Stan (song)
Encyclopedia
"Stan" is the third single
from The Marshall Mathers LP
, by rapper Eminem
featuring Dido
. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom
and Australia
. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits
, performed with Eminem and Dido
as well track 17 on Curtain Call: The Hits
as a live Performance from the 2001 Grammy awards featuring Elton John
. The song was produced by The 45 King and Eminem, and uses a slightly modified break
from Dido's
"Thank You
" as its base sample. The track also samples
the opening lines of "Thank You" as its chorus. Coincidentally, both songs were released as singles in late 2000. Stan has been called one of Eminem's best songs and is considered one of his signature songs.
Rolling Stone
magazine ranked the song #290 in their list in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
. Stan was also listed #15 on VH1's list of the greatest hip hop songs of all-time. In April 2011, Complex magazine put together a list of the 100 Greatest Eminem songs, ranking "Stan" at #2.
The song tells the story of a fictional man named Stan who claims to be Eminem's biggest fan. Throughout the song, he becomes progressively more and more obsessed with Eminem, culminating in his suicide. The first three verses are delivered by Eminem as Stan while the fourth verse is Eminem attempting to write to Stan, only to realize that he had already heard about Stan's death on the news. The song has sold over 750,000 copies in the UK.
in the video) - is writing to Eminem for the third time, hoping his hero will write back. Rain and thunder can be heard in the background throughout, as well as the sound of the pencil scratching onto the letter. He explains the level of his devotion ("I got a room full of your posters and your pictures, man") and maintains that he sent two letters to Eminem but he "must not have got 'em". In addition, the song "Old World Disorder" is referenced as the "underground shit that you did with Skam." Stan also reveals that his girlfriend is pregnant, and that he is going to name his daughter Bonnie (a reference to Eminem's song "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" from The Slim Shady LP
), and empathises about the suicide
of a family member ("I read about your Uncle Ronnie too, I'm sorry/I had a friend kill himself over some bitch who didn't want him").
In the second verse, Stan is clearly frustrated. He begins somewhat optimistically ("Dear Slim, you still ain't called or wrote/I hope you have a chance"), but begins to lose his temper by the second line ("I ain't mad, I just think it's fucked up you don't answer fans"). The thunder in the background steadily becomes louder, underscoring Stan's anger. Loud thunderclaps coincide with Stan's outbursts of anger. The verse also establishes Stan's deteriorating wellbeing: "Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds/It's like adrenaline, the pain is such a sudden rush for me". Stan mentions his little brother, Matthew, who Stan imagines is an even bigger fan of Eminem than Stan himself. Stan is bitter because Eminem had supposedly refused to give Matthew an autograph at a concert, after waiting in the "blistering cold" for four hours. Stan explains why he identifies with Eminem ("I never knew my father neither/He used to always cheat on my mom and beat her"). He ends his letter with "Sincerely yours, Stan/P.S. we should be together too."
The third verse is Stan recording himself onto an audio cassette in the car as he is about to commit suicide by driving off of a bridge after drinking vodka. His words are slurred, and he is clearly under the influence of depressants, as evidenced by the line, "I'm on a thousand downers now, I'm drowsy." Stan, enraged, addresses Eminem as "Mr. I'm-Too-Good-to-Call-or-Write-My-Fans". He explains his predicament: "I'm in the car right now, I'm doing 90 on the freeway/Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?" (quoting "My Name Is
" on the previous Eminem album, The Slim Shady LP
). This is followed by a reference to a Phil Collins
song "In the Air Tonight
", misquoting it as "In the Air of the Night." Specifically, Stan refers to an urban legend
that the song is about Collins seeing a man drowning, while a closer bystander does nothing to save him. Stan vents further, revealing the depths of his anger: "I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it/and when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you scream about it/I hope your conscience
eats at you and you can't breathe without me!" After that, screaming is heard and Stan reveals that his pregnant girlfriend is in the trunk suffocating: "Shut up, bitch, I'm tryin' to talk! Hey Slim, that's my girlfriend screaming in the trunk/But I didn't slit her throat, I just tied her up" (referring to Eminem's song "Kim," where Eminem murders his wife after realizing she is cheating and doesn't love him; at the end of "Kim" he slits her throat and throws her in his trunk). At the end, Stan realizes too late that he will be unable to send the tape to Eminem ("Oh shit, I forgot, how'm I supposed to send this shit out?"). A car crash then follows, as the car breaks through the bridge's rails and falls into the water below.
