Released January 27, 2003 Recorded 2002 | Format 12"
CD Genre Hip hop
dirty rap | |
Length 5:50 (album version)
4:47 (clean radio edit) Label Aftermath
Shady
Interscope | ||
"Superman" is a song by American rapper Eminem. It features backing vocals from frequent collaborator, singer Dina Rae and was released in January 2003 as a single from the album in the U.S. only, peaking at number fifteen and forty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 New Zealand, respectively. The single is taken from Eminem's fourth studio album The Eminem Show, which was released in 2002.
Contents
Background
The song 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 about his alleged relationship with singer Mariah Carey, to an extent. The song is very similar to his song "Drug Ballad" and "Pimp Like Me" with D12. The music video for the song features porn star Gina Lynn and can only be found on the 8 Mile DVD. It also contains an edit different from the album version. The uncensored video contains nudity, and is rarely shown on MTV or BET. It features on the music video website VEVO. Shannon Elizabeth was Eminem's first choice to star in the video, although this never came to fruition, as they could not come to terms.
Critical reception
Entertainment Weekly editor described: "In the creepy-crawly, mesmerizing Superman, he depicts himself as both sexual predator and commitment-phobic single guy." DX magazine named the production "the southern bounce", lyrics as dealing with groupies and the critic called the chorus cheesy. Steve Juon described: ""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." Rolling Stone concluded that his divorce from Kim Mathers fuels the slow Southern bounce of the hypermisogynist "Superman."