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Revival is the ninth album by American rapper Eminem, released on December 15, 2017 through Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. Production for the album took place during 2016 to 2017 at various recording studios. Production was handled by various record producers, including Eminem himself, Rick Rubin, Skylar Grey, and executive producer Dr. Dre. The album also features guest appearances from artists Beyoncé, Phresher, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, X Ambassadors, Grey, Kehlani, and P!nk.
The album's lead single, "Walk on Water" featuring Beyoncé, was released on November 10, 2017. "Untouchable" was released as a promotional single on December 8, a week prior to the album's release. Revival was leaked online on December 13, 2017, two days before the album's release date.
Description[]
Eminem's music has always been characterized by the rising volume of inner voices: The angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other ("Guilty Conscience"), the childhood trauma that never found an outlet ("Cleanin' Out My Closet"), and the almost vengeful inspiration that got him over anyway ("Lose Yourself"). Sometimes the voices could be comforting ("Hailey's Song"), but most of the time they only made his obsessions narrower and even more claustrophobic. He could build a world out of words—but he could bury himself in them, too.
"Am I lucky to be around this long?" he asks on "Walk on Water," the opening track on 2017's Revival. And while the album finds him taking on inequity and systemic racism ("Untouchable") as well as the jingoism of the Trump presidency ("Like Home"), the underlying current on Revival is one of almost irresolvable self-doubt—about his choices, his qualities, his legacy, his worth. Like Hans Gruber in the not-quite-historically accurate Die Hard—who claims that Alexander wept upon seeing he had no more worlds to conquer—we have Em, alone in the throne room on the track "Believe," voicing his doubts out loud: "How do you keep up the pace/And the hunger pangs once you've won the race?"
At the time of Revival's release, Eminem said he'd enjoyed JAY-Z's recent 4:44 for the same reasons he'd always enjoyed JAY-Z: the funny punch lines and the good beats. But you could also see Revival as a louder, angrier, Eminem-ier companion to the same midlife reflections: Will I always be who I was? Was the cost of my success worth it? Can I change? Do I want to? As well-worn as his addictions and his us-against-the-world bond with his daughter Hailie were as subjects for his songs, he's never sounded as genuinely vulnerable as he does on "Castle" and "Arose." The former is structured as three letters written over the course of Hailie's childhood, leading up to the Christmas Eve overdose that almost cost him his life; "Arose" finds him imagining that he can rewind time and throw the pills away instead—knowing, of course, that it's all just another daydream. Rap didn't have precedents for an album as self-questioning, and as self-lacerating, as this one. Get to the end of Revival, and you come out wishing him peace. – Apple Music
Background[]
Before Revival's release, many songs released on this album were created throughout the six year period before the main recording sessions. "Castle" was a leftover from the Recovery sessions. "Tragic Endings, In Your Head & Need Me" were all 2011/2012 leftovers and "Bad Husband" being a Shady XV leftover (confirmed by X Ambassadors to have been recorded in February 2014). In 2016, Eminem also created "Believe & Framed," thinking about working on another album for the following year.
Em first revealed that he was working on an album when he announced the song "Campaign Speech" via his Twitter account in October 2016, writing, "Don't worry I'm working on an album! Here's something meanwhile." Rumors about the release date started in late 2016, saying the album would be called Success and would be released sometime in January 2017. A fake tracklist also was leaked at the same time. Rumors were sparked again in February and March 2017, when Eminem announced he was headlining three shows in Reading, Glasgow and Leeds. Various news articles said that because he was performing, he would have to release new material to perform, or at least preview, at the festivals.
Release and promotion[]
On October 6, 2017, Eminem performed a freestyle titled "The Storm" at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, criticizing then-president Donald Trump. The rapper's freestyle went viral, garnering millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes on YouTube within weeks. As of December 16, 2017, the video has over 41 million views and over 1.1 million likes.
