Somebody Save Me (Eminem song)

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"Somebody Save Me"
Single by Eminem featuring Jelly Roll
from the album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
ReleasedJuly 18, 2024
GenreCountry hip hop
Length3:50
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Eminem singles chronology
"Tobey"
(2024) 		"Somebody Save Me"
(2024)

"Somebody Save Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem featuring Jelly Roll from his twelfth studio album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024). It was later released as a single.

Background and release

American rapper Eminem released his eleventh studio album, Music to Be Murdered By, in January 2020. The album was critically and commercially successful, producing singles such as "Godzilla", which peaked at number 3 on the Billbord Hot 100.[1] After the success of the album, Eminem began working on his twelfth studio album in collaboration with Dr. Dre, with the albums production being confirmed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 19, 2024.[2] The album, named The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), was formally announced on April 26 after the 2024 NFL draft through a trailer depicting a news story about the death of Eminem's alter ego, Slim Shady.[1] The album was released on July 12, 2024; "Somebody Save Me" is the nineteenth and final song on the standard track list.[3][4] On July 18, 2024 the song was released as a single.[5]

Composition and lyrics

"Somebody Save Me" is a country hip hop[6] song performed primarily by Eminem, with parts of the song being sampled from Jelly Roll's 2020 single "Save Me".[7][8] Additional producers for the song include Emile Haynie, Benny Blanco, Luis Resto, and David Ray.[8]

The lyrics of "Somebody Save Me" are about Eminem's relationship with his family during his past drug addiction, and are written from the perspective of an alternate reality where he died before his daughter Hallie's graduation.[9] The song opens up with a recording of one of his children, Alaina, begging him to eat dinner which he denies. All three verse of the songs are dedicated to one of his kids, namely Alaina, Hallie, and Stevie, apologizing for his addiction disrupting the family. He openly regrets not being able to be a proper father, saying he "[doesn't] even deserve the father title." After the songs intro and in-between each verse, a snippet of Jelly Roll's "Save Me" plays, where he says "somebody save me, me from myself" among other parts of the original song after each verse.[7][4]

Critical reception

In a ranking of every song from The Death of Slim Shady, Billboard's Michael Saponara considered "Somebody Save Me" to be the album's best song, describing it as a "teary-eyed" ending.[10] A staff writer of Sputnikmusic wrote that "Somebody Save Me" alongside "Temporary" and "Bad One" were songs that retained issues that believed Eminem's songs had in recent years, but were still a "massive improvement."[11]

Louder's Merlin Alderslade stated that the song was a poor ending to the album, describing Jelly Roll's chorus as "schmaltzy and irritating".[12]

Charts

Chart performance for "Somebody Save Me"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 48
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[14] 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 31

References

  1. ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J. (April 26, 2024). "Eminem Announces New Album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), Releasing This Summer". Variety. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Gil (March 20, 2024). "Dr. Dre Says New Eminem Album Coming This Year, Gives Update on Snoop Dogg's 'Missionary' on Kimmel". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  3. ^ Lynch, Jessica (July 10, 2024). "Eminem Unveils Tracklist for 'The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)'". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Donovan, Thom (July 18, 2024). "The Meaning Behind "Somebody Save Me" by Eminem and Jelly Roll and Why the Rapper Is Apologizing to His Kids". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Somebody Save Me - Single by Eminem & Jelly Roll". July 18, 2024. July 19, 2024 – via Apple Music.
  6. ^ Sanfiorenzo, Dimas; Berry, Peter. "8 Takeaways From Eminem's 'The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)' Album". Complex. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Dailey, Hannah (July 12, 2024). "Eminem Apologizes to His Kids in Emotional New Song 'Somebody Save Me' Featuring Jelly Roll". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Here's Who Appears on Eminem's 'The Death of Slim Shady'". Rolling Stone Australia. July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  9. ^ Chick, Stevie (July 12, 2024). "Eminem review, The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce): Punching downwards, joylessly and without inspiration". The Independent. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Saponara, Michael (July 12, 2024). "Eminem's The Death of Slim Shady Album: Songs Ranked Worst to Best". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "Review: Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (July 12, 2024). ""Eminem remains unable to resist humouring his darkest lyrical impulses. He just doesn't know how to properly address them." The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) is a disappointing missed opportunity". louder. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
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