Grammy-winning, multi-platinum gospel singer Kirk Franklin has just received his first international recording certification with his 2011 hit, “I Smile”, which has been certified gold by Recorded Music NZ for garnering an accumulation of at least 7,500 copies sold in New Zealand.

Franklin has already been awarded with four RIAA platinum albums for selling at least 1,000,000 copies in the United States and two multi-platinum albums for selling several million copies in the United States; however, this is his first international certification.

“I Smile” was released in 2011 as the lead single to Franklin’s tenth solo album, Hello Fear (2011). The song quickly received widespread attention among both Christian and secular audiences. The single went on to lead the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart in April 2011 and the Adult R&B Airplay chart in June 2011. It also managed to crack the overall Billboard Hot 100™ chart—a measure of the 100 best-selling songs in the United States for each week—where it peaked at number 85 in June 2011.

“I Smile” also earned Franklin the awards for Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year at the 2012 GMA Dove Awards, Outstanding Song at the 2012 NAACP Image Awards, and Song of the Year at the 2012 Stellar Awards. In 2018 the song was certified RIAA platinum for selling at least 1,000,000 copies in the United States.