Slim continues to redefine the genre.
Eminem knows how to move units. He’s the best-selling rap artist of all time for a reason. He’s also the first rapper to win an Oscar for Best Original Song, and the first to have ten consecutive albums top the charts. We’d list more accomplishments but we’d be here all day. The bottom line is, Eminem continues to be historically popular. Which makes his latest Billboard record impressive, if not altogether surprising. The rapper has notched another achievement by having the second-shortest-ever song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song? “Trouble,” which is an interlude on his new album The Death of Slim Shady.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing “Trouble” off the top of your head. The song is only 42 seconds long. It serves as a plot point for the Death of Slim Shady concept than an actual song. That being said, it has connected with enough fans that it somehow managed to crack the Billboard singles chart. The record holder for shortest song on the Billboard Hot 100 still belongs to Kid Cudi. The rapper managed to crack the charts with his 2020 intro “Beautiful Trip,” which was only 37 seconds in length. Fortunately, for Em, several other cuts from The Death of Slim Shady have cracked the Billboard Hot 100. “Houdini” peaked at number two, while his Big Sean and BabyTron collab, “Tobey,” peaked at number 27.
Eminem Has The Second-Shortest Charting Song Ever
Eminem may not have been able to overthrow Kid Cudi for the shortest song, but he did stop another pop icon from achieving a record. The Death of Slim Shady claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200, aka the album charts. This not only reinforced Em’s stature as a superstar, but it kept Taylor Swift from securing an 11th consecutive week at number one with her latest album. If Eminem hadn’t booted Swift from the top spot, The Tortured Poets Department would have tied the record for longing-running pop album atop the Billboard charts. As it stands, Stevie Wonder’s Songs In the Key of Life (1976) still holds the record.
Impressively, The Death of Slim Shady has boosted the streaming numbers of Eminem’s older songs as well. Forbes reported that the success of “Houdini” has led to a renewed interest in Em’s 2002 smash hit “Without Me.” The new single samples and pays homage to “Without Me” in its music video, so it makes sense that fans would get him with the nostalgia bug. That being said, the numbers are nothing short of staggering. “Without Me” sold 1,250 copies in the U.S. during the second week of June. That marked a 309% increase from the previous tracking period. Eminem has still got it.
