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MUSIC PEOPLE
NEWS
FEBRUARY 2026 Volume 57 Number 02 Issue 672
Editor Kelly Gregory
Contributors David Allan, Janet Aspley, Donnie Ayers, Craig Baguley, Jonny Brick, Chris Brown, Tony Byworth, Rosie Carter, Don Cusic, Larry Delaney, Julie Flaskett, Marshall Gardener, Michael Hingston, Stan Hitchcock, Tony Ives, Sianna King, Spencer Leigh, John Lomax III, Bryce Martin, Adrian Peel, Paul Riley, Chris Smith, Tom Travis, Walt Trott, Dan Wallace, Dave Watkins, Jack Watkins
New release consultant Steve Tidbury
Photographers Patricia Presley, Barry Dixon
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MORGAN WALLEN BECOMES RIAA’ S HIGHEST CERTIFIED COUNTRY ARTIST OF ALL TIME
M organ Wallen has solidified his
dominance in country music with a groundbreaking milestone: becoming the RIAA’ s highest-certified country artist of all time. This accolade follows his recent crowning as Billboard’ s Top Artist of 2025 and entry into Spotify’ s elite Billions Club, where three singles— Whiskey Glasses, I Had Some Help with Post Malone, and Last Night— each surpassed one billion streams.
Wallen’ s certified units total 239.5 million singles( solo and collaborations) and 26 million albums, making him the third most-certified artist across all genres, trailing only Drake and Taylor Swift in solo titles. He ranks as the No. 2 digital singles-certified solo artist overall. This honour arrives just seven years after his first Gold certifications in 2018 for The Way I Talk and Up Down, with Whiskey Glasses earning Gold in 2019 and now certified 13x Platinum.
RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier hailed Wallen’ s ascent:“ Morgan Wallen’ s rise has been nothing short of remarkable. A trajectory powered through deep fan connection, multiple creative collaborations, and partnerships with Big Loud and Republic Records. Less than a decade after earning his first Gold singles, he has officially become the highest RIAA certified Country artist with 265.5M units, including credits on five Diamond-certified or higher singles! The sheer volume of streams behind this achievement speaks to how actively audiences continue to show up and his sustained journey reshaping modern music. Congratulations on this new height as Morgan and his team set their sights on the next.”
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