# Thank You (Dido song)
"Thank You" is a song by the English singer-songwriter [Dido](https://www.edgepedia.org/dido-singer), written by Dido (credited as Dido Armstrong) and Paul Herman and produced by Dido and her brother Rollo. It first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1998 film *Sliding Doors*, was included on her 1999 debut album *No Angel*, and became an international hit in 2000 and 2001 after its chorus was sampled in Eminem's "Stan".
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writers | Dido Armstrong and Paul Herman[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120148/soundtrack) |
| Producer | Dido and Rollo[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/116268-thank-you/) |
| First appearance | *Sliding Doors* soundtrack, 1998[3](https://www.last.fm/music/Dido/2000s%2BPop%2BEssentials/Thank%2BYou) |
| Album | Track 6 on *No Angel* (1999), running 3:38[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/116268-thank-you/) |
| Single release | Second single from *No Angel*, September 18, 2000[3](https://www.last.fm/music/Dido/2000s%2BPop%2BEssentials/Thank%2BYou) |
| Peak positions | No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100; No. 3 in the UK[4](https://aeschtunes.com/2025/04/05/song-of-the-moment-dido-thank-you/) • [5](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/dido/info/573950) |
| Famous sample | The chorus was sampled in Eminem's "Stan" (2000)[6](https://monitor.explainsong.com/songs/eminem-stan.html) |
## Writing and subject
According to a Pitchfork retrospective, the song was written as a love song for Dido's longtime boyfriend Bob Page, who was a main character in her music[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dido-life-for-rent/). Its opening lines, "My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why / I got out of bed at all", set a deliberately plain scene; the Independent describes Dido's lyrics generally as plain yet evocative, built around humdrum scenarios and conventional wounds[8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/dido-no-angel-album-b2554660.html). The critic David Browne, writing in [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly), was less kind to the chorus, calling its croon of "I want to thank you" emotionally and musically a cop-out[9](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/64607-dido-thank-you.php).
The vocal style that carried the song was already familiar to a small audience: Dido had guest-sung for [Faithless](https://www.edgepedia.org/faithless), the trip-hop act fronted by her brother Rollo, before recording her own material[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2001-02.pdf).
## Sliding Doors and No Angel
"Thank You" reached listeners before *No Angel* did. The song was placed on the soundtrack of the 1998 [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/gwyneth-paltrow) film *Sliding Doors*, a placement credited to her publisher Warner/Chappell[3](https://www.last.fm/music/Dido/2000s%2BPop%2BEssentials/Thank%2BYou) • [11](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2000/Music-Week-2000-10-28.pdf). It then appeared on her debut album *No Angel* (1999) as the sixth track[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/116268-thank-you/).
The album itself was a slow build. By August 2000, Billboard reported that more than a year after its US release, *No Angel* was getting a second wind, with sales boosted by airplay for "Here With Me", constant touring, and the fact that "Thank You" was prominently sampled on Eminem's "Stan"[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2000/BB-2000-08-26.pdf). Dido pushed back on the idea that the album had been a dud before the Eminem exposure, noting it had been selling steadily on the Heatseekers chart beforehand[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2000/BB-2000-08-26.pdf). Contractual issues from the sale of Rollo's label Cheeky to BMG delayed the UK release until October 2000, by which point the album had sold a million copies in the United States[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dido-life-for-rent/).
## The Stan sample
The sample came about by accident. The 45 King, a New York beatmaker known for flipping obscure 45s into beats, was watching *Sliding Doors*, heard the laid-back groove of "Thank You", taped it off the TV, and turned it into a loop that found its way to Eminem while he was recording *The Marshall Mathers LP*[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dido-life-for-rent/). The Spanish music outlet Los40 gives the same account, adding that Eminem was struck by the line about putting a photo on the wall and immediately connected it to the obsessive fans who sent him letters[13](https://los40.com/2025/05/23/aturdido-por-la-fama-y-rabia-desatada-asi-hizo-eminem-su-disco-mas-famoso-hace-veinticinco-anos/).
In "Stan", the sampled chorus sits in deliberate contrast to the narrative of an obsessed fan who murders his pregnant girlfriend; the soothing loop keeps refusing to match what is being described over it[6](https://monitor.explainsong.com/songs/eminem-stan.html). Dido appears in the song's music video, and she performed with Eminem on [Saturday Night Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/saturday-night-live) and on the Anger Management tour[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dido-life-for-rent/). [The Observer](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-observer) noted at the time that millions of music fans were so intrigued by the six lines of "Thank You" inside "Stan" that they bought Dido's own album[14](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/2003-09-30_v38_026.pdf).
