The Eminem Show

Speaking to Spin, Eminem said, "Eventually, I might need some drama in my life to inspire me [...] With The Marshall Mathers LP, everything that everybody was saying–I took that, and it was my ammo. And then when shit died down a little bit, I had other turmoil in my personal life, so that was what I was able to dump out on The Eminem Show. Now, I just gotta wait for the next phase of my life. But something always seems to happen, man; something's always gotta be fucking turbulent." Eminem cited that the inspiration for the album was taken from the Peter Weir-directed 1998 science fiction comedy-drama film The Truman Show. Jim Carrey starred in the film as the lead character Truman Burbank, a man who unwittingly lives inside a TV show, where his life is broadcast to viewers around the world. Eminem spoke on the film's influence, saying, "My life felt like it was becoming a circus around that time, and I felt like I was always being watched [...] Basically, Jim Carrey wrote my album." ==Recording==

Speaking with Rolling Stone in 2002, Eminem said Sing for the Moment' was the first song I wrote for the album; 'Cleanin Out My Closet' was the second. I had the line in 'Cleanin Out My Closet' — 'I'd like to welcome y'all out to The Eminem Show—and it was just a line, but I sat back and I was like, 'My life is really like a fucking show'. I have songs on the album that I wrote when I was in that shit last year, with a possible jail sentence hangin' over my head and all the emotions going through the divorce. I went through a lot of shit last year [lawsuits, divorce and the threat of jail time] that I resolved at the same time, all in the same year. And, yeah, that's when half of the album was wrote". Eminem had started recording the album around the same time he was filming 8 Mile. Production was used for both the soundtrack of the film and his album. The album also saw Eminem take a substantially more predominant production role; most of it was self-produced, with his longtime collaborator Jeff Bass co-producing several tracks (mainly the songs which eventually became the released singles). Dr. Dre, in addition to being the album's executive producer, produced only three individual tracks: "Business", "Say What You Say", and "My Dad's Gone Crazy". Regarding his increase in producing, Eminem told Rolling Stone, "I actually know how to program a drum machine now. It used to be so simple—just writing lyrics and raps, laying vocals and leaving the studio was great. But now that I'm so into producing, it's a fucking job." ==Singles==

"Without Me" was released as the album's lead single on May 14, 2002. Releasing singles from this album resumed when "Superman" (which features Dina Rae) was released as the third single on January 21, 2003. "Sing for the Moment" was released as the fourth single on February 25 of that same year. "Business" was released as the fifth and final single on July 22, though it was unreleased in the United States. ==Music and lyrics==

Stylistically, The Eminem Show has a lighter tone than The Marshall Mathers LP and incorporates a heavier use of rap rock than Eminem's previous albums, featuring mixed guitar-driven melodies with hip-hop rhythms. In an interview with British magazine The Face in April 2002, Eminem said that he treated the album like it was a rock record. He continued that he "tried to get the best of both worlds" on the album. Eminem spoke on specific rock influences, saying, "I listened to a lot of '70s rock growing up, when I was real little. When I go back and listen to them songs, like Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix...'70s rock had this incredible feel to it." Notably, "Sing For The Moment" contains a sample of Aerosmith's "Dream On" as well as a reinterpretation of its guitar solo. Another rock sample on the album is the kick-clap beat of "'Till I Collapse", which is an interpolation of the intro from Queen's "We Will Rock You". While Eminem's previous two albums explored the frustration of life among America's underclass, The Eminem Show marked a thematic shift. The themes of The Eminem Show are predominantly based on Eminem's prominence in hip-hop culture and the subsequent envy towards him, as well as his thoughts on his unexpected enormous success and its consequential negative effects on his life. Osama bin Laden, President George W. Bush, Lynne Cheney and Tipper Gore. The album also sees Eminem dissing several artists, including Mariah Carey, Moby, Canibus and Limp Bizkit, while Dr. Dre disses Jermaine Dupri on the song "Say What You Say", and so does Timbaland at the very end of the song. Eminem told Spin, "One of the frustrating things was people saying, 'He's got to cuss to sell records,' [...] That's why with this album, I toned it down a bit as far as shock value. I wanted to show that I'm a solid artist, and I'm here to stay." Eminem said during an interview with MTV that he felt that The Eminem Show was his "best record so far". In 2006, Q said that Eminem's first two albums "aired dirty laundry, then the world's most celebrated rapper [Eminem] examined life in the hall of mirrors he'd built for himself." There are some inconsistencies in the clean version's censorship. In the skit "The Kiss", Eminem's shouting of the word "motherfucker!" is still audible in the censored version. In the track, "Soldier", which is a continuation of "The Kiss", the word "bitch" was used three times, and can be clearly heard once. Also, in "White America", the word "flag" is back masked when he raps, "To burn the flag and replace it with a parental advisory sticker". ==Critical reception==

