Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. The album sold more than 1.78 million copies in the US in its first week, breaking both the record for the best-selling hip hop album, last held by Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, and the best-selling album in its first week in the U.S., last held by Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time. The first single from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a huge success, although it created a lot of controversy by insulting celebrities and making negative claims about them. Among other things, he claims that Christina Aguilera had oral sex with Fred Durst and Carson Daly. On the album's second single, "The Way I Am", he tells his fans about the pressure his record company puts on him to surpass the sale of "My Name Is". Although Eminem parodies rock musician Marilyn Manson in the song, the artists are openly friends. Manson starred in the music video for "The Way I Am" and he was also part of a remix of the song for a concert with Eminem. On the album's third and most successful single, "Stan", he samples Dido's song "Thank You". In the song, Eminem plays the personality of an psychopathic fan who ends up killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend, similar to the song "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" from The Slim Shady LP. In the music video of "Stan", Eminem is shown writing with his left hand. This ended a debate between fans about his dominant hand. Q Magazine awarded Stan to be the third best selling rap song ever, while Top40-Charts.com placed the song to be the tenth best-selling rap song. The song has since been praised and the Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the song as #290 in their 500 Best Songs of All Time. In July 2000, Eminem became the first white person to come to the front page of The Source Magazine. The album has received 10x platinum status from the RIAA.