On July 22 1985, Like A Virgin was certified 5x Platinum in the US – the first solo album by a female artist to be certified for shipment of 5-million copies. The album remained a consistently strong catalogue seller well into the next decade, eventually earning a Diamond certification (the RIAA’s highest certification award) in 1998 for shipment of over 10 million copies in the US.
On July 11 1987, Madonna’s True Blue album was certified 5x platinum (5 million units) in the USA. The album went on to sell an estimated 19 million units worldwide.
How many copies of True Blue do you own? Cassette? 8-Track? LP? CD?
On July 7 1984, Warner Bros. Records took out a full-page ad in Billboard magazine to congratulate Madonna on the Gold certification of her self-titled debut album.
The ad featured the first look at a new photo shoot Madonna had recently completed with Steven Meisel. This image would later appear on the back cover of her next album, Like A Virgin.
On July 3, 1987, Madonna accepted a rare Canadian Diamond Album certification award at a press conference at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel on the eve of her sold-out concert at CNE Stadium. The certification award was presented by WEA Music Canada president Stan Kulin to commemorate over one million units sold of the True Blue album in Canada.
Madonna would receive a second Canadian Diamond Album certification for Like A Virgin in 1992.
On April 7 2017, Madonna’s hit single, Don’t Tell Me, was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 200,000 units in the UK.
If anyone has any idea why DTM was certified in 2017 — with nothing to promote, we’d love to find out.
On March 29 1988, Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour home video was certified multi-platinum for sales of over 100,000 units in the U.S.
On March 23 1988, Madonna (aka The First Album) was certified 4x platinum by the Record Industry Association of America in the USA for shipment of 4-million units.
Today In Madonna History 