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Recovery is the sixth studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on August 21, 2010, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Production for the album took place during 2007 to 2009 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. Originally recorded as a sequel to Eminem's previous album Relapse (2009), Recovery features more introspective and emotional content than its predecessor.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 2,741,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It also charted at number one in several other countries, and produced four singles that archieved international chart success, "Not Afraid", "Love the Way You Lie" and "Beautiful", with the album beign certified ten times platinum and selling about 5.6 million copies by the end of the year. Recovery received very positive feedback from fans and universal acclaim based on reviews from music critics, who complimented the produccion team, Eminem's rapping and his performance on the album but yet it received criticism for it's consistency and lyrical theme. It was the best-selling album of 2010 and has sold 17 million copies worldwide.

Production and composition
In a press release, Eminem explained that he and Dr. Dre had recorded a considerable amount of music and thus, "Putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get all of the best stuff." According to Angela Yee's Shade 45 interview with Eminem on April 23, 2009, Relapse 2 was to be a continuation of Relapse. 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."

He called into Shade 45 and said he was in the studio finishing up the album. 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.

Eminem explained the album was more "emotionally driven" than Relapse, which was, as he explains, "[just] rap records". When premiering the debut single, 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). He described a song titled "Insult to Injury", in which Eminem performs in his normal voice, as somewhat of a sequel to "Underground," the final track from the previous album, Relapse. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" features his rap group D12; Bizarre of D12 said the new song shows the group's strength despite the death of founder Proof. "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."

As for guests on the album, Eminem had said back while the album was still titled Relapse 2, he worked with both Dr. Dre and 50 Cent on the album. D12, Royce da 5'9", Lloyd Banks and Cashis had been speculated as possible features on the album. However, none of these artists are actually featured (Recovery only featured guest appearances by rapper Lil Wayne and solo singers Kobe, Pink and Rihanna). He decided to include Pink on "Won't Back Down" after recording his parts first because he "felt like she would smash this record". On the bonus track "Session One", Eminem features supergroup Slaughterhouse, signed with Shady Records.

DJ Whoo Kid heard some songs from the album. He bombasted that "The Warning" is a diss record to Mariah Carey, and was not as intense as the entire album would be, saying the album is 'maniacal'. Eminem appeared on Shade 45 with DJ Whoo Kid where he stated that a track with 50 Cent, in which the two rap together on verses, existed. He also confirmed both Just Blaze and Mr. Porter as producers on the album. Bizarre of D12 stated that the group recorded a song for the album tentatively titled "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", which was later leaked onto the internet.

On April 13, 2010, Eminem tweeted "There is no Relapse 2" to his followers. Upon this tweet, people started to believe that he was not releasing an album at all, but it meant simply that the album would be changed to Recovery. He confirmed this by tweeting "Recovery" with a link to his website. Eminem said "I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year. But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title." He later released a freestyle titled "Despicable" over "Over" by Drake and "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" by Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana as promo for the first single, "Not Afraid", which debuted on Shade 45 on April 29. In a recent interview, Eminem said "I must have gone through 200–300 beats, for the album and chose 100 of them and recorded it."

Release and promotion
His seventh studio album, Recovery was confirmed during a press release by Eminem's label on March 5, 2009 and was originally titled Relapse 2. In June 2009, Eminem said that he expected a release during the fourth quarter of 2009, with Rolling Stone reporting a November 2009 release date, but in November 2009, he stated that he would re-release Relapse, with extra songs, to hold fans over for the release of Relapse 2 in 2010. It was voted the most anticipated album of fall 2009 by XXL, It was slated to be the second Eminem album released in 2009, after Relapse, but was pushed back to 2010. Recovery was released on June 21 in the United States and the United Kingdom, and on June 18 in the rest of Europe.

Eminem has done multiple interviews such as with Red Bull in promotion of the album. A commercial for Recovery premiered during Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals. It featured Vince Offer from the Slap Chop commercials in a parody of his commercials. Also, a Call of Duty: Black Ops ad with "Won't Back Down" was released; the song appeared in the game as an easter egg as well. On June 15, Eminem appeared among other artists including Usher and Will.i.am for Activision's press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 with Rihanna where the duo performed "Love the Way You Lie". In addition, Eminem performed "Lose Yourself", "Not Afraid", and premiered "Won't Back Down" for the first time. Eminem appeared on E! during their Daily 10 show in an interview. He also appeared in a skit on The Soup. Eminem also performed at the 2010 BET Awards.