On October 25, 2017, Paul Rosenberg posted a photo to Instagram of Yelawolf's Trial by Fire. In the background of the photo, there is a billboard ad promoting a drug called "Revival." Suspicion was aroused when fans noticed that the 'E' in "Revival" was reversed, similar to Eminem's previous logos. Visiting the website listed on the billboard ad revealed several clues. On the website, a promotional video about "Revival" makes references to Eminem's song "Lose Yourself". The website also references "Sing for the Moment," "Brain Damage," "Fack," "Role Model," and "Any Man". According to the website, "Revival" treats "Atrox Rithimus," a nonexistent medical condition. One translation of Atrox Rithimus, from Latin, is 'terrible rhyme'. The website is also registered to one of Eminem's labels, Interscope. When the phone number for "Revival" is called, it plays the background music of Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor" featuring Eminem. These details led fans to believe Eminem's new album will be called Revival. This would follow suit with the names of two of his last three solo albums, Relapse and Recovery.
The album release date was teased multiple times, leading fans to wonder the release date. On November 28, 2017, the release date of the album was announced to be December 15 via both Dr. Dre's and Eminem's social media accounts, while also revealing the fake drug campaign of the record. On December 5, 2017, Eminem shared a complete list of all the tracks featured on his album through his Instagram account. The list features a total of 19 tracks, including an interlude track to Revival, featuring artists such as Phresher, Ed Sheeran, Skylar Grey, Alicia Keys, X Ambassadors, P!nk, and Kehlani. On December 7, 2017, the album cover was revealed and projected onto a Detroit building. That night, the song "Untouchable" was released and a pre-order was set up on iTunes.
Singles[]
On November 8, 2017, Eminem tweeted a picture of a doctor's prescription note with the words "Walk on Water" and "Take as needed" written on it. Additionally, the doctor's note was labeled with the logo for Revival. On November 9, Rosenberg shared a video on Instagram linking the drug "Revival" with "Walk on Water" and confirming the song, which was subsequently released the next day. An audio video was uploaded to Em's YouTube channel. As of December 16, 2017, the video has nearly 50 million views and over 1.1 million likes.
In the United States, "Walk on Water" debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the 57th entry for both artists on the chart. The song was first performed by Eminem at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards on November 12 with co-producer and writer Skylar Grey on vocals. Both performed the song and a melody of "Stan" and "Love the Way You Lie" on Saturday Night Live on November 18. Eminem stated on his website that he was going to release a new track on December 8, 2017; this led to the promotional single "Untouchable". The song features a sample from the song "Earache My Eye" by the comedy duo Cheech & Chong.
Artwork[]
Track listing[]
Track listing[]
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Walk on Water" (featuring Beyoncé) | Marshall Mathers, Holly Hafermann, Beyoncé Knowles | Rick Rubin, Skylar Grey[a] | 5:03 |
| 2. | "Believe" | Mathers, Luis Resto, Mark Batson, Mike Strange | Eminem, Luis Resto[b], Mr. Porter[b] | 5:15 |
| 3. | "Chloraseptic" (featuring Phresher) | Mathers, Denaun Porter, Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith | Mr. Porter | 5:01 |
| 4. | "Untouchable" | Mathers, Emile Haynie, Mark Batson, Porter, Tommy Chong, Gaye Delorme, Richard Marin, Duval Clear, Andre Brown, Tyrone Kelsie, Eric McIntosh | Eminem, Mark Batson, Emile Haynie, Mr. Porter | 6:10 |
| 5. | "River" (featuring Ed Sheeran) | Mathers, Emile Haynie, Ed Sheeran | Emile Haynie | 3:41 |
| 6. | "Remind Me (Intro)" | Dr. Dre, Andre Young, Theron Feemster, Trevor Lawrence, Jr. | Dr. Dre, Feemster, Lawrence, Jr. | 0:26 |
| 7. | "Remind Me" | Mathers, Jake Richards, Allan Sachs, Jesse Bonds Weaver, Jr., Matt Dike, Luther Rabb, James Walters, Marvin Young | Rick Rubin | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Revival (Interlude)" | Mathers, Alicia Lemke, Bryan Frizel, Aaron Kleinstub, Regina Spektor | Frequency, Aalias | 0:51 |
| 9. | "Like Home" (featuring Alicia Keys) | Mathers, Myles Moraites, Hafermann, A. Jackson, Justin Smith, Paul Rosenberg, Resto, Alicia Augello-Cook | Just Blaze, Eminem[a] | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Bad Husband" (featuring X Ambassadors) | Mathers, Alexander Grant, Resto, Sam Harris | Alex da Kid, Eminem[a] | 4:47 |
| 11. | "Tragic Endings" (featuring Skylar Grey) | Mathers, Hafermann, Grant | Alex da Kid | 4:12 |