## Chart performance and aftermath
Released as the album's second single on September 18, 2000, "Thank You" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2001[4](https://aeschtunes.com/2025/04/05/song-of-the-moment-dido-thank-you/), and Dido's label cites the same position in the UK[5](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/dido/info/573950). European peaks recorded by the Swiss hitparade archive include number 3 in New Zealand, number 9 in Spain, number 17 in Norway, number 22 in Belgium, number 41 in Italy, and number 42 in Sweden[15](https://hitparade.ch/song/Dido/Thank-You-4727).
**The sample made the album, not just the single.** The Guardian later credited Dido with 12 million copies of *No Angel* sold[16](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/26/popandrock.shopping3), and the Independent ranks it among the bestselling albums in British chart history and the second bestselling album of the Noughties in the UK[8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/dido-no-angel-album-b2554660.html).
## Title styling
The song's printed title varies by release. The [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) entry for the work documents that Dido's own packaging prints it as one word, "Thankyou", on the original 1999 US CD of *No Angel*, subsequent reissues, the 2005 *Live at Brixton Academy* release, and the 2013 *Greatest Hits* compilation, with the 2001 single release the notable exception using two words; various-artists and streaming releases typically use "Thank You"[17](https://musicbrainz.org/work/59403a9a-ec62-3104-a928-73b0c18b8a04).
## Later versions
The song has continued to generate new versions. In 2023 the Belgian duo [Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike](https://www.edgepedia.org/dimitri-vegas-and-like-mike), together with Tiësto and W&W, released the remake "Thank You (Not So Bad)", a project that began as a reinterpretation for their Ibiza shows and, with Dido's consent to use her vocals, became a festival and sports-event anthem with more than 500 million streams[5](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/dido/info/573950). In 2024 the Colombian singer [Sebastián Yatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/sebastian-yatra) and the Catalan singer [Bad Gyal](https://www.edgepedia.org/bad-gyal) sampled it for their Spanish-language single "2AM"[18](https://los40.com/2024/11/22/2am-de-sebastian-yatra-y-bad-gyal-de-que-te-suena-la-cancion/). For the 25th anniversary of *No Angel*, Sony Music released an anniversary edition on September 19, 2025, and an official 4K video for "Thank You" followed on streaming platforms[5](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/dido/info/573950) • [19](https://music.apple.com/us/music-video/thank-you-official-4k-video/1837666947).
The word "stan" itself, popularized by Eminem's song, was added to the [Oxford English Dictionary](https://www.edgepedia.org/oxford-english-dictionary) in 2017, a legacy traced directly back to the track built on Dido's chorus[20](https://time.com/4801810/eminem-stan-oxford-english-dictionary/).
## References
1. [Sliding Doors (1998) Soundtracks, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120148/soundtrack)
2. [Thank You – Dido, Song Info, Album of the Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/116268-thank-you/)
3. [Thank You – Dido, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Dido/2000s%2BPop%2BEssentials/Thank%2BYou)
4. [Song of the Moment: Dido – "Thank You", AeschTunes](https://aeschtunes.com/2025/04/05/song-of-the-moment-dido-thank-you/)
5. [『No Angel』リリース25周年盤を9月19日発売, Sony Music Japan](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/dido/info/573950)
6. [Stan by Eminem – Song Meaning, Analysis & Lyrics, ExplainSong](https://monitor.explainsong.com/songs/eminem-stan.html)
7. [Dido: Life for Rent Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dido-life-for-rent/)
8. [Dido's No Angel at 25, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/dido-no-angel-album-b2554660.html)
9. [Dido - Thank You (Single) Reviews, Album of the Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/64607-dido-thank-you.php)
10. [CMJ New Music Report, February 2001](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2001-02.pdf)
11. [Music Week, October 28, 2000](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2000/Music-Week-2000-10-28.pdf)
12. [Billboard, August 26, 2000](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2000/BB-2000-08-26.pdf)
13. [Así hizo Eminem su disco más famoso hace veinticinco años, Los40](https://los40.com/2025/05/23/aturdido-por-la-fama-y-rabia-desatada-asi-hizo-eminem-su-disco-mas-famoso-hace-veinticinco-anos/)
14. [Notre Dame Observer, September 30, 2003](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/2003-09-30_v38_026.pdf)
15. [Dido - Thank You, hitparade.ch](https://hitparade.ch/song/Dido/Thank-You-4727)
16. [Dido, Life for Rent review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/26/popandrock.shopping3)
17. [Song "Thankyou" – MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/work/59403a9a-ec62-3104-a928-73b0c18b8a04)
18. [2AM de Sebastián Yatra y Bad Gyal, Los40](https://los40.com/2024/11/22/2am-de-sebastian-yatra-y-bad-gyal-de-que-te-suena-la-cancion/)
19. [Thank You (Official 4K Video), Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/music-video/thank-you-official-4k-video/1837666947)
20. ['Stan' Is Now an Officially Recognized Word in the Oxford English Dictionary, Time](https://time.com/4801810/eminem-stan-oxford-english-dictionary/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Pop songs › Pop songs of the 1990s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license