Garth Brooks Honored with his Seventh Diamond Certification

A capacity crowd filled Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater Monday night, joining Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Tourism Commissioner Kevin Triplett, and a host of friends to celebrate Garth Brooks becoming the first recording artist in history to earn Seven Diamond Album Certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America.

The evening kicked off with Gov. Haslam welcoming fans and presenting Brooks with a commemorative belt manufactured by Lynnville-based Col. Littleton and a sterling silver-and- gold buckle designed by Gist Silversmiths with seven diamonds to highlight each of the awarded albums. Celebrity guests Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Young, Steve Wariner, and wife Trisha Yearwood took the stage to congratulate Brooks as well as to sing their favorite song from one of his Diamond Certified albums: Garth Brooks, No Fences, Ropin’ The Wind, The Hits, Double-Live, Sevens, and The Ultimate Hits. Brooks followed with a seven-song set—one song from each of his Diamond-certified records, all of which were recorded in Tennessee.

“In Tennessee, we make things – from guitars to cars to whiskey to M&Ms. One of the things we make more of and better than anyone else is music, and as tonight shows, one of the people that does that better than anyone else is Garth Brooks,” said Governor Haslam. “Garth can make his music anywhere he wants, and the fact that he has chosen to do that in Tennessee over all these years says a lot about our state. We congratulate him on this achievement and are grateful he represents our state and inspires people from all over the world to visit Tennessee and experience, as we say, the soundtrack of America.”

The seven Diamonds celebration further supported the state’s dedication to music and tourism initiatives as part of “The Soundtrack of America, Made in Tennessee” program. “I can’t thank the state of Tennessee enough for taking me in as if I was one of their own and allowing me to chase a dream and make music. I hope this state is as wonderful of a home for all of you as it is to me. I could not be more proud to bring the seven Diamond Certification home to country music,” Brooks stated.

Tickets for the event were free, but only available through the Tennessee Snapchat channel, just launched as part of the Garth activation. In just under three weeks, Tennessee’s Snapchat channel had more than one million views.

Further, Garth named seven sites in Tennessee instrumental in his career. The sites named include the Bluebird Café, Tennessee Fairgrounds, and Pancake Pantry in Nashville, Cookeville, Ella Guru’s in Knoxville, Bristol, and The Pyramid in Memphis. The story of each site, and Garth’s connection to the location, was showcased in Snapchat stories as part of the campaign. Preliminary PR reports, at press time, just 24 hours after the event, indicate more than 300 million impressions in for broadcast and digital media coverage.

Tennessee has long been known as a global music destination, where the genres of blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll originated and has more musicians per capita than any other place in the world. It is the state where artists come to create and perform their music. Tennessee is home to world-renowned music attractions like Graceland, Beale Street, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Bluebird, Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Grand Ole Opry and the famous Ryman Auditorium. 

The Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee has proved successful at drawing greater numbers of tourists and tourism revenue. In 2015, direct domestic and international travel expenditures reached an all-time high of $18.4 billion. According to independent research, “The Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee” brand campaign has generated an 18-to-one return on investment, double the national average.