Chris Stapleton has reached a defining milestone in country music history. On January 12, the Recording Industry Association of America officially certified “Tennessee Whiskey” Double Diamond, confirming more than 20 million units in combined sales and streams in the United States alone. The achievement makes it the biggest country song ever certified by the RIAA and the first country single to cross the Double Diamond threshold.
Across all genres, only two other songs have reached this level: Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower.”
Originally written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove and first recorded by David Allan Coe in 1981, “Tennessee Whiskey” found new life through Stapleton’s raw, blues-leaning interpretation on his 2015 breakthrough album Traveller. Its ascent accelerated after his now-iconic duet with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards, a performance that introduced the song to a wider audience and reshaped its trajectory. The track later peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and reached No. 20 on the Hot 100, an unusual feat for a country ballad that initially received limited radio support.
What makes the achievement more striking is the song’s continued relevance. A decade after its release, “Tennessee Whiskey” remained present on major streaming platforms, appearing in Apple Music’s Top 100 Songs of 2025.
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