DAILY DIRT: Slim Shady owned the 2000s when it came to American music

For the best single non-Rod Stewart song of this decade, see the No.3 act … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 977 of The Daily Dirt.

1. There was no doubt which musical artist ruled the decade of the 2000s, at least according to the American buying public.

Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III and affectionately referred to as the Real Slim Shady (from a cut via his third studio release), sold almost twice as many albums/CDs as his closest rival, Linkin Park, between 2000 and 2009.

This our penultimate look at the musical decades, which concludes Friday with a tribute to the 2010s. Hope you have enjoyed the listings, which were forged by Far Out magazine.

2000s

• 1. Eminem – 123 million: Eminem explains, “Slim Shady is the name for my temper or anger. Eminem is just the rapper, Slim Shady is the attitude behind him, and Marshall Mathers is who I am at the end of the day.”
• 2. Linkin Park – 67 million: Linkin Park was the first rock band to achieve 1 billion YouTube views.
  3. Coldplay – 66 million: “Viva La Vida” is one of my favorite songs ever, regardless of genre or decade.
  4. Britney Spears – 62 million: She was once referred to as the “Princess of Pop”.
  5. Beyoncé – 50 million: Her favorite singer is Stevie Wonder and her favorite actor is Tom Hanks.
  6. Pink – 48 million: Her real name is Alecia Beth Moore, and she is now 44 years old.
  7. Norah Jones – 48 million: Her breakthrough album, “Come Away with Me,” became a massive commercial success, selling more than 27 million copies worldwide and staying on the Billboard 200 chart for an impressive 175 weeks
  8. Robbie Williams – 47 million: Williams had an entry in the 2006 edition of the Guinness World Records after selling 1.6 million tickets for his “Close Encounters Tour” in a single day.
  9. Nickelback – 46 million: Surprisingly, the Canadian band has never won a Grammy. (PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is not surprising at all. JRG)
  10. Black Eyed Peas – 45 million: In case you missed it, founding Peas member will.i.am confirmed awhile back that Fergie is officially no longer a member of the group.

2. The best of this week’s “Found on Facebook”:

• “Santa Claus used to exist … until he forgot to get Chuck Norris a Christmas present.”
• “Ichiro got his third MLB hit in his 10th at-bat and his batting average never dipped under .300 for the rest of his career.”
• “That moment when driving in your car and you lower the music when looking for the street address so you can see better.”
• “Baseball is the only game you can see on the radio.”
• “Two antennas fell in love and got married. The wedding wasn’t much, but the reception was excellent.”

3. No new spotting was able to earn a place on the medal stand for the ongoing Great Plate Debate of 2024. Here were the best license plates seen this week across West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri:

• 85 BLU
• MRS ECI
• 1 A RACE
• 4 SPECS
• BAH 62
• K CARDS
• KOKO
• THRIVE
• QHSTEN 1
• NAENAE 5

That means the following plates remain atop our third annual Plate Debate for the current calendar year:

Gold medal: U DRUNK

Silver medal: CO XIST

Bronze medal:  US-MALE

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Of today’s most popular rock acts of the 2000s, I would have paid to see Coldplay, Pink and Norah Jones.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He has a Nickelback t-shirt.