Chris Brown has set a new record that has surpassed the achievements of Michael Jackson — at least in the United States.
Reports suggest that the R&B star has become the best-selling Black male vocalist in the history of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), beating a record that Jackson has held for many years thanks to another very successful year on streaming.
Chris Brown Breaks Michael Jackson’s Record
According to Parade, Brown has now broken the record when it comes to the best-selling Black male vocalists. In 2025, the “Beautiful People” singer reached 163 million total sales, which outranks the total set by Jackson, which currently stands at 158.5 million.
Of course, directly comparing the two musical heavyweights is not straightforward as most of Jackson’s sales come directly from record purchases. The advent of streaming on services like Spotify means that traditional sales are no longer as significant but stream figures are converted into sales through a formula system where roughly 150 streams is equal to a download sale (via RIAA).
In terms of overall sales in the U.S. there are only two males with more all-time sales. Both Elvis Presley and Luke Combs are higher than Brown, with 189.5 and 163.5 million sales respectively.
However, Jackson still reigns supreme when it comes to global sales. The King of Pop is the world’s top-selling artist with more than 1 billion total sales.
News of Brown’s success comes after the RIAA revealed that several of his records have received new certifications. They include:
- 5x platinum – “Run It” (Single)
- 4x platinum – “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” (Single) and Chris Brown (Album)
- 3x platinum – “Say Goodbye” (Single)
- 2x platinum – “Gimme That” (Single)
- 1x platinum – “Poppin’” (Single)
- Gold – “Ya Man Ain’t Me” (Single) and “Ain’t No Way” (Single)
Chris Brown Spotted Talking To Ex
Earlier this year, Brown was spotted in conversation with a former partner. While appearing at Coachella, the R&B star — who famously previously dated Rihanna — could be seen talking to Karrueche Tran.
The pair previously dated between 2013 and 2015 after a complicated love triangle that was reported between the pair and Rihanna. Tran later secured a restraining order against Brown when she alleged that he became aggressive when she refused to return jewelry he had gifted her.
The brief interaction between the two showed them talking and laughing, suggesting that there are no lingering hard feelings between them.
