Eminem recently premiered the eagerly awaited video for his No. 1 single "Love The Way You Lie," featuring Rihanna. Shot in Los Angeles, the video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who, in addition to his work on previous Eminem videos, has also directed clips for Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, and 50 Cent among many others. Rihanna appears in the video, which also features Megan Fox (Transformers) and Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, Lost) playing a couple going through the extremes of an abusive relationship.
"Joseph and I worked pretty closely together to make sure we got this right," commented Eminem. "Trying to make this tough subject work visually is a challenge. It was great to have Rihanna, Megan and Dominic on board for this...they really brought it and made this video super-powerful."
"Love The Way You Lie" is Eminem's fourth single to top the Billboard Hot 100. It has reigned at No. 1 on the Digital Songs chart for five consecutive weeks and has sold more than 1.4 million downloads. The track is the second single released from Eminem's latest album Recovery (Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records), which bowed at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart in June with sales of 741,000 copies, and held the top slot for 5 weeks. The album easily outpaced any other release for this year, and set a bar that no other album has reached for first-week sales in nearly two years.
In May, Recovery's first single, "Not Afraid," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100—the first rap song to do so in 13 years. Recovery has been hailed as a tour de force for the rapper, earning a four-star review from Rolling Stone, which described it as, "his fiercest and most focused work in a long time," while USA Today proclaimed it, "a strong return to the form that made him a star in the first place."
Recently, Eminem received 8 nominations for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Eminem and Jay-Z will perform co-headlining dates at Detroit's Comerica Park on September 2nd and 3rd and at New York's Yankee Stadium on September 13th and 14th. Tickets for the four shows are already sold-out. Eminem will also be performing at the Epicenter Festival in Southern California on September 25th.
Megan Fox donated her talent fee for her video appearance to Sojourn, a shelter for abused women. Sojourn provides battered women and their children a safe space to regroup, rebuild, and reestablish their self-esteem and lives. For more information on Sojourn, visit http://www.opcc.net/
In the Philippines, "Love the Way You Lie" is currently enjoying airtime in local music channels and leading radio stations nationwide. Eminem's Recovery CD is now available in music stores nationwide exclusively distributed by MCA Music.