The Eminem Show 2002
The Eminem Show is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 21, 2002 by Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. The Eminem Show includes the commercially successful singles “Without Me”, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”, “Superman”, and “Sing for the Moment”.
The Eminem Show reached number one in 19 countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was the best-selling album of 2002 in the United States, with 7.6 million copies sold. Since its release in 2002 the album has sold 11,600,000 copies in the United States.
At the 2003 Grammy Awards it was nominated for Album of the Year and became Eminem’s third record in four years to win the award for Best Rap Album. On March 7, 2011, the album was certified ten-times-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, making it Eminem’s second album to receive a Diamond certification in the United States.
The Eminem Show was scheduled for release on June 4, 2002; however, pirated and bootleg copies appeared online on peer-to-peer networks and began surfacing on the streets. It was provided by Rabid Neurosis (RNS), an MP3 warez release organization who pirated the album 25 days prior to release. Radio show Opie and Anthony broadcast the entire album on May 17, 2002. Interscope decided to release the album early, on May 28, to combat bootlegging. However, many stores in the U.S. began selling it early on Sunday, May 26, and some put the album out as early as Friday. Promotional posters in stores read, “America Couldn’t Wait”. Due to the premature release by many retailers on a Sunday, the album had only one day of official sales for the chart week and was unavailable in Walmart stores during that period. Despite the confusion over the exact release date, the album still managed to have a very successful debut on the charts. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 284,000 copies. This marked the first time an album had topped the charts with such an abbreviated sales week. The album sold 1,322,000 copies in its first full week of sales. It sold 809,000 copies in its third week and 529,562 copies in its fourth week, to bring its four-week sales total to just under three million copies. The album sold 381,000 copies in its fifth week and topped the Billboard 200 for the fifth consecutive week. The first 2 million copies of the album shipped in the U.S. included a bonus DVD with an exclusive interview and live footage. The Eminem Show was Eminem’s first album to include lyrics to all the songs inside the CD booklet. It was Eminem’s most successful album in terms of charting singles. It spawned two top-ten and four top fifteen singles with “Without Me”, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”, “Sing for the Moment” and “Superman”, which managed to reach the top fifteen without a widely available video counterpart (the video was mostly available on the 8 Mile DVD, rarely being shown on music video channels). In addition, “My Dad’s Gone Crazy”, “Business”, “Hailie’s Song”, and “White America” were selected airplay singles of the controversial album.
The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling approximately 284,000 units in its first week, which due to a premature release by retailers and street-date violations, counted only a day and a half of sales. The album sold 1,322,000 copies the following week, where it registered a full week of sales. The album topped the Billboard 200 for five consecutive weeks. It has gone on to sell over ten million copies. On March 7, 2011, the album was certified ten-times-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, making it Eminem’s second album to receive a Diamond certification in the United States.
The Eminem Show also spent five consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart. As of November 2013, the album has sold over 1.5 million copies in the UK.
Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. “Curtains Up” (skit) Marshall Mathers Eminem 0:30
2. “White America” Mathers, Jeff Bass, Luis Resto, Steve King Eminem, Jeff Bass (co.) 5:24
3. “Business” Mathers, Andre Young, Theron Feemster, Mike Elizondo Dr. Dre 4:11
4. “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” Mathers, Bass Eminem, Bass 4:57
5. “Square Dance” Mathers, Bass, Resto Eminem, Bass (co.) 5:24
6. “The Kiss” (skit) Mathers, Bass Eminem 1:16
7. “Soldier” Mathers, Resto Eminem 3:46
8. “Say Goodbye Hollywood” Mathers, Elizondo, Resto Eminem 4:33
9. “Drips” (featuring Obie Trice) Mathers, Obie Trice, Denaun Porter, Bass Eminem 4:45
10. “Without Me” Mathers, Bass, Urban Kris, Shawn Baumgardner, Kevin Bell Eminem, Bass (co.), DJ Head (add.) 4:50
11. “Paul Rosenberg” (skit) Mathers 0:23
12. “Sing for the Moment” Mathers, Bass, Resto, King, Steven Tyler Eminem, Bass (co.) 5:40
13. “Superman” (featuring Dina Rae) Mathers, Bass, King Eminem, Bass (add.) 5:50
14. “Hailie’s Song” Mathers, Resto Eminem 5:21
15. “Steve Berman” (skit) Mathers 0:33
16. “When the Music Stops” (featuring D12) Mathers, Ondre Moore, Porter, Von Carlisle, DeShaun Holton, Rufus Johnson, Feemster Eminem, Denaun Porter (co.) 4:29
17. “Say What You Say” (featuring Dr. Dre) Mathers, Young, Feemster, Elizondo Dr. Dre 5:09
18. “‘Till I Collapse” (featuring Nate Dogg) Mathers, Nathaniel Hale, Resto Eminem 4:58
19. “My Dad’s Gone Crazy” (featuring Hailie Jade) Mathers, Young, Feemster, Elizondo Dr. Dre 4:28
20. “Curtains Close” (skit) Mathers 1:01