Throwing back to the week of Nov. 30, 2013, we find Lorde atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Royals.’ The rest of the top ten is a mix of the same artists and songs that have been dominating the chart for several installments of Throwback Weekends, but we do have a new entry at #2.
Eminem’s ‘The Monster,’ featuring Rihanna, spent four weeks in the #2 spot before finally reaching #1 in December. This was Eminem’s fifth #1 on the Hot 100 (and, as of today, his last) and his first since 2010’s ‘Love the Way You Lie’ (another collaboration with Rihanna). As for Rihanna, this is one of 14 #1 hits on her resume, putting her behind only The Beatles and Mariah Carey on the all-time list.
‘The Monster’ finds Eminem examining his feelings about fame, a tiresome subject in some hands but a compelling one here. Few artists got as big as fast, and with as much controversy, as Eminem.
Rihanna delivers a catchy chorus originally written by Bebe Rexha for an unreleased song. You can hear some of her vocals from the original demo in the background.
I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath
And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy
[Verse 1: Eminem]
I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek
Oh well, guess beggars can’t be choosey
Wanted to receive attention for my music
Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me
For wantin’ my cake, and eat it too, and wantin’ it both ways
Fame made me a balloon ’cause my ego inflated
When I blew, see, but it was confusing
‘Cause all I wanted to do’s be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf
Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam
Whoo! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee!
But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet
It was like winnin’ a used mink
Ironic ’cause I think I’m gettin’ so huge I need a shrink
I’m beginnin’ to lose sleep: one sheep, two sheep
Goin’ coo-coo and kooky as Kool Keith
But I’m actually weirder than you think, ’cause I’m—
[Chorus: Rihanna]
I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath
And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy
Well, that’s nothin’
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[Post-Chorus: Rihanna]
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Well, that’s nothin’
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
[Verse 2: Eminem]
Now, I ain’t much of a poet
But I know somebody once told me to seize the moment
And don’t squander it ’cause you never know when it all
Could be over tomorrow, so I keep conjurin’
Sometimes I wonder where these thoughts spawn from
Yeah, ponderin’ll do you wonders
No wonder you’re losin’ your mind, the way it wanders
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh) Yodel-odel-ay-hee-hoo!
I think it went wanderin’ off down yonder
And stumbled onto Jeff VanVonderen
‘Cause I need an interventionist
To intervene between me and this monster
And save me from myself and all this conflict
‘Cause the very thing that I love’s killin’ me and I can’t conquer it
My OCD’s conkin’ me in the head, keep knockin’
Nobody’s home, I’m sleepwalkin’
I’m just relayin’ what the voice in my head’s sayin’
Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just friends with the—
[Chorus: Rihanna]
I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath
And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy
Well, that’s nothin’
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna]
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Well, that’s nothin’
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(New-ooh, ooh-ooh)
[Verse 3: Eminem]
Call me crazy, but I have this vision, one day that
I’ll walk amongst you a regular civilian
But until then, drums get killed and
I’m comin’ straight at MCs, blood gets spilled and
I’ll take you back to the days that I’d get on a Dre track
Give every kid who got played that pumped-up feelin’
And shit to say back to the kids who played him
I ain’t here to save the fuckin’ children
But if one kid out of a hundred million
Who are goin’ through a struggle, feels it and relates, that’s great
It’s payback, Russell Wilson fallin’ way back
In the draft, turn nothin’ into somethin’, still can make that
Straw into gold, chump, I will spin—Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack
Maybe I need a straightjacket
Face facts: I am nuts for real, but I’m okay with that
It’s nothin’, I’m still friends with the
[Chorus: Rihanna & Eminem]
I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath
And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy
I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed
(Get along with) Get along with the voices inside of my head
(You’re tryin’ to) You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath
(And you think) And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy
Well, that’s nothin’
Meet Me In Montauk 
Was happy to see Eminem have a big hit with this song.