Just Lose It

"Just Lose It"
Single by Eminem
from the album Encore
Released September 25, 2004
Format CD
Recorded 2004 in Los Angeles, California
Genre Comedy hip hop
Length 4:33
Label Shady, Aftermath, Interscope
Writer(s) Eminem, Dr. Dre, Mike Elizondo, Mark Batson
Producer Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo
Eminem singles chronology
"One Day at a Time (Em's Version)"
(2004)		 "Just Lose It"
(2004)		 "Encore/Curtains Down"
(2004)
Curtain Call: The Hits track listing
"Cleanin' Out My Closet"
(20)		 "Just Lose It"
(15)		 "When I'm Gone"
(16)
Music sample
Eminem - "Just Lose It"

"Just Lose It" is the first single from Eminem's fifth studio album Encore and was later included on his 2005 compilation album, Curtain Call: The Hits. The song caused controversy as its lyrics and music video parodies Michael Jackson, who was being accused of child molestation at the time. The song also pokes fun at Beavis/Cornholio, MC Hammer, Madonna and others. It also heavily spoofs Pee-wee Herman, going as far as imitating his signature shout during the chorus and Eminem dressing like him in the video. The song reached number one in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, and number six in the United States. Although charting high, the song did not perform as well as his two previous lead singles, "The Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me".

Contents

Track information

Two skits regarding the Michael Jackson controversy were included on Encore, "Paul (Skit)" and "Em Calls Paul (Skit)". The lyrics to "Just Lose It" refer to Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "... and that's not a stab at Michael/That's just a metaphor/I'm just psycho...."

At the beginning of the song there is a lyrical excerpt from Eminem's 2002 single "Without Me" about how "Shady's back". The line "Snap back to reality. Look! It's B. Rabbit" and "You signed me up to battle" refers to "Lose Yourself" and Eminem's character in the movie 8 Mile. In the second verse of the song there is a line "So fellas, fellas..." is a reference to Sir Mix-a-Lot's song "Baby Got Back". The line "Girl you know you're my world," from the chorus, is a reference to the chorus of his song "Superman" from his album The Eminem Show. Finally, the video parodies the movie Bad Santa, by displaying Eminem as a "mall santa" and even going so far to include Tony Cox (the elf from the actual movie) as his helper.

Music video

The video contains a parody of a rap battle scene from 8 Mile in which it is Eminem (as B-Rabbit) versus Eminem (as Slim Shady). It also contains several scenes where Eminem is walking down the streets naked. As he is doing this, Dr. Dre is seen driving next to him, looking disgusted.

For the music video, the lyrics were edited slightly, notably the phrase "shake that ass", becoming the less provocative "shake that thing". Other changes include the muting of some parts of the second verse, and the phrase "butt naked" becoming "buck naked".

Such examples of parodies that are included in this video are Michael Jackson, MC Hammer and his hit single "U Can't Touch This", Madonna and the movie Bad Santa.

A few of the celebrities who appeared in this music video were Paris Hilton, Katie Cassidy, Monica Parales, Erik Estrada, Alyson Stoner, BooBoo Stewart, Tony Cox, Mekhi Phifer and Dr. Dre.

The video was later nominated at the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video, but lost to Ludacris' "Number One Spot".

Much Music's 50 Most Controversial Videos ranked it #50 for its jokes on famous people.

Controversy

The music video for "Just Lose It" generated controversy by parodying singer Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984.[1] It was banned on the BET channel, after complaints from Benzino and others (but was later reinstated, as critics of the ban argued that Nelly's "Tip Drill" video could be seen). Both were only seen on BET: Uncut. However MTV did not drop it, and the video became one of the most requested on the channel.

A week after the release of "Just Lose It", Jackson called into the radio show of Steve Harvey to report his displeasure with the video.

"I am very angry at Eminem's depiction of me in his video," Jackson said in the interview. "I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive."

