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Recovery is the seventh studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was
released on June 18, 2010, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and
Interscope Records as the follow-up to Eminem's Relapse (2009). Originally
planned to be released as Relapse 2, the album was renamed to Recovery when
Eminem found the music of the new album different from its predecessor.
Production of the album took place during 2009 to 2010 at several recording
studios and was handled by various record producers, including Alex da Kid, Just
Blaze, Boi-1da, Jim Jonsin, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter and Dr. Dre. Eminem also
collaborated with artists such as Pink, Lil Wayne and Rihanna for the album.
Recovery featured more introspective and emotional content than its predecessor
and the theme of the album revolved around his positive changes, anxiety, and
emotional drives. For the promotion of the album, he featured in TV shows and
performed the album's songs live on televised shows, at awards ceremonies,
musical events and also headed The Recovery Tour.
The album received
generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented Eminem's rapping
and performance on the album, although some criticized its inconsistency and
production. Recovery debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart,
selling 741,000 copies in its first week and stayed at number one for seven
non-consecutive weeks. It also peaked inside the top ten of several other
countries and was the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide. By October 2011, the
album had sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide. Recovery has earned
Eminem American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Detroit Music Awards and
Grammy Awards, while it was nominated at Brit Awards, Juno Awards and MTV Video
Music Awards Japan.
The lead single "Not Afraid", released on April 29, 2010,
sold 380,000 digital downloads in its first week debuting at number one on the
US Billboard Hot 100 and earned Eminem a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.
"Love The Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna reached the top spot in over 20
countries and stayed at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven
consecutive weeks. With sales of over 5 million in the United States and 10.25
million worldwide, it became Eminem's best selling single to date. He
collaborated with Lil Wayne for "No Love". "Space Bound" was released as the
fourth and the final single. Four other unreleased songs from the album also
charted on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In a press release, Eminem explained
that he and Dr. Dre had recorded a considerable amount of music while recording
Relapse (2009), thus, "putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get all of the
best stuff."1 According to Angela Yee's Shade 45 interview with Eminem on April
23, 2009, Relapse 2 was to be a continuation of Relapse.2 During the interview
Eminem also confirmed "It's extremely close to being finished, it just depends
on how many songs I want to put on it."3 He called into Shade 45 and said he was
in the studio finishing up the album.4 Recording sessions for the album took
place during 2009 to 2010 at several recording studios, including Allure Sound
in Oak Park, Michigan, 54 Sound and Effigy Studios in Ferndale, Michigan, Black
Chiney Studios in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, Boi-1da Studio in Ajax, Ontario,
Canada, Playhouse in Parkland, Florida, Avex Honolulu Studio in Honolulu,
Hawaii, Encore Studios in Burbank, California, Sun Studios in Temple Bar,
Dublin, and Shake 'Em Down Studios in Queens, New York City.5
When premiering
his debut single, "Not Afraid", Eminem also let listeners know that "there were
not any skits on the album" (so the album would contain more songs than his
previous studio albums).6 He described a song titled "Insult to Injury", in
which Eminem performs in his normal voice, as a sequel to "Underground," the
final track from the previous album, Relapse. A song on the album "Hit Me With
Your Best Shot" featured his rap group D12. Bizarre of D12 said the new song
shows the group's strength despite the death of founder Proof by stating: "We're
still family, but everybody's got their own situations going on," he added. "No
matter what y'all do, you can't hold D12 down. We've been through a lot of shit,
but we're still gonna come back and recover."
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