The end of the longest year in chart-topping history is in sight: here we are at the forty-first and penultimate number one of 2000. And of all the zeitgeist grabbing #1s we’ve met along the way – Craig David’s seven days, Robbie’s rocking DJ, Destiny’s Child and their independent women – we’ve reached the ultimate pop culture reference. For none of those other records’ titles have entered the OED, as both a noun and a verb…
Stan, by Eminem (his 2nd of eleven #1s)
1 week, from 10th – 17th December 2000
With ‘The Real Slim Shady’, Eminem announced himself, for better or worse, as a foul-mouthed, parent-baiting, attention-demanding cartoon character. With ‘Stan’ he announces himself as something else entirely. It’s a study of fame, of fandom, of what we would now call toxic masculinity, much of which is even more pressing today than it was a quarter of a decade ago. And it was almost a Christmas number one.
I don’t love Eminem, and I’m not the biggest fan of hip-hop. But I am a writer, and the way he constructs a character, a backstory, and a narrative with not one but two twists, in four verses is one of pop music’s great feats. One little detail stood out to me on this re-listen: in verse one Stan mentions how sloppy his handwriting is, while in the third he calls back to it and claims he wrote the address on his letters perfectly. That’s some proper plotting.
The tension builds as the letters from Stan pile up, unanswered. (The fact that Eminem manages to make some weirdo writing letters this gripping is another great feat.) The start of the third verse (the best of the four) is my favourite moment: Dear mister I’m too good to call or write my fans…! Stan then launches into a rambling rant about how he’s like the character in Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight’, with Eminem capturing perfectly how someone on a fistful of downers and a fifth of vodka would sound.
Then there’s the twists. First that Eminem hasn’t been ignoring Stan’s letters, he’s just not had the time to reply. And then Eminem remembering in the final lines that he’d heard about some guy on the news who’d driven off a bridge, killing his pregnant girlfriend. Come to think about it, His name was… It was you… Damn. Thunderclap. It’s an almost theatrically, dare I say camply, abrupt ending. But it works, ending a near seven-minute record in a flash.
The fact that Stan references Eminem having written songs about killing his ex-wife Kim, inspiring him to do the same, is worth mentioning. Eminem knows the controversy he causes, knows the monsters he might create. But he doesn’t apologise, doesn’t judge, doesn’t celebrate. He offers us a glimpse of a life lived, and ended. And it’s art, quite high art, of a level that not many #1s can achieve.
The only thing that feels forced is the P.S. line about Stan wanting ‘to be together’ with Eminem. I covered the homophobic side of Eminem in my last post, and again maybe this is just the repressed fears of fourteen-year-old me, but I don’t think the song needs a gay element to it. Stan is already unhinged enough without wanting to literally fuck his idol. It just feels like an excuse to allow Eminem to reject him in the final verse – That type of shit makes me not want us meet each other… – a chance for him to prove, yet again, that Marshall Mathers is definitely not homosexual.
Beyond Stan’s story, what makes this record stand out is one of the great uses of a sample. Dido’s ‘Thank You’ had existed since 1998, and had been used in the soundtrack to the film ‘Sliding Doors’ (which gave us an earlier chart-topper in Aqua’s ‘Turn Back Time’) A DJ put the chorus to a hip-hop beat, and the demo found its way to Eminem who was inspired by the line got your picture on my wall to write about a deranged fan. In the wake of ‘Stan’s success, both ‘Thank You’ and Dido’s debut album raced up the charts, establishing her as one of the biggest British stars of the new millennium.
But as great as ‘Stan’ is, I am glad it didn’t hold on to become Christmas number one. No, after this tragic tale we all needed some light relief…
The UK Number Ones Blog 
God, what a magnificent song. Is this the scariest song to top the charts in the UK? Besides singles from Boyzone and Westlife of course. This is what is known in the hip hop world as horrorcore. The last horrocore hit we had was “Meet the Grahams” by Kendrick Lamar. How influential has “Stan” song proven? Not many songs can claim to popularise an entire word in the English lexicon. Everyone uses the word stan to mean an hyperobsessed fan, not just of a musician, but of anyone. In this modern era where it seems like parasocial relationships are now increasingly and disturbingly the norm, this song feels more relevant than ever. Gotta give credit also to Eminem in that his vocal performance is really good on this track. As Stan, his voice shifts from hopeful and polite to manic and terrifying. As himself, his delivery is calm, empathetic, and grounded — providing a jarring contrast.
