Curtain Call – The Hits’ includes the new single ‘When I’m Gone’ which unequivocally documents Eminem’s reasons for quitting music.

Demand for the album is so high, the ship to shops in the UK is in excess of 900,000 units, Universal’s biggest ever ship.

Sales of downloads tripled in the first half of 2005 and mp3 players are expected to be near the top of many Christmas wishlists, but physical album sales are still up 4% year-on-year and ‘Curtain Call – The Hits’ is expected to make the biggest splash on the High Street this Christmas.


HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo says: "Eminem is widely regarded as the world's biggest recording artist, so it's a truly major event for retailers such as HMV whenever he releases an album.

"’Curtain Call’, however, has the potential to be his most successful release ever and will almost certainly be the Christmas number one. Greatest hits packages always tend to sell well at this time, but with Eminem retiring his persona, we're likely to see a massive response from his fans and particularly from the wider record-buying public."

Eminem has sold over 65 million albums worldwide during his controversial six-year career.
 

Universal