charts discussion RIAA certifications for singles released by women 45+

[GwennyGwenGwen]

It is SHOCKING and depressing how few singles released by women over the age of 45, and particularly WOC, are commercially successful in the US. Things start getting depressing in the late 30s...but 45 seems like a straight up WALL even for the most iconic and legendary of acts. Please let me know of any I am missing, or any that have the numbers just haven't been certified! 

Gwen Stefani 

Used to Love You - Gold
Make Me Like You - Gold 
You Make it Feel Like Christmas - Gold
Nobody But You - Platinum
(Happy Anywhere is eligible for Gold, and maybe soon Platinum, but hasn't been certified)

Madonna 
Hung Up - Platinum (should be more)
4 Minutes to Save the World - 2x Platinum (should be more)
Give Me All Your Luvin' - Gold
(Madonna seems to be severely undercertified, so songs like Sorry, Give It 2 Me, and Bitch I'm Madonna should be added to hers as well)

Jennifer Lopez
Ain't Your Mama - Gold
Dinero - Gold

Cher 
Believe - Platinum (must be eligible for considerably more?)

Aretha Franklin 

A Rose is Still a Rose - Gold

Barbra Streisand 
I Finally Found Someone - Gold

Dionne Warwick 
That's What Friends are For - Gold 

Whitney Houston
Higher Love - Platinum 

Reba Mcentire
Because of You - Gold

*Tina Turner has several singles she released after 45 that I thought would be certified (We Don't Need Another Hero, Typical Male, What You Get is What You See, The Best, I Don't Wanna Fight, etc)...if anyone knows what her actual certifications should look like, i'd love to update it!
            

Edited April 18, 2021 by GwennyGwenGwen

[StrangerInTheDark]

Madonna's Sorry, Give It 2 Me sold over 500k for Gold certification and BIM crossed 500k few years ago, but ofc she is not certified.

 

4 Minutes also sold over 3m in pure sales and is eligible for 4xP thanks so streaming,

Hung Up is eligible too for multiplatinum since its pure sales are at 2m.

[VOSS]

#JusticeForSlowClap

[Lament]

I believe Madonna has way more singles with over 500k sales after 45 but she's so under-certified…

I don't know about the others, but yeah the way the industry is sexist and ageist is disgusting

[Katamari]

“Depressing”

 

their are older legendary male acts who can’t even chart on the hot 100

[Cheers]

what about JLO?

[JoAddams]

Booty - Platinum
Ain't Your Mama - Gold
Dinero - Gold

[GwennyGwenGwen]

6 minutes ago, Cheers said:

what about JLO?

 

4 minutes ago, JoAddams said:

Booty - Platinum
Ain't Your Mama - Gold
Dinero - Gold

Oh duh! I knew I was missing someone obvious. Added! Looks like she was 44 when she released Booty though. 

[Trav]

it's not that they aren't eligible for riaa certifications, there is just no desire for the record labels to spend money on getting them certified once they are dead (40+) by music industry standards

[GwennyGwenGwen]

3 minutes ago, Trav said:

it's not that they aren't eligible for riaa certifications, there is just no desire for the record labels to spend money on getting them certified once they are dead (40+) by music industry standards

Their might be some truth to this...but thats also not the whole story. If you look at the actual numbers, at least for the last couple of decades or so (i haven't really dug deep into prior than that, but I imagine still true), very few are actually eligible...i mean even just the number of songs charted at all by women over 45 in the US is pretty tiny.

Edited April 18, 2021 by GwennyGwenGwen

[trainsskyscrapers]

Very surprised to not see Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle, or Toni Braxton here. Maybe even Missy Elliott & Mary J Blige too? 

[GwennyGwenGwen]

3 minutes ago, trainsskyscrapers said:

Very surprised to not see Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle, or Toni Braxton here. Maybe even Missy Elliott & Mary J Blige too? 

Yeah I was surprised by Mariah as well, but it seems her last certified release was Beautiful, and she wasn't quite 45 yet. Susan Boyle's album is certified, but none of the singles, and legend Toni's and Mary J's certifications haven't been updated in ages, so it's possible, though from the little research I did it doesn't seem any of their recent singles have quite reached 500k, but I could be wrong. Same with Missy! They all damn should be though.

[tiagol88]

The fact that Madonna could have more 6 x Platinum certifications and 3 x Gold singles after 45 says a lot tbh. BIM was actually released when she was older than 55 years old. 10 more years than what the OP was talking about. 

 

If certifications were automatic out of the blue, Madonna could have over 35 singles re-certified in the USA. Albums? At least 6 or 7, some of them more than 1 Platinum certification (TIC) which would make her fly past Mariah and Barbra Streisand in album certifications  

[dabunique]

i'm kinda shook about Dionne

 

how is it only gold when its da number one song of 1986, talk about severely under certified

[Body Talk]

20 hours ago, trainsskyscrapers said:

Very surprised to not see Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle, or Toni Braxton here. Maybe even Missy Elliott & Mary J Blige too? 

MC only released one album. I wonder where Toni's "Long As I Live" sits.