The singer continued: "I've admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large."[2]

Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who "watched" the video and called it"kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit",[3] and Steve Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back."[3]

Tracklisting

UK CD1
  1. "Just Lose It"
  2. "Just Lose It" (Acapella)
  3. "Just Lose It" (Instrumental)
  4. "Just Lose It" (Video)
UK CD2
  1. "Just Lose It"
  2. "Lose Yourself" (Explicit)

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[5] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[7] 8
Denmark (Tracklisten)[8] 1
European Hot 100 Singles[9] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 2
France (SNEP)[11] 7
Germany (Media Control AG)[12] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 2
Italy (FIMI)[14] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 5
New Zealand (RIANZ)[16] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[17] 3
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[18] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 12
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 1
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[21] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 6
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[23] 35
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[24] 5
US Rap Songs (Billboard)[25] 7

End of year charts

End of year chart (2004) Position
Australian Singles Chart[26] 36
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[27] 93
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[28] 93
French Singles Chart[29] 78
Irish Singles Chart[30] 15
New Zealand Singles Chart[31] 32
Swiss Singles Chart[32] 43
UK Singles Chart[33] 18

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Australia[34] Platinum 2004 70,000
Denmark[35] Platinum 2004 30,000
New Zealand[36] Platinum December 20, 2004 15,000
Norway[37] Gold 2004 10,000
U.S.[38] Gold June 1, 2005 500,000

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/Eminem-1703.html
  2. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/oct/14/usa.michaeljacksontrial
  3. ^ a b "Stevie Wonder has words to say about Eminem". AllHipHop. Archived from the original on 2008-01-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20080125055428/http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=3825. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
  4. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. ^ "Eminem – Just Lose It – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Eminem – Just Lose It" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  7. ^ "Ultratop.be – Eminem – Just Lose It" (in French). Ultratop 40. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "Danishcharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It". Tracklisten. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  9. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Eminem. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  10. ^ "Finnishcharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It". Suomen virallinen lista. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  11. ^ "Lescharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  12. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  13. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  14. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  15. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 47, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  16. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Eminem – Just Lose It". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It". VG-lista. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  18. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It" Canciones Top 50. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Eminem – Just Lose It". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  20. ^ "Eminem – Just Lose It – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  21. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  22. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Eminem. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  23. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History" Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Eminem. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  24. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Eminem. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  25. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Rap Songs for Eminem. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  26. ^ "2004 Australian Singles Chart". aria. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2004.htm. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  27. ^ "2004 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in Dutch). Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2004. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  28. ^ "2004 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2004. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  29. ^ "2004 French Singles Chart" (in French). SNEP. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259376-Classements-Annuels.html?year=2004. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  30. ^ "2004 Irish Singles Chart". IRMA. http://www.irma.ie/best2004.htm. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  31. ^ "2004 New Zealand Singles Chart". Rianz. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart_annual.asp. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  32. ^ "2004 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. http://www.swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2004. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  33. ^ "2004 UK Singles Chart". ChartsPlus. http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2002.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2010. 
  34. ^ Australian certifications aria.com (Retrieved January 4, 2009)
  35. ^ Denmark certifications [1] (Retrieved January 8, 2010)
  36. ^ New Zealand certification"Chart #1439: Just Lose It Platinum certification". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. rianz.org.nz. Decembre 20, 2004. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
  37. ^ Norwegian certifications Ifpi.no (Retrieved January 4, 2009)
  38. ^ U.S. certifications [2] (Retrieved January 4, 2009)

External links

Eminem singles discography
The Slim Shady EP
The Slim Shady LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
The Eminem Show
8 Mile soundtrack
Encore
"Just Lose It" · "Encore" · "Like Toy Soldiers" · "Mockingbird" · "Ass Like That"
Curtain Call: The Hits
Eminem Presents: The Re-Up
Relapse/Refill
Recovery
Collaborations
Other songs