Artwork
The album artwork was released through Eminem.com. The album features two covers: One with Eminem walking down a country road and another with him sitting in a transparent living room in the middle of Detroit with the Renaissance Center in the background. The albums liner features pictures of Eminem such as a picture of him "praying" and him posing without a shirt on. The album is dedicated "2 anyone who's in a dark place tryin' to 2 get out. Keep your head up... It does get better!" [sic]

Singles
"Not Afraid" was released on Shade 45 and has received free streaming on Eminem's website since then. The song sold 380,000 digital downloads in its first week, and became the sixteenth song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at number one. "Not Afraid" is only the second hip hop single to debut at No. 1 following "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112. This song received very positive reviews with special attention to the emotional expression, Eminem's rhyming skills and his reaching out to other producers (his music is typically produced by mentor Dr. Dre or Eminem himself). Rolling Stone praised Eminem's commitment on his new music and lyrical ability noting "Over a dark, operatic beat, Eminem delivers rhymes that are typically acrobatic – and typically heavy-handed. But the anger has a gathering quality." The official music video was directed by American music video and commercial director Rich Lee. The video premiered on June 5, 2011 on music video website Vevo. The music video, shot in Newark, New Jersey, won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

The second single was released on August 9, 2010 titled "Love the Way You Lie", which features Rihanna. The song was highly successful like its predecessor and debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has since reached number 1. The song gave Eminem his fourth US Hot 100 number-one hit and Rihanna her seventh. It also claimed the top spot on over 20 other charts worldwide. "Love the Way You Lie" has since been number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks. The song has received a very positive reception from critics. Michael Menachem from Billboard gave a positive review of the song saying, "Rihanna's chorus is exquisitely melodic and surprisingly hopeful, complementing the turmoil of Em's dark, introspective rant. Producer Alex da Kid has a knack for mainstreaming classical instrumentation, and here he cements the story with a slick, midtempo percussive punch that showcases both performers on equal planes." BBC Radio 1 gave the song four out of five stars stating, "This is not an autobiographical lyric [...] It's one of Eminem's flights of fancy, albeit one into a very real situation. Clearly he understands the psychology well, and can express the feelings with enormous clarity. Rihanna's role in all of this is interesting though." The Joseph Kahn directed music video premiered on August 5, 2010. It stars Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox in a love-hate relationship. It is currently one of the most viewed music videos on Vevo.

"No Love", which features American rapper Lil Wayne, was the third single, released on October 5, 2010. The music video, directed by Chris Robinson, premiered September 30 on Vevo and various MTV networks. It is about a young school boy who is bullied but has the urge to stand up after being motivated by listening to Eminem and Lil Wayne songs. The video gained positive attention for its bullying theme. Eminem and Lil Wayne performed "No Love" on Saturday Night Live on December 18. "No Love" was met with very positive reception for sampling "What Is Love" by Haddaway, which was done by hip hop producer Just Blaze. The song did not perform as well as the two previous singles, only peaking at 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks (which was longer than "Not Afraid" however).

"Space Bound" was announced to be released as the fourth single. English songwriter Steve McEwan provides additional vocals in the chorus. The music video was shot in February 2011 by "Love the Way You Lie" director Joseph Kahn. The uncensored music video was released on June 24, 2011 at 5 PM EST on iTunes only. The video then premiered on Vevo Monday, June 27 at 3 AM EST. The plot stars actress Sasha Grey and Eminem in a relationship, which ends violently. The video caused controversy for a bloody scene in which Eminem shoots himself. The video was slammed by British anti-violence campaigners. Anti-violence group, Mothers Against Violence, told the Daily Mirror, "It's all about the money with these videos. Eminem isn't thinking about the families affected." The "Space Bound" music video, having gained attention for a confusing theme, was analyzed by Sasha Grey and the song's producer, Jim Jonsin. They both agreed that the video has no certain message, but can be interpreted "in many ways". Space Bound was certified Gold in the United States on February 9, 2012.

Songs "25 to Life", "Won't Back Down", "Cinderella Man", "Talkin' 2 Myself", and "Cold Wind Blows" also debuted on the Hot 100 without release as singles. Cinderella Man was certified Gold in the United States on February 17, 2012.

Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 2.7 million copies in the United States, breaking the previosuly record held by 'N Sync and become the second album to archieve 2 million sales in it's first week and the biggest sales for the first week of any album. It became Eminem's sixth album to debut at number one in the United States. In its second week of release it remained at number-one and sold 1.4 million copies. It also entered at number one on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Rap Albums chart. In its ninth week of release the album remained at number one for its seventh non-consecutive week and sold 320,000 copies. In its first nine weeks of release the album sold over 230,000 copies every week. By March 2011, the album was No. 1 on the all-time list of albums with the most digital sales, with over 2.6 copies digitally sold at the time. As of July 2011, the album broke the digital record and became the first album to sell 1 million digital copies. It held the record for most digital albums sold, but was later outsold by Adele's 21 album. As of September 25, 2011, the album has sold 11 million copies in the United States. Since it's United States release, the album has spent a total of 42 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 which is more than any other hip-hop album since 2003. It spent 16 weeks at number one in both the US & UK amongst other nations.

The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 361,000 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. In Canada, the album sold 210,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number one on Canada's Albums Chart. The album spent six consecutive weeks at number one, and retook the top spot after one week at number 2. As of August 18, 2010, the album has sold 922,000 copies in Canada. In Japan, Oricon recorded a debut of number six with 180,678 units sold. It also went gold in its first week in New Zealand and Australia, debuting at number one in both countries. The album has since sold over 1.3 million copies in Australia, certifying it triple platinum there.

By the end of its release year, and only six months after release, Recovery had sold over 13 million albums worldwide. It was the best-selling album of 2010 in the United States with 7.4 million copies (3.7 million counted as a double album), and it sold 6 million copies in other territories for a total of 13 million copies worldwide. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was also the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide. The album was the best-selling album in Canada in 2010 selling 723,000 copies; more than double the album in 2nd place. Recovery was the third best-selling album of 2010 in Australia. As of September 25, 2011, the album had sold 11,040,000 copies in the United States.

Critical response
Upon its release, Recovery received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 28 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Despite viewing its structure as inconsistent, Allmusic writer David Jeffries gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and praised Eminem's performance as potent and energetic, writing "It may be flawed and the rapper’s attitude is sometimes one step ahead of his output, but he hasn’t sounded this unfiltered and proud since The Marshall Mathers LP". Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson noted "gratuitous nastiness" as a weakness, but stated "Eminem's lyrical craftsmanship is second to none [...] and there are flashes of new maturity". Benjamin Meadows-Ingrim of Spin viewed that its introspective content "plays to his strengths". Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen called it Eminem's "most casual-sounding album in years". USA Today's Steve Jones called it "a strong return to the form" for Eminem and complimented his transition in "tone and attitude" from his previous work, stating "He aims for substance over shock value, vividly spilling out details of his various tribulations". Sam Wolfson of NME gave it a 7/10 rating and called Eminem "self aware, technically advanced, intelligent, able to go at speeds other than full throttle".

However, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times regarded Eminem as "frustratingly limited in his topical range" and called Recovery "the most insular of all his releases". Andy Gill of The Independent gave it 3 out of 5 stars and stated "there's nothing here quite as witty or engaging as" on his previous work. Pitchfork Media's Jayson Greene perceived a lack of lyrical depth and wrote "for the first time in his career, he actually sounds clumsy". Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot wrote that it "is brutally short on hooks and, most of all, fun. The subversive humor is long gone, and his cultural references... remain dated". Slant Magazine's M.T. Richards called the album's material "unsurprisingly hollow" and panned Eminem's lyrics, stating "his punchlines rarely resonate; his nasal bark of a delivery grows tiring fast; and his pop culture references... are inane". Mike Schiller of PopMatters commended Eminem's "sense of self-awareness", but noted "his hateful asides and misogynist tendencies" and inconsistent shifts in subject matter as the album's flaws. The Observer's Kitty Empire described it as "a long march through Mathers's contradictions, punctuated with splatter-flick levels of lyrical gore". Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club gave it a B rating and commented "while the endless atonement metaphors threaten to make Recovery a maudlin affair, at moments like these, Eminem soars over his lowered expectations".

Despite praising Eminem's lyricism, The Guardian's Paul MacInnes viewed its production as a weakness and wrote "a piecemeal approach to production (Dr. Dre has just one credit) leaves the album lacking an abiding mood and drowning in fashionable soft-rock samples". Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss complimented Eminem's "dazzling internal patterns and clever word play", but panned its production and called it "monochromatic and monotonous". Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post viewed that its songs are "weighed down by some brutal samples" and called it "a morose picture of an artist grappling, and often losing his grip". Giving it a 7/10 rating, RapReviews writer Jesal Padania noted various inconsistencies and found the album "enjoyable", while writing "One individual might completely love it, another hate it – for pretty much the same reasons... not his best, nor his worst, but either people will listen incessantly or barely at all. There is no middle ground". In his consumder guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave Recovery an A- rating and complimented Eminem's "long-recessive sense of play", while commenting that "The comeback is for Eminem, not Slim Shady‑-and for Marshall at his most martial. His most confessional as well".

