After thirteen Grammy Awards, six number one albums, and a billion other accomplishments to his name, rapper Eminem is still going strong. This is because he’s the first artist ever to receive two Digital Single Diamond Awards from the RIAA. It’s impressive mostly because “Diamond” in music certification means that something sold ten million, and ten million is kind of a lot. Also because he’s apparently the first ever to do it. Even though Eminem’s had his fair share of popular singles in his day, he’s not the first that comes to mind when you think of huge songs, is he?

Eminem
Eminem is the first artist to earn two Digital Diamond Single awards

So, which were the ones to nab him the title? It shouldn’t come as a surprise when ‘Love The Way You Lie’ featuring Rihanna was the first Diamond track, because that song was absolutely everywhere when it was first released back in 2010. Since then, it has gone on to sell over eleven million copies digitally. The lead single from that same album (Recovery) was the one to give Eminem the honor, as ‘Not Afraid’ just recently passed the ten million mark. When you think about the success he’s had with singles, you have to wonder what made ‘Not Afraid’ his big seller instead of his more radio-friendly tracks, but as catchy as they were, none of them comes close to what those two have sold.

In fact, it might be hard to believe that the single that put Slim on the map, ‘The Real Slim Shady,’ has only sold four million copies to date, while the infectious lead track off his critically acclaimed The Eminem Show, ‘Without Me,’ never even broke a million. Of course, this probably has to do with the fact that iTunes wasn’t really a huge thing back then, and when people bought singles, they literally bought a disc with the one song on it. If those songs had been released now, would they perform differently? In 2002, nothing was going to stop ‘Lose Yourself,’ the track off the 8 Mile soundtrack, from being a massive hit. It scored Eminem the first number one single of his career and surpassed sales of five million. Some of his biggest tracks pre-Recovery, however, were from his 2009 LP, Relapse. ‘Crack a Bottle’ and ‘We Made You’ went double and triple platinum, respectively.

Eminem Rapping'The Monster' could be the rapper's next Diamond hit someday

But, it may not be long before Eminem adds another Diamond Single award to his collection again. Given the success of Rihanna + Em the first time around, it’s only natural that the duo gave it another go for a cut off his most recent record, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The result was ‘The Monster,’ and it’s probably the poppiest track in Eminem’s catalog -- the type of music he’d even mock in his raps so many years ago -- but it’s damn good, and it’s his best selling single that hasn’t gone Diamond with almost six million sold so far. If it took over four years for ‘Not Afraid’ to reach the mark, maybe it’s only a matter of time until ‘The Monster’ gives Eminem a third Diamond plaque -- something that he’s proved is so rightfully his.

More: Eminem lands second Digital Diamond Award