Headlights (Eminem song)

Headlights
feat. Nate Ruess
publication	5th February 2014
length	5:43
Genre (s)	Hip hop
text	M. Mathers , N. Ruess , E. Haynie, J. Bhasker, L. Resto
music	Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker, Eminem (Add)
album	The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Headlights (English for. " Headlights ") is a song of the American rapper Eminem , in which the chorus as well as domestic and outro American US by singer Nate Ruess be sung. The song is included on Eminem's eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and was released as a radio single on February 5, 2014 for promotional purposes .

content

Like earlier tracks by the rapper, the piece is about Eminem's difficult relationship with his mother Debbie Mathers. In contrast to the other songs with this theme, such as Cleanin 'Out My Closet , Headlights is an apology from the artist.

The song begins with the singing of Nate Ruess, who speaks from Eminem's point of view to his mother. He sings that he knows he has let her down, but she can't blame him for his father's abandonment. The chorus is about how it is and maybe both sides have gone too far with their allegations. Eminem starts rapping and says he never really thought about who he could hurt with his lyrics and concludes that it probably hit his mother the most. He talks about his childhood and compares his relationship with his mother with a hurricane or nuclear war . She was always looking for an argument and kicked him out of the apartment on Christmas Eve. When the youth welfare office took Eminem's younger brother Nathan out of the family, he only realized that his mother was seriously ill. In the second verse, Eminem apologizes that his mother couldn't be there while their grandchildren were growing up. He is particularly sorry for the song Cleanin 'Out My Closet today and will not play it anymore. Eminem and his brother Nathan would forgive her for ultimately doing their best to raise them both on their own, while the father never let himself be heard and did not look after his children. This song was written as a thank you to his mother, who also had to take on the role of father. In the outro, Nate Ruess continues to sing from Eminem's point of view about the desire for a new life without stress. He has now dealt with his last worries and is no longer afraid of death, because his two daughters would always carry him.

production

The beat of the song was produced by the American music producers Emile Haynie and Jeff Bhasker. Eminem itself made additional changes. No samples of songs by other artists have been used.

Music video

The video was directed by Spike Lee and released for Mother's Day on May 11, 2014.

It is shot from the perspective of Eminem's mother, Debbie Mathers, and shows a look back at the turbulent relationship between Eminem and her. At the beginning of the video, Debbie receives an official letter from the Detroit authorities. She watches previous Eminem videos on television ( Without Me , Cleanin 'Out My Closet ) in which he bitch about his mother. Then she drives to his property and tries to contact him, but the guards at the gate won't let her pass. Back home, Debbie looks at photo albums from her son's childhood and reminisces. She writes Eminem a letter asking for a second chance. When she drives to her son's property again, he is leaving the premises with his car. They both get out and hug. At the end of the video, Eminem replies to his mother with a conciliatory letter that contains excerpts from Headlights' lyrics .

single

Chart success

Headlights was released as a single on February 5, 2014 on Australian radio for promotional purposes only . On March 4, 2014, the song was also released for US radio stations. As a result, the song rose to number 45 on the US charts and stayed in the top 100 for eight weeks.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
United Kingdom (OCC)	66 (9 weeks)	9
United States (Billboard)	45 (8 weeks)	8th

Sales figures and awards

In 2018, Headlights was awarded a platinum record for more than one million sales in the United States . The single also received a silver record in the UK for over 200,000 units sold.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	platinum	70,000
United States (RIAA)	platinum	1,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	silver	200,000
All in all	1 × silver 2 × platinum	1,270,000

Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards

Web links

• Lyrics with interpretations
• Lyrics (German)
• Music video on YouTube.com

swell

1. ↑ Lyrics in the booklet
2. ↑ February 5, 2014 - Radio in Australia
3. ↑ March 4, 2014 - Radio in USA ( Memento from February 14, 2014 on WebCite )
4. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
5. ↑ US: Platinum