The fourth verse is Eminem's belated reply to Stan. He begins casually "Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I just been busy." He also says he sends a Starter
cap with his autograph for Matthew, and reveals something of his serious and sober side with his advice for Stan: "What's this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too?/I say that shit just clownin', dog/C'mon, how fucked up is you?/You got some issues, Stan/I think you need some counseling"; "I really think you and your girlfriend need each other/or maybe you just need to treat her better". He further explains in his letter that he had seen a similar story on the news which scared him, about a disturbed man who killed himself and his pregnant girlfriend. The song ends with Eminem's realization of what has happened; Stan was the man on the news ("… in the car they found a tape, but they didn't say who it was to/Come to think about it, his name was… it was you… Damn…"). After this there is one last lighting flash, in which Stan's face is reflected in the window next to Eminem.
Dido has stated that she was gagged in the third verse of the video, but this was censored so widely that versions with her gagged are rare. In the uncensored version, Stan is shown drinking at the wheel of the car before showing Dido struggling in the boot of the car. She manages to remove the duct tape from her mouth and screams before struggling for breath. Most versions were censored so that there is only a brief clip of Dido in the boot of the car towards the end of the verse. It also censors when Stan says he "drank a fifth of vodka", which censors "drank" and "vodka", and censors when he says he's on "a thousand downers", which "downers" is censored, and also censors from showing Stan drinking while driving. Also, at the end of verse 3, "Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the bridge now" is changed to "Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the end of the bridge now". While in the fourth verse, the line "[And what's this] shit about us meant to be together" is completely censored. All references to the girlfriend in the trunk are censored out, including the line "And had his girlfriend in his trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid."
In the MTV short version, the second verse lines that are missing are from "I ain't that mad though, I just don't like bein' lied to" to "I even got a tattoo of your name across the chest", which the video cuts showing Stan meeting Eminem, talking about how his father cheated and beat his mother and showed him getting a "Slim Shady" tattoo on his chest. The third verse lines that are missing is about Stan saying about drinking while driving and saying about Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight", which in the video, it skips from showing Stan near-missing a car, and swerving to avoid crashing into it. The lines that are missing are from "Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare to me to drive?" to "I hope you know I ripped all of your pictures off the wall". It also removes the chorus after the third verse and goes straight to the fourth verse, which the video cuts Eminem at last receiving the letter from Stan, and the car sinking more into the water.
In the recent Fuse TV
"version" of the video, various lines and words are silenced, more so than on the clean version of the LP, half of one of the beginning verses are cut out, and then the song fades out about halfway through the second verse. The LP version of the song is over 6 minutes long, and, as mentioned, the full version of the video is 8:15, however, when Fuse plays the "video" it is slightly over 2 minutes.
In Fuse's original state as a rock and alternative station, the same versions as on MTV were shown.
. Analysing "Stan" in the Guardian
newspaper, writer and literary critic Giles Foden
compared Eminem
to Robert Browning
.
At the 2001 Grammy Awards, when Eminem
was facing a lot of criticism from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
over his lyrics; Eminem
responded by performing "Stan" with singer Elton John
, who is openly gay, singing Dido
's lines. Many of the profanities changed, for example, "You're like his favourite idol," in lieu of, "You're like his fucking idol," and "stuff" for "shit" into different words. Recordings of this performance were available for download on Eminem's official website, Eminem.com, and, later, on his 2005 greatest hits release, Curtain Call: The Hits
.
Christian rap artist KJ-52
recorded two songs: "Dear Slim" and "Dear Slim, Part II," attempting to contact Eminem and talk to him about his own faith and help him through his troubles. The lyrics to "Dear Slim" reference the obsessed fan in "Stan." Various instruments within the song "My Life
" by The Game
were taken from Stan.
Rapper Canibus
released a response track to this song entitled "U Didn't Care", in which Canibus, portraying Stan, accused Eminem of not caring about him at all.
As a result of the song, the term "Stan" is often used within various fan communities, not limited to musical, to derisively refer to people seen as overly-obsessed fans of someone or something. In "Ether
", the anti-Jay-Z
diss track, Nas
calls Jay a "Stan" and claims that Jay idolizes him and later builds his career from Nas'. Eminem himself used it in the edited version of Curtain Call: The Hits
, directed at Moby
in "Without Me
".
