Superman (Eminem song)

"Superman"
"Superman"
Single by Eminem featuring Dina Rae
from the album The Eminem Show
Released	January 21, 2003
Recorded	2001–2002
Genre	Hip hop; dirty rap;
Length	5:50 (album version); 5:02 (music video); 4:47 (clean version); 7:02 (instrumental version)
Label	Aftermath; Shady; Interscope;
Songwriter(s)	Marshall Mathers; Jeff Bass; Steve King;
Producer(s)	Eminem; Jeff Bass;
Eminem singles chronology
Music videos
	"Superman" (Uncensored) on YouTube; "Superman" (Censored) on YouTube;

"Superman" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album, The Eminem Show (2002), featuring guest vocals from his frequent collaborator, singer Dina Rae. Written by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Steve King, the song was released as the third single from The Eminem Show on January 21, 2003, in the United States only. It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the issue dated March 15, 2003, and received 2× Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

"Superman" is about the rocky relationships and promiscuous nature of the girls Eminem has had in his life and how he plans to deal with it. In his 2008 autobiography, The Way I Am, Eminem revealed that the song is, to an extent, about his alleged relationship with Mariah Carey.^[1] "Superman" is very similar to Eminem's song "Drug Ballad" and D12's song "Pimp Like Me".

In a 2021 interview with Raaj Bundles of SideShowRaaj, Dina Rae revealed that Carey originally sung the hook for "Superman" before being replaced with herself, due to personal conflicts between Eminem and Carey.^[2]

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly editor described "In the creepy-crawly, mesmerizing 'Superman', he depicts himself as both sexual predator and commitment-phobic single guy."^[3] HipHopDX named the production "the southern bounce", lyrics as dealing with groupies and called the chorus "cheesy".^[4] Steve Juon described the song's rap style: "'Superman' features Eminem playing with his flow in a stuttered cadence, but he's done the gimmick before and his beat on this one inspires only partial attention to his flow."^[5] Rolling Stone concluded that his divorce fuels the slow Southern bounce of the hypermisogynist "Superman".^[6]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Superman" features pornographic actress Gina Lynn. Shannon Elizabeth was Eminem's first choice, although this never came to fruition as they could not come to terms. The video can only be found on the 8 Mile DVD and contains an edit different from the album version. The uncensored video contains nudity and is rarely shown on MTV or BET, although it is available on YouTube, Vevo, and Dailymotion.

Track listing and formats

Promotional CD single^[7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Superman" (clean radio edit)	Marshall Mathers Jeff Bass Steve King	Eminem Jeff Bass^[a]	4:42

12-inch vinyl single^[7]

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Superman" (clean radio edit)	Mathers Bass King	Eminem Bass^[a]	4:42
2.	"Superman" (album version)	Mathers Bass King	Eminem Bass^[a]	5:50
Total length:				10:32

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Superman" (instrumental)	Mathers Bass King	Eminem Bass^[a]	4:27
2.	"Superman" (acapella)	Mathers Bass King	Eminem Bass^[a]	4:27
Total length:				8:54

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)^[8]	19
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[9]	42
US Billboard Hot 100^[10]	15
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)^[11]	10
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[12]	44
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)^[13]	10

Chart (2022–2023)	Peak position
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)^[14]	48
Global 200 (Billboard)^[15]	193
Norway (VG-lista)^[16]	35
Portugal (AFP)^[17]	115
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)^[18]	54

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[19]	98

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[20]	5× Platinum	350,000^‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[21]	Gold	30,000^‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[22]	Platinum	90,000^‡
Germany (BVMI)^[23]	Gold	300,000^‡
Italy (FIMI)^[24]	Gold	50,000^‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[25]	4× Platinum	120,000^‡
Portugal (AFP)^[26]	Platinum	40,000^‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[27]	Gold	30,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[28]	Platinum	600,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[29]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	January 21, 2003 (2003-01-21)	Contemporary hit radio	Shady, Aftermath, Interscope	^[30]

