before this week. The tune was last certified four-times platinum back in 2017. Since then, the RIAA had not updated its count until now, when it added another six million equivalent units to its total.
The band’s next most-certified single is still millions of units away from catching up from “In the End,” or at least that’s how it appears. Linkin Park’s next biggest hit, according to the RIAA, is “What I’ve Done,” which has been certified six-times platinum.
While “In the End” may mark the first diamond single for Linkin Park, the band has collected a diamond plaque before. Their debut album Hybrid Theory, which features the single, is now up to 14-times platinum status. That is essentially diamond…plus another four-times platinum.
“In the End” was Linkin Park’s first major hit single, and it helped make them household names around the world. The tune served as one of the last tracks to be promoted from their first full-length, Hybrid Theory, and it changed rock music forever. The smash peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and it remains the band’s highest-rising hit.