| 12. | "Framed" | Mathers, Farid Nassar, David John Byron, Kenneth William Hensley | Fredwreck, Eminem[a] | 4:12 |
| 13. | "Nowhere Fast" (featuring Kehlani) | Mathers, Mark Batson, Antonina Armato, Timothy James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges | Rock Mafia, Hit-Boy | 4:24 |
| 14. | "Heat" | Mathers, Darryl McDaniels, Joseph Simmons, Larry Smith, Adam Horovitz, Rubin | Rick Rubin | 4:10 |
| 15. | "Offended" | Mathers, Ray Fraser, Charles Bradle, Thomas Brenneck, David Guy, Leon Michels | Illa da Producer, Eminem[a] | 5:20 |
| 16. | "Need Me" (featuring P!nk) | Mathers, Hafermann, Jon Ingoldsby, Grant | Alex da Kid | 4:25 |
| 17. | "In Your Head" | Mathers, Dolores O'Riordan, Marc Shemer | Scram Jones | 3:02 |
| 18. | "Castle" | Mathers, Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Pranam Injeti, Erik Alcock, Liz Rodrigues | DJ Khalil | 4:14 |
| 19. | "Arose" | Mathers, Barry White, Amanda McBroom | Rick Rubin | 4:34 |
| Total length: | 77:47 | |||
Track notes
- ^[a] signifies a co-producer.
- ^[b] signifies an additional producer.
- "Remind Me" features backing vocals by Mr. Porter.
- "Revival (Interlude)" features vocals by Alice and the Glass Lake.
- "Offended" features vocals by Kent Jones.
- "Castle" features vocals by Liz Rodrigues.
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
| Chart (2017–2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
 Australian Albums (ARIA)
|
1 |
 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|
2 |
 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|
6 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
|
20 |
 Canadian Albums (Billboard)
|
1 |
 Croatian International Albums (HDU)
|
32 |
 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)
|
15 |
 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
|
2 |
 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|
1 |
 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
|
1 |
 French Albums (SNEP)
|
7 |
 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|
2 |
| German Albums (Top 20 Hip Hop)
|
1 |
 Greek Albums (IFPI)
|
12 |
 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)
|
14 |
 Irish Albums (IRMA)
|
3 |
 Italian Albums (FIMI)
|
7 |
 Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|
17 |
 Latvian Albums (LaIPA)
|
1 |
 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|
3 |
 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
|
1 |
 Polish Albums (ZPAV)
|
17 |
 Portuguese Albums (AFP)
|
9 |
 Scottish Albums (OCC)
|
2 |
 Slovak Albums (IFPI)
|
24 |
 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
|
18 |
 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
|
2 |
 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|
1 |
 UK Albums (OCC)
|
1 |
 US Billboard 200
|
1 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
|
1 |
Year-end charts[]
| Chart (2017) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|
21 |
| French Albums (SNEP)
|
118 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|
67 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)
|
97 |
| UK Albums (OCC)
|
20 |
| Chart (2018) | Position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|
31 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|
71 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|
52 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
|
122 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)
|
5 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
|
13 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|
63 |
| French Albums (SNEP)
|
113 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|
59 |
 Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)
|
78 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)
|
77 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|
34 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
|
25 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|
6 |
| UK Albums (OCC)
|
32 |
| US Billboard 200
|
32 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
|
21 |
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)
|
Platinum | 70,000*** |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)
|
Gold | 7,500*** |
| Canada (Music Canada)
|
Platinum | 80,000*** |
 China
|
— | 357,343 |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)
|
Platinum | 20,000*** |
| France (SNEP)
|
Platinum | 100,000*** |
| Germany (BVMI)
|
Gold | 100,000*** |
| Italy (FIMI)
|
Gold | 25,000*** |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
Gold | 7,500*** |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)
|
Platinum | 20,000*** |
| Poland (ZPAV)
|
Gold | 10,000*** |
| United Kingdom (BPI)
|
Platinum | 321,000 |
| United States (RIAA)
|
Platinum | 1,000,000*** |
|
*** Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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