References

^ Mathers, Marshall (2008). The Way I Am. Dutton. p. 163. ISBN 9780525950325.
^ 24x7 Team (August 17, 2021). "Mariah Carey was the original feature on Eminem's "Superman"". Hip Hop 24x7. Retrieved March 18, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "The Eminem Show - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
^ "Eminem - The Eminem Show (Advanced Copy)". Hiphopdx.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
^ "RapReviews.com Feature for May 28, 2002 - Eminem's "The Eminem Show"". Rapreviews.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
^ "Eminem The Eminem Show Album Review". Rolling Stone. June 6, 2002. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Eminem - Superman (vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
^ "Canadian Top 20 in 2003" (PDF). Cross Canada Countdown. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2005. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ "Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^ "Eminem Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^ "Eminem Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^ "Eminem Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^ "Eminem Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 46. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
^ "Eminem Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
^ "Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". VG-lista. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
^ "Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
^ "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202244 into search. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2003". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
^ "Brazilian single certifications – Eminem – Superman" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
^ "Danish single certifications – Eminem – Superman". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Eminem feat. Dina Rae; 'Superman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
^ "Italian single certifications – Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ "New Zealand single certifications – Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". Radioscope. Retrieved December 18, 2024. Type Superman in the "Search:" field.
^ "Portuguese single certifications – Eminem – Superman" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
^ "Spanish single certifications – Eminem / Dina Rae – Superman". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
^ "British single certifications – Eminem – Superman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
^ "American single certifications – Eminem – Superman". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1487. January 17, 2003. p. 24. Retrieved July 10, 2022.

[thewayiam-1] Mathers, Marshall (2008). The Way I Am. Dutton. p. 163. ISBN 9780525950325.

[2] 24x7 Team (August 17, 2021). "Mariah Carey was the original feature on Eminem's "Superman"". Hip Hop 24x7. Retrieved March 18, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[3] "The Eminem Show - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.

[4] "Eminem - The Eminem Show (Advanced Copy)". Hiphopdx.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2017.

[5] "RapReviews.com Feature for May 28, 2002 - Eminem's "The Eminem Show"". Rapreviews.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.

[6] "Eminem The Eminem Show Album Review". Rolling Stone. June 6, 2002. Retrieved April 25, 2015.

[discogs1-7] "Eminem - Superman (vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.

[8] "Canadian Top 20 in 2003" (PDF). Cross Canada Countdown. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2005. Retrieved November 2, 2023.

[NZ-9] "Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

[US100-10] "Eminem Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

[USRap-11] "Eminem Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

[USR&B-12] "Eminem Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

[USPop-13] "Eminem Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

[sc_Czechdigital_-14] "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 46. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[sc_Billboardglobal200_Eminem-15] "Eminem Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2023.

[sc_Norway_Eminem_feat._Dina_Rae-16] "Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". VG-lista. Retrieved December 20, 2023.

[sc_Portugal_Eminem_feat._Dina_Rae-17] "Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 4, 2022.

[sk-18] "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202244 into search. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

[19] "Billboard Top 100 – 2003". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.

[AustraliasingleCertRef-20] "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 29, 2024.

[BrazilEminemSupermansingleCertRef-21] "Brazilian single certifications – Eminem – Superman" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 14, 2024.

[DenmarkEminemSupermansingleCertRef-22] "Danish single certifications – Eminem – Superman". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

[GermanyEminem_feat._Dina_RaeSupermansingleCertRef-23] "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Eminem feat. Dina Rae; 'Superman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 4, 2024.

[ItalyEminem_feat._Dina_RaeSupermansingleCertRef-24] "Italian single certifications – Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[New_ZealandEminem_feat._Dina_RaeSupermansingleCertRef-25] "New Zealand single certifications – Eminem feat. Dina Rae – Superman". Radioscope. Retrieved December 18, 2024. Type Superman in the "Search:" field.

[PortugalEminemSupermansingleCertRef-26] "Portuguese single certifications – Eminem – Superman" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved April 27, 2023.

[SpainEminem_/_Dina_RaeSupermansingleCertRef-27] "Spanish single certifications – Eminem / Dina Rae – Superman". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved April 8, 2024.

[United_KingdomEminemSupermansingleCertRef-28] "British single certifications – Eminem – Superman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 24, 2023.

[United_StatesEminemSupermansingleCertRef-29] "American single certifications – Eminem – Superman". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 8, 2022.

[30] "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1487. January 17, 2003. p. 24. Retrieved July 10, 2022.

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Superman (Eminem song)

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