Eminem's 'Love The Way You Lie' Is MTV News' #9 Song Of 2010

[Sofi]

Last week, MTV News kicked off our countdown of the Top 25 Songs of 2010, an all-encompassing list that has already included the likes of Rick Ross and Robyn, Lady Gaga and Kanye West, to name just a few. Now, we're pulling the curtain back on our pick for #9 ... Eminem and Rihanna's massive "Love the Way You Lie," a song that resonated with both fans and critics alike, mostly because it was unafraid to get unspeakably real.

For more than a decade now, Eminem has always operated with a safety net: his Slim Shady alter ego. Slim says and does the kind of things that normal people can't (or don't), dealing almost exclusively in wanton acts of violence and/or depravity and never, ever apologizing for any of it. At times, the act has been so convincing that you're not quite sure if Em is Slim Shady, which is how he's been able to get away with songs like "Kim" (in which he stuffs his wife in the trunk of his car), "Kill You" (where he rapes his own mother) and even "3 a.m." (the one where he goes on a pill-addled murder spree).

Because of Slim, no matter how brutal or unflinching Eminem's subject matter, his fans have always been able to laugh it away, even if, deep down inside, that darkness still terrifies them. "That isn't really Eminem," the logic goes. "It's Slim Shady. It's different."

But in 2010, Eminem changed things up. He got sober, he got serious and — for the most part — he shelved the Slim Shady character altogether. It was a bold, if not necessary, move, and the end result was Recovery, an album that has wowed critics and fans alike, thanks in no small part to the complete absence of that alter ego. Instead, we all got to see Em as his most honest, his most brutal ... and, in the case of "Love the Way You Lie," his darkest.

On the surface, "Lie" is an unblinking, unyielding examination of a relationship gone horribly awry, a rapidly descending tale of two lovers who cannot live without each other, and seem destined to die because of it. It's a masterwork of unfiltered angst, full of violence (both real and imagined) and threats (or promises), and the fact that it resonated to such a degree with the record-buying public — it was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks — is both a testament to its power and more terrifying than a dozen songs about stuffing someone in a trunk.

But no matter how you choose to analyze the song and its success, you cannot deny the fact that the song works mostly because it's so terribly real. When Em screams "Next time/ There will be no next time," you can't help but believe that he's telling the truth, no matter how frightening that may be, and you get the creeping suspicion that he's actually shouted that threat to someone very close to him at some point in his past. Perhaps even more terrifying is the fact that he follows that line up with "I apologize." You cannot write a song any better than that, because that's how this kind of thing happens in real life.

And though she might seem an odd choice to sing the hook, Rihanna more than holds her own against Eminem's bluster. She returns serve, her rage and heartbreak are equally as tangible as his ... once again, because you get the feeling (well, or you know for a fact) that she's been in situations like this before. Sadly, there's no substitute for experience.

"Love the Way You Lie" is about many things, most of which are very bad. But it's also a testament to Eminem's courage and willingness to put it all on the line, his gifted skills as a storyteller and his deft ability to turn his gaze inward. For the first time, he sheds Slim Shady and walks the tightrope without the aid of a safety net, a balancing act that's scarier — and more thrilling — than a dozen ax murders. For better or worse.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/165361 ... adlines%29

[shadysecret]

Again that hit song everyone is so obsessed with

Thumbs down, this is not really Eminem's best work, everyone's so fucking obsessed over this LTWYL crap/

[buffalo bill]

Again that hit song everyone is so obsessed with

Thumbs down, this is not really Eminem's best work, everyone's so fucking obsessed over this LTWYL crap/

Of course not, but it is his best since Relapse:Refill.

Pretty good MTV review except a couple of things. "Recovery, an album that has wowed critics and fans alike, thanks in no small part to the complete absence of that alter ego" (ie Slim Shady) is -worthy. But as for the song itself, they certainly got the point.

[Drucifer]

Again that hit song everyone is so obsessed with

Thumbs down, this is not really Eminem's best work, everyone's so fucking obsessed over this LTWYL crap/

Its a good song......... Even though It lost some of its value to me because the radio played it to death

Besides, these kinds of lists arent judging On All the songs that came out this year, just the hits that everyone knows, and when you take that into account, I think the song should be higher, wasnt very much on the radio this year better.......

I wonder where there gonna rank Not Afraid

[VivancoFTW]

Kill You being about Em raping his mother...

[Mikey1990]

should be higher
no love should be in top 5 but won't be

[momentisgolden]

Sometimes you gotta consider impact. Besides the chorus, i believe "You Never Over" is the best track on the album coz of the emotion but i wouldnt put it on the list coz it ddnt blow. Everyone heard "Lie", it was discussed on SOO many blogs, it increased his profile, its nominated for grammys etc etc. In itself, it might be good but the impact on Society in general is quite incredible. Think it should be higher than Not Afraid tbh

[katha]

That...was actually a quite decent write-up by MTV. Huh. Of course, they got the Shady thing and the "Raping Mother" thing all wrong. But the song review for LTWYL is quite interesting, since when do they do thoughtful criticism?

[TheGentlePlayer]

Kill You being about Em raping his mother...

Smh really hard right now

[Rash J]

Usher's OMG is number 1.
O M G

[stella222]

I can't take seriously any list that claims OMG is the song of 2010.