The Eminem Show was met with critical acclaim from critics. Alex Needham of NME hailed The Eminem Show as a "fantastic third album" that "is bigger, bolder and far more consistent than its predecessors". Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani wrote that he "peels back some of the bullshit façade and reveals a little bit of the real Marshall Mathers" on an album that "displays a—dare I say it?—more 'mature' Eminem." In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the album "proves Eminem is the gold standard in pop music in 2002, delivering stylish, catchy, dense, funny, political music that rarely panders". Q was more mixed in its assessment, stating that as "Eminem outgrows his old alter-id, so the obligatory pantomime villainy, skits and crass cameos by Shady Records signings become a hindrance." Marc L. Hill of PopMatters felt that the album lacked the shock factor of his previous albums and described it as "a disappointing combination of promising musical experimentation and uninspired lyrics." Blender named The Eminem Show the best album of 2002. The album became Eminem's third to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, while "Without Me" won Eminem his first Best Music Video award. The album swept the MTV Music Video Awards, winning four awards for Best Male Video, Video of the Year, Best Direction, and Best Rap Video. The album also won Best Album at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards, both Album of the Year and Top R&B/Hip Hop Album at the 2002 Billboard Music Awards, both Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 2003 American Music Awards, Best International Album at the 2003 Brit Awards, and International Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2003. Legacy and reappraisal The Eminem Show received critical praise by most music critics and is often debated as Eminem's most personal and best work. The album cemented Eminem's "three-peat" of classic hip-hop albums, following the critical appraisal of The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP. In 2003, the album was ranked number 317 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and was later ranked at number 84 on the same magazine's Best Albums of the 2000s Decade. In 2007, it was ranked number 63 by The National Association of Recording Merchandisers, in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their list of the Definite 200 Albums of All Time. In 2012, Complex magazine deemed it a "classic" album that "cemented Eminem's place as one of the most important figures in rap history", and has included it on their list of 100 Best Albums of the Complex Decade, placing it at number 5. Following the 15th anniversary of the album, the Grammy Awards also described The Eminem Show as a "classic album". Popdose ranked the album at 79 on its Best Albums of the Decade list. In 2015, The Eminem Show was ranked number 56 on the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums. In a 2024 ranking of Eminem's 12 studio albums, Damien Scott of Billboard magazine placed The Eminem Show third, concluding: "By all accounts, Em's fourth album was the best show on earth." ==Commercial performance==

The Eminem Show was originally scheduled for release on June 4, 2002; however, pirated and bootlegged copies appeared online via peer-to-peer networks and began surfacing on the streets. It was provided by Rabid Neurosis (RNS), an MP3 warez release organisation who pirated the album twenty-five days prior to release. Radio show Opie and Anthony broadcast the entire album on May 17, 2002. Interscope decided to release the album earlier than planned, on May 28 to prevent bootlegging. However, many stores in the United States began selling it even earlier than the new release date 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. The Eminem Show was Eminem's first album to include lyrics to all its songs inside the CD booklet. Additionally, the first 2,000,000 copies of the album shipped in the United States included a bonus DVD with an exclusive interview and live footage. Despite the confusion over the exact release date, the album still managed to have a very successful debut on the charts. The Eminem Show debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 284,000 copies in its first day, then 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 3 million copies. The album sold 381,000 copies in its fifth week and topped the Billboard 200 for a fifth and final consecutive week. On March 7, 2011, the album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 12 million copies, It has also achieved Diamond certification in Canada It reached number one in 18 other countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The album also spent five consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart. == Expanded edition ==

On May 24, 2022, Eminem announced the release of the expanded edition of the album on his social media to celebrate its 20th anniversary. On May 26, 2022, Eminem released the new expanded edition, which contains instrumentals of selected tracks, freestyles and live versions of songs from previous albums performed with his longtime friend and collaborator Proof at Tramps, New York and Fuji Rock Festival, Japan. It also features four new tracks which were recorded during the initial recording sessions but not included in the original version of the album; "Stimulate", which was kept off the album due to time constraints and instead appeared on the bonus disc of the 8 Mile soundtrack album, "Bump Heads" and "The Conspiracy Freestyle" (which had appeared on other Shady Records releases), and an unreleased song, "Jimmy, Brian and Mike", which had a verse and chorus re-recorded by Eminem especially for the expanded edition. Physical versions of the expanded edition were released later in the year, including a 4xLP vinyl set, CD, and cassette. Along with Curtain Call 2, it was nominated for an Outstanding Anthology/Compilation/Reissue at the 2023 Detroit Music Awards. ==Track listing==

Notes • signifies a co-producer. • signifies an additional producer. • Early clean versions of the album replace "Drips" with four seconds of silence. Later clean versions feature an edited version of the song. • Another censored version of the album did not allow the words "goddamn", "prick", "bastard", "piss", "bitch", "ass", "shit" and "fuck" to be left uncensored. • "Curtain Close (skit)" is performed by Ken Kaniff, who Eminem portrays at the end of the album before continuing on with the persona on Relapse in 2009, as displayed in the album booklet. ==Personnel==

• Jeff Bass – producer , co-producer , additional production , keyboards , guitars , bass • Steve Baughman – engineer and mixing • Steve Berman – performer • Bizarre – featured vocals • Bob Canero – assistant engineer • Dr. Dre – featured vocals , producer , mixing • Mike Elizondo – keyboards , bass , guitars , additional keyboards • Eminem – vocals, producer • Ron Feemster – keyboards • Shy Felder – background vocals • Francis Forde – assistant engineer • Marti Frederiksen – Joe Perry's guitar engineer • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering • DJ Head – additional production , drum programming , additional drum programming • Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri – engineer , additional engineering , mixing , mix engineer • Steve King – engineer , mixing , mix engineer , guitar and bass , additional guitars , television voiceover • Gary Kozlowski – background vocals • Urban Kris – assistant engineer • Kuniva – featured vocals • Hailie Jade Mathers – featured vocals • James "Flea" McCrone – assistant engineer • Swifty McVay – featured vocals • Mel-Man – drum programming • Nate Dogg – featured vocals • Traci Nelson – background vocals • Conesha Monet Owens – background vocals • Joe Perry – guitar solo • Steven Tyler – vocals • Denaun "Kon Artis" Porter – featured vocals, co-producer, and drum programming • Proof – featured vocals • Lynette Purdy – background vocals • Dina Rae – featured vocals , additional background vocals • Luis Resto – keyboards • Alex Reverberi – assistant engineer • Paul D. Rosenberg, Esq. – performer • Thomas Rounds – assistant engineer • Mike Strange – assistant engineer • Timbaland – phone call • Obie Trice – featured vocals • Barbara Wilson – background vocals ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts ==Certifications and sales==