The use of Dido’s “Thank You” as the chorus is a stroke of genius. Her soft, soothing vocals create a chilling contrast to the increasingly dark verses. It makes the song more chilling. I can’t listen to it late at night because it freaks me out.
This was one of the first Eminem songs I heard and even as a little kid, I knew I was listening to something special. Just the storytelling and the way it tackles themes such fandom/celebrity culture, mental illness and neglect and trauma, it’s a cautionary tale about what happens when adoration turns into entitlement and madness. It’s not just a song, but a psychological short film in rap form
I also kinda love that Dido is in the music video playing the girlfriend. I know him playing “Stan” with Elton John who defended him from accusations of homophobia – while Eminem’s lyrics contain homophobia and that shouldn’t be condoned, Marshall Mathers I strongly believe is not homophobic – kinda helped legitimise him in front of the older crowd.
Yes I remember that Elton duet being a big deal at the time, in terms of it legitimising Eminem in the eyes of ‘proper’ music types, in terms of confounding those who thought he was homophobic, and in terms of it just being a strange pairing. You could argue that it kicked off Elton’s run of weird and wonderful duets that has continued throughout this century.
A classic and Eminem seemed a bit more substantial as an artist as a result. I tend to judge Eminem song by song rather than expecting to like everything – sometimes his judgement on what lyrics are appropriate could do with improving, but could many 2020’s rappers come up with something as eloquent? I rather think not…
I was 35 in 2000 so the Steps, S Club contingent that would have appealed to you as a teenager did nothing for me. I’m not a great fan of hip hop/ rap either but this was magnificent, one of the last truly great number ones. On the current era of Sheran, Swift and co we’ll probably never see it’s like again
Once again I’m going to have to say: yes, I can see the song is good and the artist has great lyrical talent, but the person and his style is so detestable that I utterly regret he ever got airtime. His social influence was egregious and seems to me like an example of ever-declining moral standards. And not because of “toxic masculinity” (a misandrist phrase which has become fashionable recently as a result of feminism), but because he’s a thug– and they come in both sexes. You wouldn’t catch Frank Sinatra or James Dean singing lyrics like that unless maybe they had a gun to their heads. The opposite of Eminem is not the New Man (ugh) but the old-fashioned gentleman.
I realize nobody will agree with me about this. Such is life.
Maolsheachlann
I had a feeling you wouldn’t like this one… 🙂
I’m not sure Sinatra is the best example of an old fashioned gentleman. On stage, maybe… Is it okay to hang around with the mob, or get drunk and abusive, as long as you’re singing jolly, romantic stuff in public? Then again he was a great advocate for black people and social justice… We contain multitudes.
I see this as a horror movie, or a Stephen King novel. Yes, it’s unpleasant, but then so is much of life. I’ve never really understood those who only engage with art as long as it gives them a ‘happy ending’. But that’s just me.
He is interesting…I know some rock fans who got into him that has never liked anything else rap. With me…yes he is a good lyricist…and no I don’t believe in censorship what so ever…so he is free to say what he wants. I would just rather hear someone being clever with lyrics and between the lines say what you want…but that is just me. I say this about rock songs as well. I’ll be the first to admit…that Rap may have to have it this way because of the structure…although it became popular in my generation I just never got into it.
I wasn’t really brought up on rap, certainly my parents never listened to it, though it was always in the charts in the 90s. I love it if it’s well done, or if it’s funny. It allows for some great wordplay. A lot of the time it is just repeptitive bragging, though. ‘Stan’ isn’t something I’d want to listen to often, but it is an amazing feat for a pop record. You have to admire the vision, and the talent to be able to tell that story in four verses.
Yes I do admire the guy for sure and what he has accomplished and that is the reason I commented. He is a good lyricist no doubt. With rap…I don’t like the ethnic bashing, gay slurring, cop bashing, and women bashing. Now all of them are not like that though…so I can’t lump them all together.