Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 Is No. 1 Album In The U.S., Selling 792,000 Its First Week

HIP-HOP SUPERSTAR ALSO BECOMES FIRST LEAD ARTIST SINCE THE BEATLES TO CHART FOUR SONGS IN THE HOT 100'S TOP 20

NEW ALBUM AND LATEST SINGLE "MONSTER," FEATURING RIHANNA, ARE NO. 1 ON ITUNES

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Nov 13, 2013, 08:53 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Marshall Mathers LP 2, the new album from music icon Eminem, is the best-selling album in the U.S. this week, debuting atop the Billboard 200 albums chart and selling 792,000 copies its first week of release (the second largest sales-week of the year). In addition, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, and single, "The Monster," featuring Rihanna, are currently No. 1 on the iTunes Album and Singles chart, respectively. Fueled by the success of The Marshall Mathers LP 2, all eight of Eminem's previously released albums under Aftermath/Interscope have reentered the Billboard Top 200 chart this week.

In addition, Eminem has become the first lead artist (as opposed to a featured artist) in nearly 50 years to have four songs appear on the Billboard's Hot 100's Top 20, which has not been achieved since The Beatles did it back in May 1964.

On November 2^nd, Eminem appeared on Saturday Night Live, performing "Berzerk" (with surprise guest Rick Rubin DJ'ing) and "Survival," which featured Skylar Grey joining him for vocals on the song. The next day he performed a jaw-dropping live version of "Rap God," the song that features over six minutes of Eminem's dizzying mic skills, at the YouTube Music Awards. On November 4^th, he sat down for a "Town Hall" question and answer session that aired on album release day on his Shade 45 radio station, which is broadcast on SiriusXM satellite radio. On the 6^th, BET aired a special Rap City: Eminem 360 program comprised of an interview and freestyle session with Eminem, who was also joined by Shady Records' artist Slaughterhouse. And this past Sunday, Eminem appeared on MTV's European Music Awards where he was presented with the Global Icon Award for his lifetime achievement as well as taking home the award for Best Hip-Hop.

Executive produced by Dr. Dre and Rick Rubin, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 has earned rave reviews. In its four-star review, Rolling Stone said: "The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is about reclaiming a certain freewheeling buoyancy, about pissing off the world from a more open, less cynical place," while USA Today notes that Eminem recaptures the original Marshall Mathers LP's "wild, clever, emotional brilliance in a flurry of caustic, brazenly honest, rapid-fire rhymes and aggressive beats." The Los Angeles Times says that MMLP2 "scores, spewing emotion as hot (and as damaging) as lava."

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is Eminem's seventh full length release for Aftermath Interscope, following on 2010's Recovery, which sold over 7.2 million copies and spawned the worldwide hits "Not Afraid" and "Love The Way You Lie" making it the first album in the US to ever go platinum digitally. Eminem has sold over 80 million albums worldwide.

SOURCE Interscope Records