German rapper Kool Savas
calls his opponent Eko Fresh
a "Stan" and claims that Eko admired him in his famous diss track "Das Urteil" (The Verdict).
Also MOK
, another German rapper calls Farid Bang a "Stan" in his diss track "Frohe Ostern/Mr. Lover Lover" in 2009.
"Stan" has been listed by many as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. It was ranked #3 on a list of the greatest rap songs in history by Q magazine, and came in 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com. Rolling Stone
's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ranked it #290, one of Eminem's two songs on the list along with "Lose Yourself
;" in the updated 2010 list, it was ranked at #296. It ranked #45 on About.com
's Top 100 RapSongs
The song ranked number 15 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, and number 2 on their Countdown Millenium Songs. It was also named the 46th Best Song of the decade by Complex Magazine
, and the 10th Best Song of the decade by Rolling Stone Magazine.
In 2009 rapper/producer Swizz Beatz
said he submitted an idea for a song for Eminem entitled "Stan 2." When Eminem turned it down, Swizz took it back and will use it for his album, Haute Living. The song would be entitled "Anne," feature rapper Lil Wayne
and would maintain the theme that Swizz had in mind. But on April 27, 2011, Swizz said that he had given the song to Lil Wayne in exchange for a verse on his new song. It is confirmed that "Anne" will not appear on Lil Wayne's ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV
.
The song also ranked #2 on Complex Magazine's, 'The 100 Best Eminem Songs'.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem. Released May 23, 2000, the album sold more than 1.76 million copies in its first week just in the US. In 2001, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year...
, by rapper Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
featuring Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits is a 2005 greatest hits compilation album by American rapper Eminem. It collects Eminem's most popular songs, as well as four new tracks; a live version of "Stan" featuring Elton John from the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus new songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That"...
, performed with Eminem and Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
as well track 17 on Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits is a 2005 greatest hits compilation album by American rapper Eminem. It collects Eminem's most popular songs, as well as four new tracks; a live version of "Stan" featuring Elton John from the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus new songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That"...
as a live Performance from the 2001 Grammy awards featuring Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. The song was produced by The 45 King and Eminem, and uses a slightly modified break
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
from Dido's
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
"Thank You
Thank You (Dido song)
"Thank You" is a song by Dido. The song made its first appearance in 1998, on the soundtrack of Sliding Doors, although it was not released as a single until late 2000. It later featured on Dido's debut album, No Angel, becoming the album's biggest hit...
" as its base sample. The track also samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
the opening lines of "Thank You" as its chorus. Coincidentally, both songs were released as singles in late 2000. Stan has been called one of Eminem's best songs and is considered one of his signature songs.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine ranked the song #290 in their list in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
. Stan was also listed #15 on VH1's list of the greatest hip hop songs of all-time. In April 2011, Complex magazine put together a list of the 100 Greatest Eminem songs, ranking "Stan" at #2.
The song tells the story of a fictional man named Stan who claims to be Eminem's biggest fan. Throughout the song, he becomes progressively more and more obsessed with Eminem, culminating in his suicide. The first three verses are delivered by Eminem as Stan while the fourth verse is Eminem attempting to write to Stan, only to realize that he had already heard about Stan's death on the news. The song has sold over 750,000 copies in the UK.
Structure
In the first verse, Stan - the fictitious character (played by Devon SawaDevon Sawa
Devon Edward Sawa is a Canadian actor. Although he appears in independent films, he is best known for portraying the part of Alex Browning in the 1999 movie Final Destination...
in the video) - is writing to Eminem for the third time, hoping his hero will write back. Rain and thunder can be heard in the background throughout, as well as the sound of the pencil scratching onto the letter. He explains the level of his devotion ("I got a room full of your posters and your pictures, man") and maintains that he sent two letters to Eminem but he "must not have got 'em". In addition, the song "Old World Disorder" is referenced as the "underground shit that you did with Skam." Stan also reveals that his girlfriend is pregnant, and that he is going to name his daughter Bonnie (a reference to Eminem's song "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" from The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on February 23, 1999. It is his major-label debut, and was released under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and Web Records....
), and empathises about the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of a family member ("I read about your Uncle Ronnie too, I'm sorry/I had a friend kill himself over some bitch who didn't want him").
