Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack has been certified 19-times platinum by the RIAA, making … More
By the time Whitney Houston released the soundtrack that accompanied her movie The Bodyguard, she was already one of the biggest musical stars on the planet. She had spent the second half of the 1980s and the early 1990s racking up smash after smash, including nine No. 1 hits on the Hot 100. The full-length collection that accompanied the film shot her into the stratosphere, becoming not just another commercial success but a certified blockbuster.
Decades after its release, it remains Houston’s bestselling album, and as it earns a new honor from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the title advances again among history’s biggest musical projects.
The Bodyguard Soundtrack Earns a New Platinum Award
The Bodyguard soundtrack has been certified 19-times platinum, which means it has now moved 19 million equivalent units in the United States alone. That sum is split between pure purchases and streaming activity, and it is much larger when taking into account consumption from dozens of other nations. The majority of that figure is made up of actual sales, since the RIAA only began including streams several years ago.
The full-length last earned an award in November 2017, when it advanced to 18-times platinum — 18 years after it hit 17-times platinum status.
The Fifteenth-Highest-Certified Album
The Bodyguard soundtrack now ranks as the fifteenth-highest-certified album in U.S. history. Before this latest honor, Houston’s behemoth was tied with four other titles for that spot, as they all stood at 18-times platinum status, and those collections have been pushed downward for the moment. Steady with 18 million certified units moved are Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers, No Fences by Garth Brooks, Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses, and Greatest Hits by Journey.
Whitney Houston Lands Behind Green Day, Metallica and Shania Twain
Sitting just ahead of the Bodyguard soundtrack with 20 million units — what is often called double diamond — are Dookie by Green Day, Metallica’s self-titled album, and Come On Over by Shania Twain. Those three projects are matched as the twelfth-most-certified efforts in America. If none of them change their numbers anytime soon, Houston could eventually catch up.
The Eagles and Michael Jackson Continue to Lead
The most certified album of all time remains Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 by the Eagles. That compilation has moved 38 million equivalent copies. Thriller by Michael Jackson is the only other title to push past triple diamond status, as it has moved 34 million copies in the United States alone.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/06/30/whitney-houston-breaks-her-tie-with-bob-marley-journey-and-garth-brooks/