Eminem has been churning out hit singles and bestselling albums for decades now, and he’s still one of the most reliable musicians in the industry when it comes to scoring a huge debut with a new release. While the rapper continues to work on what’s next, his fans all around the world haven’t forgotten about his older efforts. Now, one of them has made history in the U.K. as it continues to rack up streams and sales, years after it was first unleashed.
Curtain Call: The Hits celebrates hitting 500 weeks on the albums chart in the U.K. this frame. That’s a momentous occasion for any title by any musician, but it’s especially notable considering the set’s genre. The compilation is now the first hip-hop release in the country’s history to spend 500 weeks anywhere on the list of the most-consumed releases in the nation.
This time around, Curtain Call: The Hits doesn’t just find space on the ranking of the 100 most popular full-lengths in the U.K., it stands as one of the biggest. The set dips one rung to No. 15, an incredible position for a title that’s been charting for as long as it already has.
Curtain Call: The Hits was released in 2005, and it debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart. The set went on to spend its first five frames on the list on the throne, and it managed two months inside the top 10 before falling outside that region. Since then, it has lived inside the top 50 of the ranking for about half of all of its many weeks on the tally.
The compilation features a dozen of Eminem’s biggest smashes up until 2005, as well as a handful of new releases. Lead single “Shake That” was a minor success in the U.K., as it stalled at No. 90, but the follow up proved that while he may have been releasing a greatest hits, the hip-hop powerhouse was nowhere near done crafting blockbusters. The title’s second promotional release, “When I’m Gone,” peaked at No. 4, giving him yet another top 10 in the country.
Eminem has thus far racked up 10 No. 1 albums in the U.K., including Curtain Call: The Hits. Only one release, his breakthrough full-length The Slim Shady LP, missed the highest rung on the tally. That set, which helped introduce him to the world and made him a household name, only climbed as high as No. 10.
Several other popular releases have spent 500 weeks (or any more) on the U.K. albums chart, but none are classified as hip-hop or rap. Beloved collections like Queen’s Greatest Hits, ABBA’s Gold, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon are among the very few titles (still under a dozen) that have managed to reach 500 frames on the roster.