In the second verse, Stan is clearly frustrated. He begins somewhat optimistically ("Dear Slim, you still ain't called or wrote/I hope you have a chance"), but begins to lose his temper by the second line ("I ain't mad, I just think it's fucked up you don't answer fans"). The thunder in the background steadily becomes louder, underscoring Stan's anger. Loud thunderclaps coincide with Stan's outbursts of anger. The verse also establishes Stan's deteriorating wellbeing: "Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds/It's like adrenaline, the pain is such a sudden rush for me". Stan mentions his little brother, Matthew, who Stan imagines is an even bigger fan of Eminem than Stan himself. Stan is bitter because Eminem had supposedly refused to give Matthew an autograph at a concert, after waiting in the "blistering cold" for four hours. Stan explains why he identifies with Eminem ("I never knew my father neither/He used to always cheat on my mom and beat her"). He ends his letter with "Sincerely yours, Stan/P.S. we should be together too."
The third verse is Stan recording himself onto an audio cassette in the car as he is about to commit suicide by driving off of a bridge after drinking vodka. His words are slurred, and he is clearly under the influence of depressants, as evidenced by the line, "I'm on a thousand downers now, I'm drowsy." Stan, enraged, addresses Eminem as "Mr. I'm-Too-Good-to-Call-or-Write-My-Fans". He explains his predicament: "I'm in the car right now, I'm doing 90 on the freeway/Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?" (quoting "My Name Is
My Name Is
"My Name Is" is a song by Eminem released in 1999. It is the debut single overall from his major label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. The song was ranked at #26 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's". "My Name Is" also was ranked #6 on Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever"...
" on the previous Eminem album, The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on February 23, 1999. It is his major-label debut, and was released under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and Web Records....
). This is followed by a reference to a Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
song "In the Air Tonight
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.-The song/recording:The...
", misquoting it as "In the Air of the Night." Specifically, Stan refers to an urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that the song is about Collins seeing a man drowning, while a closer bystander does nothing to save him. Stan vents further, revealing the depths of his anger: "I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it/and when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you scream about it/I hope your conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
eats at you and you can't breathe without me!" After that, screaming is heard and Stan reveals that his pregnant girlfriend is in the trunk suffocating: "Shut up, bitch, I'm tryin' to talk! Hey Slim, that's my girlfriend screaming in the trunk/But I didn't slit her throat, I just tied her up" (referring to Eminem's song "Kim," where Eminem murders his wife after realizing she is cheating and doesn't love him; at the end of "Kim" he slits her throat and throws her in his trunk). At the end, Stan realizes too late that he will be unable to send the tape to Eminem ("Oh shit, I forgot, how'm I supposed to send this shit out?"). A car crash then follows, as the car breaks through the bridge's rails and falls into the water below.
The fourth verse is Eminem's belated reply to Stan. He begins casually "Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I just been busy." He also says he sends a Starter
Starter Clothing Line
-Rise and expansion:Starter was founded in 1971 in New Haven, Connecticut by David Beckerman, a former basketball player for Southern Connecticut State University, to manufacture team uniforms for high school athletic programs....
cap with his autograph for Matthew, and reveals something of his serious and sober side with his advice for Stan: "What's this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too?/I say that shit just clownin', dog/C'mon, how fucked up is you?/You got some issues, Stan/I think you need some counseling"; "I really think you and your girlfriend need each other/or maybe you just need to treat her better". He further explains in his letter that he had seen a similar story on the news which scared him, about a disturbed man who killed himself and his pregnant girlfriend. The song ends with Eminem's realization of what has happened; Stan was the man on the news ("… in the car they found a tape, but they didn't say who it was to/Come to think about it, his name was… it was you… Damn…"). After this there is one last lighting flash, in which Stan's face is reflected in the window next to Eminem.
Censorship
The MTV "clean" version of the song and video are extensively and exhaustively censored, with significant portions from the first two verses and most of the third verse removed. In the MTV full version, which is 8:15 long, verse 3 censors Stan mentioning his girlfriend in the trunk (so "Shut up bitch" and "screaming in the trunk" is censored), and about him not slitting her throat, but tied her up, and "If she suffocates, she'll suffer more, then she'll die too", which "slit", "tied her up", "suffocates" and "die" is censored.Dido has stated that she was gagged in the third verse of the video, but this was censored so widely that versions with her gagged are rare. In the uncensored version, Stan is shown drinking at the wheel of the car before showing Dido struggling in the boot of the car. She manages to remove the duct tape from her mouth and screams before struggling for breath. Most versions were censored so that there is only a brief clip of Dido in the boot of the car towards the end of the verse. It also censors when Stan says he "drank a fifth of vodka", which censors "drank" and "vodka", and censors when he says he's on "a thousand downers", which "downers" is censored, and also censors from showing Stan drinking while driving. Also, at the end of verse 3, "Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the bridge now" is changed to "Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the end of the bridge now". While in the fourth verse, the line "[And what's this] shit about us meant to be together" is completely censored. All references to the girlfriend in the trunk are censored out, including the line "And had his girlfriend in his trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid."