Accolades
The album appeared on numerous music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists. Rolling Stone placed Recovery and its single "Not Afraid" on its lists of Best Albums of 2010 and Best Singles of 2010 at number 9 and number 24 respectively. Spin placed the album at number 38 on its 40 Best Albums list for 2010. It earned Eminem ten Grammy Award nominations at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, winning the latter. As of April 2011, the album has been nominated for Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards

Track listing
* (co.) Co-producer * (add.) Additional production

Sample credits

 * Disc One
 * "Insane": contains interpolations from "Jock Box" by; The Skinny Boys
 * "Same Song & Dance": contains an interpolation of "One" by; Metallica
 * "We Made You": contains an interpolation of "Hot Summer Nights" by; Walter Egan
 * "Crack a Bottle": contains interpolations from "Mais dans ma lumière" by; Mike Brant


 * Disc Two
 * "Cold Wind Blows": contains elements from "Patriotic Song" performed by; Gringo
 * "Going Through Changes": contains a sample of "Changes" by; Black Sabbath
 * "No Love": contains a sample of "What Is Love" performed by; Haddaway
 * "Space Bound": features interpolations of "Song for Bob" by; Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, (uncredited) and "Drive" by; R.E.M. (uncredited)
 * "Beautiful": contains excerpts from "Reaching Out" by; Rock Therapy
 * "Untitled": features a sample of "You Don't Own Me" as performed by; Lesley Gore

Personnel

 * Musical personnel
 * Mike Elizondo - guitars
 * Luis Resto - piano
 * Trevor Lawrence - keyboards
 * Chin Injeti - bass
 * Supa Dups - drums & arrangament
 * Nick Low-Beer - drum programming
 * Sly Jordan - saxophone
 * Liz Rodriguez - vocals
 * Nikki Grier - vocals
 * Steve McEwan - vocals
 * Kip Blackshire - choir
 * Kristen Ashley Cole - choir
 * Terry Dexter - choir
 * Rich King - choir
 * Christal Garrick II - choir
 * Additional personnel
 * Ianthe Zevos - creative director
 * Jason Sangerman - marketing coordinator
 * Nigel Parry - photography
 * Christian Clancy - marketing
 * Tracy McNew - A&R
 * Manny Smith - A&R
 * DJ Mormile - A&R


 * Production personnel
 * Dr. Dre - producer, executive producer, mixing
 * Boi-1da - producer
 * Alex da Kid - producer, mixing
 * DJ Khalil - producer
 * Just Blaze - producer, mixing
 * Mark Batson - producer & keyborads (add.)
 * Trevor Lawrence Jr. - producer
 * Jeff Bass - producer, mixing, engineer
 * Dawaun Parker - producer, mixing
 * Larry Chatman - production coordinator, project coordinator
 * Robert Marks - engineer
 * Rob Marks - mixing
 * Featured artists
 * Dr. Dre - rap vocals tracks 11 & 15 (CD1)
 * 50 Cent - rap vocals track 15 (CD1)
 * Lil' Wayne - rap vocals track 9 (CD2)
 * Taylor Momsen - vocals track 4 (CD2)
 * Kobe - vocals track 3 (CD2)
 * Skylar Grey - vocals track 15 (CD2)


 * Additional composers
 * Paul Rosenberg - tracks 1,2 & 3 (CD1)
 * Mike Elizondo - tracks 2 & 4 (CD1)
 * Sean Cruse - tracks 5 & 14 (CD1)
 * Andre Young - track 10 (CD1)
 * Mark Batson - track 9 (CD1)
 * Trevor Lawrence - tracks 11 & 13 (CD1), Track 14 (CD2)
 * Dawaun Parker - track 13 (CD1)
 * Curtis Jackson - track 15 (CD1)
 * Luis Resto - track 5 & 11 (CD2)
 * Sly Jordan - track 8 (CD2)
 * Dwayne Carter - track 9 (CD2)
 * Jeff Bass - track 11 (CD2)
 * Holly Hafermann - track 15 (CD2)