In recent news, Eminem has not only dominated the NFL but also become a record-breaker. His unique rap-comedy single ‘Without Me’ is the latest single to join Spotify’s prestigious Billion club. The track has surpassed the landmark total number of streams to add yet more kudos to Eminem’s career.
The news came weeks after The Slim Shady LP clocked up over one billion streams on Spotify, and, by doing so, gave the rapper eleven different albums with the accolade — a record. The Slim Shady LP joined the likes of 2010 album Recovery, 2018 album Kamikaze, 2020’s Music to be Murdered By and, of course, 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP. It’s a reminder that despite Em’s work often being labelled as “unlistenable”, plenty of people are doing just that. With over eleven billion streams through Spotify alone, Eminem’s work is still clearly finding a willing audience. But how many number one singles does the icon have?
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, a creative who is credited as being a pivotal figure in the popularisation of hip-hop in middle America, has managed to break major racial barriers with his work since breaking into the mainstream and becoming one of the most commercially successful rappers of all time. “If people take anything from my music, it should be motivation to know that anything is possible as long as you keep working at it and don’t back down,” he once said in a quote that typifies his approach to music.
“Nobody likes to fail. I want to succeed in everything I do, which isn’t much. But the things that I’m really passionate about, if I fail at those, if I’m not successful, what do I have?” he added. “People can try to reinvent themselves. I don’t think you can really change who you are, though, because who you are is pretty much where you came from and what you’ve done up to now.”
Mathers, the ‘Rap God’ himself, is considered by many to be the greatest of all time, but how does he compare in terms of chart position? Below, we’re finding out how many number ones Eminem has under his belt. It would seem that there are some areas he’s triumphed in more than others.
Eminem’s UK number one singles:
Eminem has always been adored in the UK. His use of comedy within his poetic raps have always tickled the collective blighty funny bone. An ability to confuse anger and humour has seen him pick up an astonishing ten number one singles in the UK.
Starting back in 2000, with his legendary ‘The Real Slim Shady’, quickly followed by his second, a collaboration with Dido for ‘Stan’, Em has charted on numerous occasions but taken the top spot ten times, his last coming with 2020’s ‘Godzilla’ with a feature spot from Juice Wrld.
- ‘The Real Slim Shady’, 2000
- ‘Stan’, 2000
- ‘Without Me’, 2002
- ‘Lose Yourself’, 2002
- ‘Just Lose It’, 2004
- ‘Like Toy Soldiers’, 2005
- ‘Smack That’, with Akon, 2006
- ‘The Monster’ (feat. Rihanna), 2013
- ‘River’ (feat. Ed Sheeran), 2018
- ‘Godzilla’ (Feat. Juice Wrld), 2020
Eminem’s US number one singles:
On the Billboard charts, Eminem has found it much more difficult to take the crown. Though the rapper has charted a massive 31 times in the charts’ top ten, he has only achieved the top spot on five different occasions, most of which came in the latter part of his career.
While the UK adopted Eminem from the start, it took until 2010’s ‘Forever’ for Em to take the top spot in his homeland. His last number one in the US was ‘Rap God’.
- ‘Forever’, 2010
- ‘Love The Way you Lie’, with Rihanna, 2010
- ‘Berzerk’, 2013
- ‘The Monster’, 2013
- ‘Rap God’, 2013