In the MTV short version, the second verse lines that are missing are from "I ain't that mad though, I just don't like bein' lied to" to "I even got a tattoo of your name across the chest", which the video cuts showing Stan meeting Eminem, talking about how his father cheated and beat his mother and showed him getting a "Slim Shady" tattoo on his chest. The third verse lines that are missing is about Stan saying about drinking while driving and saying about Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight", which in the video, it skips from showing Stan near-missing a car, and swerving to avoid crashing into it. The lines that are missing are from "Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare to me to drive?" to "I hope you know I ripped all of your pictures off the wall". It also removes the chorus after the third verse and goes straight to the fourth verse, which the video cuts Eminem at last receiving the letter from Stan, and the car sinking more into the water.
In the recent Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
"version" of the video, various lines and words are silenced, more so than on the clean version of the LP, half of one of the beginning verses are cut out, and then the song fades out about halfway through the second verse. The LP version of the song is over 6 minutes long, and, as mentioned, the full version of the video is 8:15, however, when Fuse plays the "video" it is slightly over 2 minutes.
In Fuse's original state as a rock and alternative station, the same versions as on MTV were shown.
Legacy
The song is perhaps Eminem's most critically acclaimed song and has been called a "cultural milestone" and referred to as "Eminem's best song" by About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
. Analysing "Stan" in the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, writer and literary critic Giles Foden
Giles Foden
Giles Foden is an English author best known for his award-winning novel The Last King of Scotland .-Biography:Giles Foden was born in Warwickshire in 1967. His family moved to Malawi in 1971 where he was raised...
compared Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
to Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
.
At the 2001 Grammy Awards, when Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
was facing a lot of criticism from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is a non-governmental media monitoring organization which promotes the image of LGBT people in the media...
over his lyrics; Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
responded by performing "Stan" with singer Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, who is openly gay, singing Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
's lines. Many of the profanities changed, for example, "You're like his favourite idol," in lieu of, "You're like his fucking idol," and "stuff" for "shit" into different words. Recordings of this performance were available for download on Eminem's official website, Eminem.com, and, later, on his 2005 greatest hits release, Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits is a 2005 greatest hits compilation album by American rapper Eminem. It collects Eminem's most popular songs, as well as four new tracks; a live version of "Stan" featuring Elton John from the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus new songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That"...
.
Christian rap artist KJ-52
KJ-52
KJ-52 is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J...
recorded two songs: "Dear Slim" and "Dear Slim, Part II," attempting to contact Eminem and talk to him about his own faith and help him through his troubles. The lyrics to "Dear Slim" reference the obsessed fan in "Stan." Various instruments within the song "My Life
My Life (The Game song)
"My Life" is the third single from The Game's third studio album, LAX which was released on August 22, 2008. The song, produced by Cool & Dre, features Lil Wayne.-Recording:Producers Cool & Dre have released a video documenting how they created the beat....
" by The Game
The Game (rapper)
Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...
were taken from Stan.
Rapper Canibus
Canibus
Germaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
released a response track to this song entitled "U Didn't Care", in which Canibus, portraying Stan, accused Eminem of not caring about him at all.
As a result of the song, the term "Stan" is often used within various fan communities, not limited to musical, to derisively refer to people seen as overly-obsessed fans of someone or something. In "Ether
Ether (song)
Ether is the second track on hip hop artist Nas' 2001 album Stillmatic. The song was a response to Jay-Z's "Takeover" - a diss track from that rapper towards Nas which appears on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, during the Jay-Z vs. Nas feud...
", the anti-Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
diss track, Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
calls Jay a "Stan" and claims that Jay idolizes him and later builds his career from Nas'. Eminem himself used it in the edited version of Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits is a 2005 greatest hits compilation album by American rapper Eminem. It collects Eminem's most popular songs, as well as four new tracks; a live version of "Stan" featuring Elton John from the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus new songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That"...
