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Alvvays' 'Archie, Marry Me' Certified Gold Ten Years After Release

The soaring single helped the band become an international breakout in 2014, and now it's their first gold certification — indicating it has moved 0.5 million units in the U.S. — as confirmed by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Alvvays
Alvvays
Norman Wong

Hey, hey: Archie's gone gold.

The breakout single from Canadian indie band Alvvays' first record, "Archie, Marry Me," has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. That means it's moved 500,000 digital units, either in downloads or on-demand streaming, becoming the band's first single to do so — ten years after its release.


With its breezily anthemic chorus and its perfect encapsulation of young longing, "Archie, Marry Me" helped launch Alvvays onto the international stage in 2014. The group's dreamy debut album was jam-packed with hooks, and "Archie" immediately caught on, a half-ironic ode to marriage embraced by ambivalent millennials everywhere.

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The band went on to release two more acclaimed records, earn a pair of Junos and a Grammy nomination, and play festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury, becoming one of the few Canadian indie bands of the last decade to see sustained popularity on the international stage.

They marked the tenth anniversary of their self-titled debut earlier this year with a special vinyl-only reissue. The RIAA certification gives them more reason to celebrate, with label Polyvinyl sharing the achievement on Threads. Technically, a tenth wedding anniversary is celebrated with tin, not gold, but Archie never seemed like the traditional type to begin with.

Alvvays isn't the only Canadian artist to hit a major certification milestone this year. PartyNextDoor was named the top artist-songwriter for Q2 of 2024 by the National Music Publishers Association, thanks to his 16 RIAA certifications between April and June, including diamond certification for the Party-written Rihanna hit "Work."

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Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.
Courtesy Photo

Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.

FYI

Obituary: Mike Bilcox of Ajax, Ontario Pop-Punk Band Not By Choice

Former drummer and now head of Round One Sports & Entertainment Liam Killeen pens this tribute to his former bandmate, with words from The Feldman Agency's Jeff Craib, Sum 41's Dave Baksh, Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau and more.

Mike Bilcox, lead singer and guitarist of Ajax, Ontario’s second most famous pop-punk band, Not By Choice, passed away on June 21, at age 48.

Mike started Not By Choice with his Ajax High School friend Glenn ‘Chico’ Dunning back in 1997. They had initially played a few shows under different names that may or may not be suitable for print, but our moniker came from Mike bothering his younger sister Chrissy at the dinner table. When she couldn’t take any more of his taunting, she promptly told her Mom, Pat, that he was annoying her – Pat yelled ‘Well, he’s your brother!’ to which Chrissy quickly replied ‘Yeah, not by choice!’. With that, a real band was born.

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