Taylor Swift Tops RIAA’s Year-End List Again With Highest Certification and Top Album for ‘The Life of a Showgirl’
To no one’s surprise, Taylor Swift is once again atop the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) list of top-certified albums of the year for 2025. The RIAA announced its annual tally of 2025 certifications on Thursday (Dec. 11) and for the second consecutive year, Swift topped the year-end list with the highest certification level and the year’s top album for the 5x platinum, Billboard 200-topping The Life of a Showgirl.
The top spot for 2025 follows up on some other mega-certifications Swift received earlier this year from the RIAA when she became the first female artist in history to surpass 100 million RIAA-certified album units for her catalog. Swift’s Tortured Poets Department topped last year’s RIAA album tally.
“RIAA is proud to recognize the artists and their label partners who defined the year with music that exemplifies human artistry and reached remarkable milestones,” said RIAA chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier. “From Taylor Swift and Alex Warren who earned this year’s top honors, to all the artists who have been certified this past year, we wrap 2025 with excitement for all the ways music has impacted people’s lives.”
Alex Warren‘s 3x platinum “Ordinary” — which spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 this year — was named the top single of 2025. EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, the singing voices behind KPop Demon Hunters fictional band HUNTR/X, became the most-certified Class of 2025 honorees with their first-ever RIAA milestones: 2x Platinum single “Golden” and Platinum singles “How It’s Done” and “What It Sounds Like.”
“Each year we spotlight artists earning their first Gold & Platinum certification, a testament to the drive and dedication it takes to truly break through,” added RIAA president and COO Michele Ballantyne. “The Class of 2025 is reaching fans in exciting new ways, and this is only the beginning! Congratulations to these rising talents and the label teams supporting them – RIAA is proud to be part of the journey.”
In all, 13 albums and 46 singles released in 2025 were rated #RIAATopCertified, with 23 pop, 18 R&B/hip-hop, seven country, seven soundtracks and four alternative titles earning Gold (500,000 units) and Platinum (one million) status this year. Among the other Platinum albums were Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend and Tate McRae’s So Close To What.
Among the year’s Platinum singles were: Bigxthaplug’s “All the Way,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Jessie Murph’s “Blue Strips,” Mariah the Scientist’s “Burning Blue” and Carpenter’s “Manchild.”
Some other highlights from the RIAA’s year-end tally:
- Drake earned the most certified titles with eight, including his year-end highest with the 2x Platinum single “Nokia” and 7 collaborations with PARTYNEXTDOOR, the Gold singles “CN Tower,” “Something About You,” “Spider-Man Superman,” “Gimme a Hug,” “Die Trying” and “Somebody Loves Me” from their Platinum album $ome Sexy $ongs 4 U.
- Cardi B’s Am I the Drama? scored the fastest certifications for her Platinum-upon-release second LP — which is currently 3x Platinum — and Lil Tecca’s “Dark Thoughts” single earned Gold in 56 days and is now Platinum.
- The Stray Kids became the only artists with multiple albums certified this year with their Gold-certified HOP and KARMA.
- Gigi Perez’s At the Beach, In Every Life and Tucker Wetmore’s What Not To were, respectively, the only alternative and only country albums to notch Gold certifications.
- Chappell Roan scored Gold singles with “The Giver” and “The Subway.”
- Drake’s OVO Sound and Republic Records had the most-certified titles on the year-end list.
- Olivia Dean’s Platinum-certified hit “Man I Need” is the highest-certified Class of 2025 pop single.
- KPop Demon Hunters‘ Saja Boys notched Platinum hits with “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol” and Sombr tied for second most certified on the Class of 2025 list thanks to hits “Back to Friends” and “Undressed.”
- Gelo’s Platinum-certified “Tweaker” is the fastest certified title in this year’s class, earning Gold status just 97 days after its release, joining 803Fresh’s Gold-certified “Boots on the Ground” as the only two hip-hop tracks on this year’s list.
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