Eminem is celebrating an opportunity that comes maybe not once in a lifetime, but not too often: His 2002 smash single “Lose Yourself” reached 1 billion listens on Spotify.
The rapper commemorated the milestone in his decades-spanning career on Wednesday (Feb. 24) by posting a montage video of the song’s award-winning run since he released it on Oct. 28, 2002, including: his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2002, his first and only Oscar for best original song in 2003, his 2003 MTV VMA for best video from a film, and his Grammy Awards for best rap song and best male rap solo performance in 2004.
“You can do anything you set your mind to, man…” Slim Shady wrote on Twitter while quoting the song’s outro.
You can do anything you set your mind to, man… #LoseYourself is over 1 billion on @Spotify pic.twitter.com/KtSOzbJK8q
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) February 24, 2021
Eminem wrote “Lose Yourself” for the 2002 motion picture 8 Mile, in which he also made his film debut. It was the lead single on the movie’s soundtrack, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 that year. A fan-uploaded video of “Lose Yourself” playing over scenes from 8 Mile has already surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube since it appeared on the platform on Aug. 6, 2015.
“Lose Yourself” joins The Killers’ 2004 debut single “Mr. Brightside” and Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” from 2008 as the only songs from the 2000s to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify. The oldest song to reach this milestone on the platform is “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen from 1975. The only other song before the ’00s to surpass 1 billion Spotify streams is “Wonderwall” by Oasis, which is reportedly also the first song from the 1990s to accomplish this feat.
