Who doesn’t love Hamilton? The 2015 musical covers the story behind Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in a blend of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway genres. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece, with Thomas Kail’s directing, Andy Blankenbuehler’s choreography, and Alex Lacamoire’s music direction and orchestrations, broke boundaries in Broadway and has permeated pop culture in America.
Hamilton’s list of accolades is now stacked even higher, as it is now the first Broadway cast recording to achieve Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association. Across the album’s 46 tracks, Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) earned 34 platinum and 18 gold individual song certifications. Songs like “Alexander Hamilton” and “Satisfied” even secured 2x Platinum.
The original company includes Lin-Manuel Miranda alongside other icons such as Ariana DeBose, Christopher Jackson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Leslie Odom Jr. These stars accepted the Diamond plaque on June 16 at Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré in San Juan, Puerto Rico to celebrate ten million sales equivalents of the album. They accepted the award from Atlantic Records’ Executive Vice President, A&R and Label Operations, Craig Rosen at a benefit performance for Hispanic Federation and the Flamboyan Arts Fund’s cultural programs.
Soon after the original Broadway cast recording, Atlantic Records also released The Hamilton Mixtape, which reimagined the musical’s songs, featuring big names ranging from Alicia Keys to Chance The Rapper and more. Now, it’s RIAA Gold-Certified, which just goes to show how hard Hamilton goes. The subsequent Hamildrops — with a series of 13 special monthly releases — kept fans enthralled with the musical’s magic.
The musical — which won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2015 — has more than six billion streams globally and is the highest-charting cast recording since 1969. It is also the only Broadway cast album to top the charts of Billboard’s “Top Rap Albums.” And after eight years, Hamilton still holds the designation of having the biggest first-week sales for a digital cast recording and the second biggest for any cast recording.
Want to hear what the hype is all about? Stream Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) on multiple platforms here.
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