Mariah Carey, Lewis Capaldi, Whitney Houston, Coldplay and Sam Smith are among the first recipients of the new BRIT Billion Award, denoting 1 billion career UK streams.
The BRIT Billion award, which, like the existing BRIT Certified program and its platinum, silver and gold tiers, is verified using Official Charts data.
Other artists in the inaugural class of recipients are ABBA, AJ Tracey, Anne-Marie, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, Headie One, RAYE and Rita Ora. More artists who have surpassed the threshold will be announced in due course.
“I’m really honoured to be one of the recipients of the BRIT Billion Award,” Carey said in a statement. “I’m so grateful to my fans for their endless and enduring support. I love you UK lambily and cannot wait to come back to your side of the pond and create more magical moments together.”
“Am so buzzing to be one of the first artists ever to be given a “BRIT Billion” award!,” Capaldi exclaimed on receiving the award. “Never in a million years did I think any of this stuff would happen but now it is I will gladly accept each and every award, you have my address x.”
Pat Houston, representative of the Whitney Houston estate, said: “Whitney would be very proud of this award, and the first thing she would say is, ‘is this for me’? Thanks so much to all of her worldwide fans, and on behalf of the Whitney Houston estate, I want to say thank you, and that we are extremely grateful, and that we appreciate you.”
This is the first time in its five-decade history that the BPI’s certifications program has recognized an artist’s combined success across multiple projects. The One Billion career total will include tracks an artist has appeared on either as the principal performer or as a featured artist, as credited by the Official Charts.
The introduction of BRIT Billion reflects the extent to which streaming has transformed the music landscape for artists and fans alike over the past decade. More than 85% of the UK’s recorded music consumption now takes place through streaming.
Sophie Jones, BPI chief strategy officer and interim chief executive, said in a statement: “For a recording artist, there can be few greater sources of pride than having a Platinum or Gold disc on their wall, but in an era when success in measured in the hundreds of millions and indeed billions of streams, it was clear that we needed a new and additional way to recognize and celebrate outstanding achievement in recorded music, and I feel certain that having a BRIT Billion Award will become equally prized.”
The BRIT Billion award represents the first significant upgrade to the certifications program since April 2018, when it was rebranded from the BPI Awards to the BRIT Certified Awards.
