LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 27: Composer Hans Zimmer speaks onstage at The GRAMMY Museum on October … [+]
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Hans Zimmer is one of the most successful composers in film history. He’s earned multiple Academy Awards–along with plenty of other trophies–and his reach expands beyond just Hollywood. The German-born musician has produced works that audiences continue to listen to well after the movie has finished, and now he’s earned a very special honor because of that fact.
The celebrated composer earns his first gold single in the U.S. His tune “Cornfield Chase” has collected the honor from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the organization that is tasked with certifying when songs and albums reach specific consumption milestones.
In the U.S., songs and full-lengths can be certified gold after shifting half a million units. That sum includes both pure sales as well as streaming equivalents. Platinum status sets in at one million, or essentially double gold. Diamond is the biggest honor, and it’s doled out when any title reaches 10 million equivalent units.
“Cornfield Chase” marks Zimmer’s first certification of any kind from the RIAA. While he’s been involved in some of the most famous scores of the past several decades–as well as a handful of hits–he’s never landed an award like this on his own.
Zimmer composed “Cornfield Chase” for the film Interstellar. The Christopher Nolan movie was released in 2014 to positive reviews, and it went on to become a major commercial success.
Interstellar has enjoyed an ongoing second life thanks to the music that Zimmer created for the project. The instrumental soundtrack has remained incredibly popular, especially among younger people. Tunes like “Cornfield Chase” have become staples on platforms like TikTok, and all that activity has kept the title alive for years.
The Interstellar score was also a commercial smash, in addition to the actual movie. The album peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, which is a rare position for an instrumental title to reach. It was nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar, though Zimmer lost to Alexandre Desplat’s The Grand Budapest Hotel that year.
