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Eminem Is Now Tied With Justin Bieber When It Comes To This Historic Feat

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Late last month, Eminem was awarded over 40 new gold and platinum certifications by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), with many of his lesser-known tracks and less-successful singles finally earning some recognition. The rapper made headlines by collecting another diamond single, as his Oscar and Grammy-winning 8 Mile soundtrack cut “Lose Yourself” moved its ten millionth equivalent unit, making him one of just two artists in history to earn a trio of such successes.

It’s always big news whenever a new single enters the diamond club, but at the same time "Lose Yourself" was inducted, another one of Eminem’s already diamond-certified tracks also moved up in the ranks, and that has helped him make history in yet another way.

The hip-hop superstar’s best-known collaboration with Rihanna, “Love The Way You Lie,” jumped from 11-times platinum to 12-times platinum, and while one more platinum plaque might not seem like much, especially after 11 have already been bestowed on the same tune, that incremental success has helped him rise to the same level as another one of the biggest musical stars on the planet.

Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love The Way You Lie” is now tied with Justin Bieber and Ludacris’s “Baby” as the only singles to be certified 12-times platinum, making them the most-certified singles in U.S. history. Between pure sales and streaming equivalents, the pair of immensely popular tunes have shifted at least 12 million equivalent copies in the U.S. alone, and they aren’t done being played by fans across the country every single day.

Behind the two powerful pairings that have managed to collect a 12-times platinum single, four songs are coming up fast, and any of them could become the third to join Eminem and Bieber. Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind/Something in the Way You Look Tonight,” Katy Perry’s “Firework,” “Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” are all standing steady at 11-times platinum, and it’s only a matter of time before one also moves up and grabs a twelfth platinum plaque. It will also be fun to see if either "Baby" or "Lose Yourself" winds up being the first song to collect a lucky thirteenth platinum certification, or if a newer single that is racking up streams at a faster rate (such as "Uptown Funk") ends up beating those two to the punch.