Nielsen reveals Eminem is the Best-Selling Artist of the 21st Century.
Along with the list of most-streamed artists of the 2010s, Nielsen Music has also the best-selling artist of the 21st century in the US. They announced Eminem as the best-selling artist of the 21st Century as he dominated the past two decades. He has sold over 72 million units in the past 20 years.
The Detroit rapper started his career with the debut album “Infinite“, which was a commercial failure, selling around only 1,000 copies. He sold the copies from the trunk of his car in Detroit. Eminem then signed with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and achieved mainstream success and popularity with “The Slim Shady LP“, which debuted at number two on Billboard 200, along with grabbing the Best Rap Album trophy at the 2000 Grammy Awards. The third studio album “The Marshall Mathers LP” was a worldwide success, and it debuted at #1 on Billboard 200, moving over 1.78 million copies in its first week, which is still a record for any Rap Album. Then “The Eminem Show” also peaked at #1 in the US and sold over 30 million units internationally.
The second on the list is Pop star Taylor Swift with over 57 million unit sales. The Beatles’ greatest hits collection 1, which sold almost 11.5 million copies in 2000, beat out NSYNC’s No Strings Attached (11.1 million copies sold) and Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me to become the decade’s best-selling album (10.5 million).
His third studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, which he produced in 2000, is his best-selling effort. This album has almost 1.5 billion Spotify listens and contains singles like “The Real Slim Shady” and “Remember Me?”
His best-selling track is “Love the Way You Lie,” a song he co-wrote with Rihanna in 2010. This tune has 2.42 billion total streams when the YouTube views are included.
Eminem has received various honours, including Billboard and MTV awards, as well as the Kids Choice Awards. Along with Rihanna and Dr. Dre, Eminem has worked with Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Elton John, 50 Cent, B.o.B. & Hayley Williams, Lil Wayne, and others.
Numbers may not be everything but they state some facts: Eminem is the best selling artist of the century in the US.
And shut up to all the haters ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qDRcoyZaE1— Eminem Italia (@italia_eminem) January 9, 2021
💎 | According to Nielsen Music, @taylorswift13 is the SECOND best selling artist of the century in the US and the #1 female!
— Full list (in units):
1. Eminem — 72.302.000
2. Taylor Swift — 57.040.000
3. Drake — 45.650.000
4. Adele — 34.160.000
5. Britney Spears — 29.100.000 pic.twitter.com/1YhTLmWCAW— 𝙎𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚 (@swift_crave) January 8, 2021
For his monumental career, the rapper was honoured with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of induction. Dr. Dre praised the rapper for becoming one the best-selling hip-hop artist of all time from an “unassuming white guy from Detroit”. “Eminem wasn’t just an underdog who broke through the glass ceiling of hip-hop — he shattered that sh*t,” he said.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” said Eminem. “One, I’m a rapper; two, I almost died from an overdose; and three.” “This sh*t’s crazy.” “So I wrote some sh*t down tonight that I’m never going to f**king remember, so I had to read it off the paper and sh*t, but it’s from the heart. I realize what an honor it is right now for me to be up here tonight, and what a privilege it is to do the music that I love, and the music that basically saved my life.”
