A surprising addition. If you were a fan of mainstream country music in the 2010s, The Band Perry is sure to ring a bell. Coming off firing right out of the gate, the trio scored not one but five Top 20 singles from their self-titled debut album from 2010. This, of course, includes their #1 hits, “You Lie” and their signature song, “If I Die Young.” They’d follow that up with another successful outing in 2012 upon the release of their sophomore album, Pioneer, which contained another string of hits including two #1s, “Better Dig Two” and “DONE,” as well as two Top 10s, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” and “Chainsaw.” After that, however, everything seemingly fell off the rails for the group that was well on their way for superstardom throughout the rest of the 2010s. What followed was multiple odd stylistic/image changes, an odd venture into pop and EDM and an eventual hiatus that later resulted in the band reforming (and replacing Reid Perry with Kimberly Perry’s husband Johnny Castello) earlier this year in July when the group signed to Big Machine Label Group (BMLG). Though the history (and future) of The Band Perry will always be full of “what if’s,” they just scored a huge career milestone that few in country music have ever accomplished. Today, their aforementioned 2010 #1 hit, “If I Die Young” was just certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), officially selling over 10 million units in the U.S. While all of this sounds great, the RIAA (and its subsequent certification process) can be a bit confusing, so let me explain how it all works. Starting with their background, the RIAA is a trade organization consisting of major record labels and distributors that aims to “support and promote the creative and commercial vitality of music labels in the United States.” With that being said, however, their primary feature, in terms of public discussion of music, is undoubtedly their tracking of artists’ sales. These sales, of course, are tracked in terms of “gold,” “platinum,” and “diamond” certifications once a song or album hits the required criteria. RIAA Criteria When a single or album has sold at least 500,000 units, it is then eligible for a Gold certification; when it hits 1 million, it is eligible for Platinum certification. And finally, a song or record must sell 10 million units for it to be certified Diamond. There’s only been 13 Diamond-Certified songs in country music history. And keep in mind that the RIAA doesn’t just keep a running tab on these awards and hand out plaques; an artist’s label will actively pursue certification by applying, submitting statistics, and paying a few hundred dollars to undergo an audit to verify the sales. And then… You must purchase a plaque for each person involved. Well, only if you want to… As for what constitutes a “unit,” there are distinctions between sales regarding both singles and albums. Starting with singles, one paid download or 150 on-demand streams constitutes a unit. Albums, on the other hand, are a bit different. Given how popular streaming is in today’s age, there are three different ways an album can sell a single unit: 1) a permanent digital album or physical album sale, which basically means someone bought the record; 2) 10 permanent track downloads from the album, which laughably wouldn’t even be 1/3 of a Morgan Wallen album these days; or 3) 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album. Of course, streaming is how a bulk of the units are earned these days. With this certification, “If I Die Young” is just the 18th song “country” song in history to sell 10 million units and subsequently reach Platinum status, joining the likes of Luke Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy,” Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange,” Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” Carrie Underwood’s recently certified “Before He Cheats” and more. Unfortunately, the list also includes the likes of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad.” With that being said, however, it’s ultimately a huge career accomplishment for the trio, and undeniably one of the best songs on this list of highest-selling “country” songs of all time, complete with its iconic southern gothic flare. An entire list of all Diamond certified songs classified as country include the following: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry (Diamond) “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood (11x Platinum) “When It Rains It Pours” – Luke Combs (13x Platinum) “Hurricane” – Luke Combs (12x Platinum) “Beautiful Crazy” – Luke Combs (15x Platinum) “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey (Diamond) “Die a Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett (Diamond) “Something in the Orange” – Zach Bryan (12x Platinum) “She Got the Best of Me” – Luke Combs (Diamond) “What Ifs” (feat. Lauren Alaina) – Kane Brown (Diamond) “Heaven” – Kane Brown (11x Platinum) “Tennessee Whiskey” – Chris Stapleton (17x Platinum) “In Case You Didn’t Know” – Brett Young (Diamond) “Need You Now” – Lady A (12x Platinum) “Body Like a Backroad” – Sam Hunt (11x Platinum) “Old Town Road” (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) – Lil Nas X (17x Platinum) “Wagon Wheel” – Darius Rucker (11x Platinum) “Cruise” – Florida Georgia Line (14x Platinum) Before you go, fire up “If I Die Young.”  The post The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young” Becomes Just The 18th Country Song In History To Be Certified Diamond By The RIAA first appeared on Whiskey Riff.