Linkin Park continue to cement their status as the most commercially successful artist to emerge from the nü-metal heyday. The group have just landed their second diamond album certification in the United States, with their 2003 sophomore effort having officially crossed that threshold. The RIAA handed down that certification yesterday, October 05th.
It’s the band’s third diamond certification to date, with their debut album “Hybrid Theory” having hit diamond status back in January of 2005. It was most recently certified 12x platinum back in 2020. February of 2024 saw the band notch up their third diamond certification overall, with “In The End“, the fourth and final single from “Hybrid Theory“, taking home that coveted status.
A diamond certification in the United States represents 10 million album-equivalent units or track-equivalent units. Linkin Park‘s resurrection from tragedy with 2024’s “From Zero” fueled a propulsive comeback that resulted in their most financially successful tour to date. According to Billboard, the world tour launched on that record grossed a career high of $251 million from some 2.2 million tickets sold.
Additionally, this past month saw the group notch up their ninth single to achieve 1 billion plays on Spotify alone, with “Bleed It Out‘ joining the club. Songs from “Meteora” to have hit that milestone include “Numb“, “Faint” and “Somewhere I Belong“.
*A platinum album/single in the United States represents 1,000,000 units, while gold signifies 500,000 units. Outside of traditional physical/digital sales, the certifications factor in digital streams/downloads with 10 permanent track downloads counting as 1 unit and 1500 on-demand audio/video streams from a particular album also counting as as a unit. 150 streams of a song also equate to a track-equivalent unit.
