Lionel Richie, ‘Tuskegee’ Album Certified Platinum

Lionel Richie had already struck gold when he paired himself and 13 of his classic hits with a host of country acts for the duets album, Tuskegee. Now the singer has earned a platinum disc for that critically-acclaimed collection, signifying sales of one million copies. Most impressively, the collection has reached that sales level in only five weeks.

"This album continues to amaze me and I am so grateful for all that it has accomplished," says the singer, who titled the project after his Alabama hometown. "Just when I think it couldn't get any bigger, Tuskegee reaches a new level of success. When I came up with the idea for Tuskegee, I didn't want to be confined by boundaries of age, genre or demographics. I am thrilled with how well this album has been received by people from all walks of life. It is truly living up to the vision we had when we created it."

In addition to the four weeks Tuskegee has been No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, the disc, released March 26, spent two weeks atop the multi-genre Billboard 200. It's the singer's third solo album to reach No. 1 on that chart. Lionel joins the legendary Ray Charles in the record books as the only artists in history to score No. 1 albums on both the Billboard Country Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.

Tuskegee is the best-selling country album of 2012 and is also the first country album in more than a year to spend two consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200. In a career that began in the mid-1960s when his R&B group, the Commodores were first formed, Lionel has since amassed album sales of more than 100 million. He's earned 22 Top 10 hits, five Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe award and countless other honors.

Tuskegee has also reached No. 1 in Canada and has hit the Top 10 albums charts in the U.K., Denmark, Holland, Australia, Hong Kong and Sweden, reaching the Top 20 in 10 countries. The album features duets with Jason Aldean, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton and Shania Twain.