On May 26, 2002, Eminem released the project that would become his most celebrated body of work and one of the most successful hip hop albums of all time.
Good math
Today, when the main battle for listeners takes place on streaming platforms, the physical sales of the early 2000s seem colossal. Especially Eminem’s.
His label released The Eminem Show earlier than planned because of the leaks. And despite only having one tracking day, the album debuted at No.1 in the US with 284,000 copies sold and stayed on top for five consecutive frames. In the following week, the project moved over 1.3 million units. Overall, it sold nearly 3 million copies in just four weeks and went on to become the best-selling album of 2002, both in the US and worldwide. It is still the best-selling hip hop album of the decade and the third-best across all genres. It is charting in the UK right now.
According to Chartmasters.org’s estimates, The Eminem Show has moved over 42 million EAS units globally. It has earned 12× Platinum in the US, 12× Platinum in Australia, 9× Platinum in Denmark and New Zealand, Diamond in Canada, and the list goes on.
It was not made for streaming, but it is winning it
With over 9.7 billion streams, The Eminem Show remains Marshall’s most streamed album on Spotify. Moreover, it is the most streamed hip hop album of the 2000s. 24 years after the release, it adds over 4 million new plays to its count every day. It took TES less than a year to gain over 1.2 billion new streams. At this pace, we’ll celebrate The Eminem Show as Marshall’s first album to hit 10 billion Spotify plays before summer ends.
If this is not longevity, what is?
Listen to the album below: