Drake Turns 40 With a New York Party, a Backstreet Boys Surprise and a Record Certification Haul
Drake celebrated his 40th birthday a day early, with a party at Casa Cipriani in New York on Oct. 23. He turned 40 on Oct. 24. Billboard reported that more than 400 guests attended.
The Backstreet Boys performed at the party. Drake joined them onstage for their 1999 hit "I Want It That Way," and the moment had a history. In July 2022, the group brought him onstage during their DNA World Tour stop at Toronto's Budweiser Stage, introducing him as their "sixth member" before the same song.
Guests were also offered luxury giveaways, including Chanel and Hermès handbags. A game show offered cash prizes of up to $1 million, according to Billboard. Before the event, The Sun reported that Drake had planned a $1 million party in New York. Billboard reported that the festivities began in Toronto, with a gathering at the CN Tower.
The same week brought a chart-style milestone of a different kind. On Oct. 23, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the body that certifies US sales, awarded Drake 30 new certifications. Those awards are counted in "certified units," a sales measure that combines album sales, song sales and streams converted into album-equivalent sales. Billboard reported that the total made him the first artist to surpass 350 million RIAA-certified units.
Drake now holds 18 Diamond plaques, the most of any artist. A Diamond award marks 10 million certified units for a single release or album, so each one stands for a large body of sales and streams.
Drake turned 40 on Oct. 24, closing a birthday that ran from Toronto to a Manhattan ballroom and ended with a stage full of familiar voices.
