The song was produced by The 45 King, and uses a slightly modified break from Dido’s “Thank You” as its base sample. The track also samples the opening lines of “Thank You” as its chorus. Coincidentally, both songs were released as singles in late 2000. “Stan” has been called one of Eminem’s best songs and is considered one of his signature songs. Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Stan” at #296 in their list in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was also listed at #15 on VH1’s list of the greatest hip hop songs of all-time.
The song was nominated for multiple awards like the Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards, Video of the Year, Best Rap Video, Best Direction, Best Cinematography at the MTV Video Music Awards. The only award it won was the Best International Artist Video at the MuchMusic Video Awards. In April 2011, Complex magazine put together a list of the 100 Greatest Eminem songs, ranking “Stan” at #2. The name of the character in the namesake song has given rise to a slang term online which refers to overzealous maniacal obsessed fans of a celebrity or personality.