Tarrus Riley is celebrating a major win today. The Reggae singer’s 2015 single “POWERFUL” has just been certified silver in the United Kingdom.
A silver certification means the record has surpassed 200,000 units in sales. The song, which is a collaboration with Major Lazer and Ellie Golding, achieved highly sought-after recognition from the British Phonographic Industry on Friday, July 30.
Tarrus Riley spoke about the accomplishment in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer. He said, “Big up me team, Shane Brown, News, Mr Fraser, Ellie Goulding, and Major Lazer. The great things that teamwork can do.”
The track, which is the second single on Major Lazer’s third studio album “Peace is the Mission,” has been hitting major charts and racking up several acclaims since it dropped.
Prior to this latest accolade, it was certified gold in the United States. A gold certification means that a single has surpassed 500,000 copies in pure sales.
Meanwhile, the song was certified Platinum in Italy, where it sold 50,000 copies. It was certified gold in New Zealand, where it sold 7,500 copies, gold in Denmark, where it sold 30,000 copies, and 2x platinum in Australia, where it did 140,000 units in pure sales.
In addition to racking up the certificates, the song topped charts in the UK, United States, Australia, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Italy.
It climbed to number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
The song was also featured in several mainstream ad campaigns. Powerful was used in the ad for Armani’s Stronger With You and Because it’s You perfumes, and also in a 2017 Close Up Toothpaste ad.
It is one of Tarrus Riley’s most decorated songs to date.
Over the years, Riley has won awards, including the Caribbean-American Heritage Awards for Reggae, the 2011 Youth View Awards for Cultural Artiste of the Year, and the 2014 MOBO Awards for the Best Reggae Act.
Hit singles under his belt include the 2006 single “She’s Royal,” the 2012 track “Gimmie Likkle One Drop,” and the latest 2020 track, “Lighter,” which features Shenseea.
