The Oxford English Dictionary is officially adding the word “stan” from the popular Eminem song, which was released seventeen years ago about a crazy superfan.
The word “stan” can be both a noun and a verb as it describes “an overzelous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity.” The dictionary even lists Eminem’s song as the origin of the term.
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The Oxford dictionary even offered examples of how to use “stan” in a sentence. “He has millions of stans who are obsessed with him and call him a rap god.” And used as a verb, “Y’all know I stan for Katy Perry, so I was excited to see the artwork for her upcoming album.”
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For those that don’t remember the song, “Stan” was written from a fan’s perspective and was a single from The Marshall Mathers LP. The haunting tune features vocals from UK-based singer Dido.
In the song, the admirer pens frequent letters to the rapper and at first the notes are pleasant and messages of inspiration. The music video for the tune shows a fan dressing just like the rapper and dying his hair in the same shade of peroxide blond. As the song goes on, the fan becomes angry as his idol does not write back right away.
In pop culture fandom, the term has grown on social media and on the Internet and is used as a phrase for overzelous fans eager to defend their idols.
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As for Eminem, he recently revealed that comedian Jim Carrey essentially penned one of his albums. In an Instagram post shared on Tuesday of this week, the rapper posted a handwritten note to explain where he found the inspiration for The Eminem Show.
“The concept for The Eminem Show was inspired by The Truman Show because my life felt like it was becoming a circus at that time and I felt like I was always being watched,” the note reads. “Basically, Jim Carrey wrote my album.”
