Beautiful (Eminem song)

"Beautiful" is the fourth and final single from American rapper Eminem's sixth studio album Relapse, and was released on August 11, 2009. The song samples “Reaching Out”, originally recorded by British rock band Rock Therapy. This version of “Reaching Out” is taken from the Queen + Paul Rodgers 2005-2006 tour, which used Eminem's “Lose Yourself” as the house music. The song was partially written during the first time he went to rehab in 2005, and the song would not be finished until he got clean years later, where he would then add a third verse and place the song on Relapse.[1]

"Beautiful"
Single by Eminem
from the album Relapse
ReleasedAugust 11, 2009
Recorded2007 - 2009
GenreHip hop
Length
  • 6:32 (album version)
  • 4:00 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Eminem singles chronology
"3 a.m."
(2009)
"Beautiful"
(2009)
"Forever"
(2009)
Music video
"Beautiful" on YouTube

Music video

The video was shot in Detroit, Michigan and was directed by Anthony Mandler. It premiered on July 2, 2009 on Yahoo! music.[2] The video opens with captions stating that "In 1950, Michigan was 1 of 8 states in America that collectively produced 36% of the world's GNP" and that "Detroit was the greatest manufacturing city in the world." It then cuts to present-day images of the city, featuring Eminem walking through three abandoned structures from that era: Michigan Central Station; the former Packard plant; and Tiger Stadium, including demolition footage of the latter. In each location, he is joined by several people appropriate to each building: an older woman with a suitcase, several autoworkers holding their lunchboxes and tools, and a neighborhood youth baseball team, respectively.

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim. Rolling Stone called it a "touching attempt at an inspirational ballad". Pitchfork Media claim that "Relapse hits something of a stride with 'Beautiful'".[3] "Beautiful" scored Eminem his ninth straight Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100, going back to "Smack That" with Akon. Billboard called the song "epic" and described it as "Part confessional ("I'm just so fucking depressed," begins the track's explicit version) and part "Lose Yourself"-style motivational anthem, "Beautiful" encapsulates the introspective nature of "Relapse" but deviates from the shock tactics that dominate the album" adding that "The song is as much a lighters-in-the-air, arena rock power ballad as it is a lyrical showcase".[4] The song was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards in the Best Rap Solo Performance category, but lost to Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)".[5]

Chart performance

"Beautiful" entered the UK Singles Chart on May 17, 2009 at number 38 and re-entered at #31 due to massive airplay. It was released as the third UK single after "We Made You" and peaked at #12. It became Eminem's 21st Top 40 single in the UK but also his second official single to miss the Top 10. In the U.S., it debuted at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was on the A-List of the BBC Radio 1 playlist. In the week of July 23, 2009 it re-entered the Hot 100 at #98.[6]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Award Result
2010 Grammy Awards Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
Much Music Video Awards International Video of the Year Nominated

Track listing

Digital Download[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Beautiful"Eminem, Jeff Bass6:32
Digital Single[8]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Beautiful"Eminem, Jeff Bass6:32
2."Beautiful" (music video)
  • Mathers
  • Resto
  • Bass
  • Black
  • Hill
Eminem, Jeff Bass4:21
Total length:10:53
CD Single[9]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Beautiful"Eminem, Jeff Bass6:32
2."3 a.m." (Travis Barker remix)Dr. Dre5:20
Total length:11:52
Digital EP[10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Beautiful" (radio edit)Eminem, Jeff Bass4:00
2."Beautiful"
  • Mathers
  • Resto
  • Bass
  • Black
  • Hill
Eminem, Jeff Bass6:32
3."Beautiful" (instrumental)
  • Mathers
  • Resto
  • Bass
  • Black
  • Hill
Eminem, Jeff Bass6:37
4."3 a.m." (Travis Barker remix)Dr. Dre5:20
Total length:22:29

Personnel

Credits adapted from Relapse digital booklet.

  • Songwriters: M. Mathers, L. Resto, J. Bass, D. Black, A. Hill
  • Recorded by: Mike Strange at 54 Sound in Ferndale, Michigan
  • Assistant engineers: Tony Campana at 54 Sound in Ferndale, Michigan
  • Mixed by: Eminem and Mike Strange at Effigy Studios
  • Keyboards by: Jeffrey Bass and Luis Resto
  • Bass and guitar by: Jeffrey Bass
  • Samples: Contains samples from "Reaching Out" by Queen + Paul Rodgers, written by Don Black and Andy Hill

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[11] 33
Austrian Singles Chart[12] 11
Canadian Hot 100[13] 8
Danish Singles Chart[14] 40
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles[15] 26
German Singles Chart[16] 39
Irish Singles Chart[17] 5
New Zealand Singles Chart[18] 4
Scottish Singles Chart[19] 6
Swedish Singles Chart[20] 47
Swiss Singles Chart[21] 8
UK Singles Chart 12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[22] 17
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs 35

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
New Zealand Singles Chart[23] 40
UK Singles Chart[24] 173

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 400,000
United States (RIAA)[26] 3× Platinum 3,000,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

  1. "Eminem's 'Beautiful' Hits iTunes". Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  2. "Eminem – Beautiful Official Music Video". WeLiveThis.com. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  3. Cohen, Ian (2009-05-19). "Eminem: Relapse | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  4. Archived July 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "And the 2010 Grammy Nominees Are…". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  6. "Music Albums, Top 200 Albums & Music Album Charts" (in Dutch). Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  7. "Beautiful - Single by Eminem on Apple Music".
  8. "Beautiful - Single by Eminem on Apple Music".
  9. "Amazon.co.uk: Buying Choices: Beautiful".
  10. "Beautiful - EP by Eminem on Apple Music".
  11. "Australia Singes Top 50". Australian Recording Industry Association. acharts.com. July 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  12. "oe3.ORF.at / Woche 43/2011". Charts.orf.at. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  13. "Information Not Found". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  14. Steffen Hung. "Eminem - Beautiful". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  15. "Music Charts, Most Popular Music, Music by Genre & Top Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  16. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  17. "Ireland Singles Top 50 - Music Charts". Acharts.us. 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  18. Steffen Hung. "Eminem - Beautiful". charts.nz. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  19. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100: 09 August 2009 - 15 August 2009". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  20. Steffen Hung. "Eminem - Beautiful". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  21. Steffen Hung. "Swiss Charts - Singles Top 75 08.01.2012". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  22. "Music: Top 100 - Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 2009-05-30. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  23. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Rianz.org.nz. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  24. "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  25. "British single certifications – Eminem – Beautiful". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Beautiful in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  26. "American single certifications – Eminem – Beautiful". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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