Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” becomes his first diamond-certified hit as “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” approach the same honor. LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 26: Shawn Mendes attends the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Shawn Mendes has charted a number of major hits throughout the decade-plus that he’s been famous, but the song that first turned him into a true mainstream pop star has just earned a bit of recognition that no piece of music from the Grammy nominee has before.
More than a decade after “Stitches” became his breakthrough smash, the single has been upgraded to 11-times platinum in the United States. The track is Mendes’s first diamond-certified hit — and another two of his biggest singles are now surprisingly close to joining it in that tier.
Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” Is Now a Diamond Hit
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has certified that “Stitches” has shifted at least 11 million song units in America. Diamond status begins at 10 million, so Mendes’s first track to reach the coveted level has already moved an additional one million units.
That figure does not mean Americans purchased 11 million copies of the cut. The RIAA’s digital-single program combines eligible sales and on-demand streaming, with 150 qualifying streams counting as one unit.
The certification is a substantial jump from the last publicly recognized honor associated with the song. “Stitches” had been sitting at eight-times platinum since 2022.
“Stitches” Made Shawn Mendes a Mainstream Star
“Stitches” comes from Mendes’s debut album Handwritten, which arrived in April 2015 and opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The Canadian singer was only 16 at the time, and he was still that age when the single began growing into a much larger hit.
Mendes had already attracted millions of followers online and reached the Billboard Hot 100 with “Life of the Party,” but “Stitches” changed his career. The song eventually climbed to No. 4 on the list of the most popular songs in America, giving the rising musician his first top 10 hit, and it went on to become his first leader on the Pop Airplay chart.
It began to rack up RIAA certifications almost as quickly. “Stitches” went gold in July 2015, reached double platinum status by November – and then trip platinum by the end of that year. By the time March 2016 rolled around, the cut was already a quadruple platinum smash.
Shawn Mendes Has Two More Hits Close to Diamond Status
At the same time that “Stitches” earns Mendes a coveted diamond plaque, another two favorites within the singer’s discography also advance. “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” have both pushed to the nine-times platinum level, and they only need one more honor before becoming diamond-certified tunes as well.
“Mercy” is now a six-times platinum win, and Illuminate rises to triple platinum. The full-length is now Mendes’s highest-certified album in the United States.
The timing of these awards is fitting, and surely no coincidence. Mendes releases Illuminate (10th Anniversary Edition) later this week, on Friday (September 25), and two of the album’s signature singles — “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” — are now within striking distance of the same diamond distinction “Stitches” just earned.
“Stitches” Is Bigger Than Shawn Mendes’s No. 1 Hit
Lifetime certifications tell a different story when compared to chart peaks alone. “Stitches” never reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Señorita,” Mendes’s collaboration with Camila Cabello, gave him his first champion on the ranking. “Señorita” is currently certified five-times platinum — less than half the certified total of “Stitches.”
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