, directed at Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
in "Without Me
Without Me
"Without Me" is a rap song by American rapper Eminem. It was released as the lead single from his fourth studio album titled The Eminem Show in 2002, and re-released on his greatest-hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits in 2005....
".
German rapper Kool Savas
Kool Savas
Savas Yurderi also known as Kool Savas , is a German rapper and hip hop artist. Savas is mostly referred to as "King of Rap" or "King of German Rap"."Savaş" is the Turkish word for "war"....
calls his opponent Eko Fresh
Eko Fresh
Ekrem Bora , better known as Eko Fresh and also as Elektro Eko, is a German rapper of Turkish descent.- Early life :...
a "Stan" and claims that Eko admired him in his famous diss track "Das Urteil" (The Verdict).
Also MOK
MOK
Tarkan Karaalioglu better known as MOK, is a German rapper of Turkish descent. His name "MOK" means "Muzik oder Knast" was awarded to him by the Berlin hip hop legend Maxim. He is a member of rap crew Die Sekte...
, another German rapper calls Farid Bang a "Stan" in his diss track "Frohe Ostern/Mr. Lover Lover" in 2009.
"Stan" has been listed by many as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. It was ranked #3 on a list of the greatest rap songs in history by Q magazine, and came in 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ranked it #290, one of Eminem's two songs on the list along with "Lose Yourself
Lose Yourself
"Lose Yourself" is an Academy Award winning song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the...
;" in the updated 2010 list, it was ranked at #296. It ranked #45 on About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's Top 100 RapSongs
The song ranked number 15 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, and number 2 on their Countdown Millenium Songs. It was also named the 46th Best Song of the decade by Complex Magazine
Complex magazine
Complex is a young men's style/lifestyle magazine founded by Marc Ecko and Hugh McFall in 2002. The publication offers mainstream readers insight into the latest trends in niche cultures, such as streetwear, sneaker culture, hip hop, and graphic art...
, and the 10th Best Song of the decade by Rolling Stone Magazine.
In 2009 rapper/producer Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
said he submitted an idea for a song for Eminem entitled "Stan 2." When Eminem turned it down, Swizz took it back and will use it for his album, Haute Living. The song would be entitled "Anne," feature rapper Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
and would maintain the theme that Swizz had in mind. But on April 27, 2011, Swizz said that he had given the song to Lil Wayne in exchange for a verse on his new song. It is confirmed that "Anne" will not appear on Lil Wayne's ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV
Tha Carter IV
Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011 through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records...
.
Track listing
UK CD Single- "Stan" – 6:45
- "Get You Mad" – 4:22
- "My Name IsMy Name Is"My Name Is" is a song by Eminem released in 1999. It is the debut single overall from his major label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. The song was ranked at #26 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's". "My Name Is" also was ranked #6 on Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever"...
" – 4:32 - "Stan" (Video) – 7:30
Peak positions
| Chart (2000/01) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
1 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
3 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
2 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
1 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 | 1 |
| Finland Singles Chart | 1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 4 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Greek Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
1 |
| Italian FIMI Singles Chart | 1 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
3 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 14 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
3 |
| Romanian Singles Chart Romanian Top 100 The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media.... |
1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
51 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 36 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
22 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (2000/01) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 31 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 20 |
| French Singles Chart | 29 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 4 |
Decade-end charts
| (2000–2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart | 79 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2x Platinum | 2001 | 140,000 |
| Austria | Gold | December 30, 2001 | 15,000 |
| Belgium | Platinum | 2001 | 40,000 |
| France | Platinum | 2001 | 500,000 |
| Germany | Platinum | June 2001 | 500,000 |
| Netherlands | Gold | 2001 | 20,000 |
| Sweden | Platinum | 2001 | 20,000 |
| Switzerland | Gold | 2001 | 25,000 |
| UK | Platinum | June 21, 2002 | 805,000 |
The song also ranked #2 on Complex Magazine's, 'The 100 Best Eminem Songs'.
See also
- List of European number-one hits of 2000
- List of number-one singles of 2000 (Ireland)
- List of number-one hits of 2000 (Switzerland)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
- List of Austrian number-one hits of 2001
- List of number-one singles in Australia in 2001
- List of number-one hits in Denmark
- List of number-one hits of 2001 (Germany)
- List of number-one hits of 2001 (Italy)
- Murder balladMurder balladMurder ballads are a sub-genre of the traditional ballad form, the lyrics of which form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath...