Eminem charted with “Stan”

Stan Eminem with Dido

Writer(s): Eminem, Dido, Paul Herman (see lyrics here) Released: November 21, 2000 First Charted: October 7, 2000 Peak: 51 US, 31 GR, 31 RR, 36 RB, 11 UK, 27 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.47 UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 412.4 video, 710.03 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “There are few songs as blindly fascinating and striking as this” SY “compelling look at the pitfalls of fame” PD and “obsessive fandom.” TB “Rapper Eminem cemented his artistic standing” AB’00 with this “fictional…but frighteningly real” PD story of a deranged fan who sends “a series of unhinged letters.” RS’09 This “creepy hit… encapsulated the dramatic flair that made Eminem so impossible to ignore in 2000.” RS’09 “Even now…[it is] funnier and more shocking than 99 percent of mainstream hip-hop.” MX It is a “raw, beautiful…tragedy without melodrama.” SY It was “instantly fascinating…on first listen [in] how it could take such a cute, pedestrian verse to symbolize an obsessive fan’s descent into madness and self-destruction [and] how Eminem’s rap could sound so realistic, like he’s a friend telling you this story.” SY Malcolm McLaren’s 1984 song “Fans” appears to be the basis of “Stan” in both its structure and story, complete with an opera aria excerpt along with samples from “Thank You,” a song by “hippy-dippy English songbird” TB Dido which became a hit in its own right. SF Em also references his own work when Stan says, “I drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?,” a line from “My Name Is.” Stan also references an untrue rumor that Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” was written by Collins when he witnessed a man stand by and do nothing while someone drowned. The legend says Collins invited the man to one of his concerts and sang it to him. SF Eminem had to deal with charges of being anti-gay because in one of Stan’s letters, he writes about wanting to be with Eminem, who replies that it makes him not want to meet Stan. In response, Eminem enlisted the openly gay Elton John to play piano and sing Dido’s part at the 2001 Grammys. SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Dido AB’00 About.com (2009). “Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s”” MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/2009). “Best Songs of the Decade” PD PopDose.com (11/24/2009). “The Best Songs of the Decade” RS’09 Rolling Stone (12/9/2009). “Songs of the Decade SF Songfacts.com SY StylusDecade.com (2009?). “Top Singles” TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 293. WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 3/31/2023.