Usher & Ludacris Celebrate ‘Yeah!’ Going 13x Platinum: ‘Thank U to Everyone Who Ever Pressed Play’
Usher, Ludacris and Lil Jon have much to celebrate, because their 2004 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Yeah!” has racked up even more accolades following Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance last month.
On Feb. 9, 2024 — just two days before the Super Bowl — “Yeah!” earned a 13-times platinum status in the U.S., accumulating 13 million in equivalent song units. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), one equivalent song unit is equal to a single digital song sale, or 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams. Ludacris also shared on X that he recently received a Spotify plaque to celebrate “Yeah!” earning 1 billion streams on the platform. This marks the first time Usher, Ludacris and Lil Jon have each had a song earn 1 billion Spotify streams.
“That DAMN SUPER BOWL EFFECT Was The Cherry On Top,” Ludacris wrote with a praying hand emoji. “CONGRATS to my brothers @usher @liljon @seangarrettpen & ALL THE FANS THAT MADE THIS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SONGS IN HISTORY!!!!” Usher reshared the post on his account and commented, “We did that bro” with muscle and fire emojis. “Thank U to everyone who ever pressed play!!”
Usher’s catalog experienced a significant boost in streams following his Halftime Show performance, with “Yeah!” leading the wave. The song accumulated 4.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams Feb. 11-12, up 105% from Feb. 9-10, when the song earned 2.3 million streams.
Upon its release as the lead single from Usher’s 2004 fourth studio album Confessions, “Yeah” topped the Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks and finished the year as the Hot 100’s No. 1 year-end song and No. 2 on the chart’s top hits of the 2000-2009 decade. The song also won best rap/sung collaboration and was nominated for record of the year at the 2005 Grammy Awards.
Check out Usher and Ludacris’ reactions below:
Heran Mamo
Billboard
