However you feel about Eminem, odds are that you at least appreciate “Mockingbird,” which many people on TikTok clearly do. The Detroit rapper’s 2004 cut from his album Encore just gained over 1 billion streams on Spotify. For context, the track had half as many streams less than a year ago. Of course, this newfound appreciation for the song can be traced back to one social media giant: TikTok. The platform’s already revived past hits on the charts and shown them to a new audience, whether it’s their original version or a remixed rendition.
In this specific example, some videos with the hashtag #mockingbird received over 1.5 billion plays on the platform. Also, other videos with #mockingbirdeminem gained over 375 million plays. Moreover, the song appears in many ways: a sped-up version (used in over 150,000 videos), covers, the base track, one of the verses, the chorus, and the list goes on. Not only that, but this week (March 17), “Mockingbird” is No. 42 on Spotify’s Global Top Songs chart. It’s four spots ahead of Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex” and 200,000 streams behind Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock.” While this track was already a hit, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, this rediscovery certainly brings a new weight to the song dedicated to Em’s daughter Hailie and niece Alaina.
Eminem’s “Mockingbird” Is A TikTok Favorite
However, Encore as a whole album did not receive the kind of praise that “Mockingbird” got from fans and critics alike. Granted, it still sold very well, going five times platinum in the U.S. alone. Still, “Mockingbird” was a standout track regardless of how its album turned out for many. It’s the seventh song in Eminem’s discography to reach over a billion streams on the platform, along with hits like “Without Me” and “The Real Slim Shady.” Last year, during his XXL 25th Anniversary cover story, Marshall Mathers remarked that Encore‘s reception left him frustrated with himself for some time.
“It became a misstep and I struggled to get over the fact that I didn’t do my best,” the 50-year-old expressed. “My best would’ve been good enough if the leaks hadn’t happened. But I released what I had at that point in time, and I feel that put a kind of a mark on my catalog. Encore did some decent numbers, but I was never that concerned with numbers. I was more so worried about what people think about the album. Critics and fans were important to me, and they were always at me about that project.” Despite that disappointment, “Mockingbird” stands as one of his best songs, and it’s great to see TikTok show some love to an almost nineteen-year-old album. Regardless, come back to HNHH for the latest on Eminem.