More than thirty years after the album was released, Michael Jackson’s Thriller has been officially certified platinum 30 times over for U.S. sales.
Jackson reigns as the best-selling artist of all time, totaling over 100 million in sales for Thriller worldwide and one billion total in sales to his credit. Billboard reports that the album, which has now been sold more than 30 million times in the United States alone, also maintains a record as the album with the longest reign at No. 1 with 37 weeks clocked at the top spot.
“RIAA has awarded Gold & Platinum records on behalf of the music business for nearly 60 years, but this is the first time an artist has crossed the 30X multi-Platinum plateau,” the Recording Industry Association of America’s CEO Cary Sherman said of the milestone. “We are honored to celebrate the unique status of Thriller in Gold & Platinum history. What an exceptional achievement and testament to Thriller‘s enduring spot in our hearts and musical history.” Famed Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid added, “It is crystal clear that Michael Jackson is simply the greatest and biggest artist of all time. Not only are his charts hits and sales stats staggering, but his pure musicality was other-worldly. Thriller was groundbreaking and electrifying…it was perfection. I am extremely proud that Michael is the heart and soul of Epic Records and he will forever remain the one-and-only King of Pop.”
Thriller has an impressive track record. When the album came out on November 30, 1982, it was certified platinum just two months later, according to RIAA. On October 30, 1984, it was certified 20-times platinum. The most recent record came less than two months after Jackson died, when Thriller hit 29-times platinum on August 21, 2009.
At the 26th annual Grammy awards in 1984, Jackson nabbed eight wins, including album of the year and record of the year for “Beat It.”
