Significant Other is the second studio album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit. It was released on June 22, 1999, through Flip and Interscope Records. The album saw the band expand their sound from that of their debut, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all (1997), incorporating further metal and hip-hop influences but with a more melodic and less hardcore punk-influenced sound.
Significant Other was commercially successful, peaking at number one on the US Billboard 200. At least 16 million copies of the album have been sold worldwide. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who noted the band's distinctive sound and performance that was considered an improvement over its predecessor.
The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, and the lead single "Nookie" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Production
Following the radio success of the band's cover of George Michael's "Faith", the band was determined to record the follow-up to their first album in order to show that they were not a "Korn ripoff" or a cover band; the band began writing an album which dealt with issues deriving from their newfound fame. The band immediately began recording after the conclusion of the Family Values Tour, despite the insistence of Interscope Records that the band take a break after it. and rap metal album. An early version of "I'm Broke" was recorded for Three Dollar Bill, Yall, but was left off the album because of how different the song sounded from the rest of that album's material.
Significant Other is Borland's first attempt at using a 7-string guitar, which was inspired by Korn. He was officially endorsed by Ibanez and owned several rare models to record the album including the RG7 CST. He also used a customized Ibanez Musician MC150PW to fit only four strings, creating a baritone guitar to record "Nookie." Sometime in 2000, Borland ended his endorsement with Ibanez and reverted to using 6-string guitars when recording the next album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
The band allowed Durst and DJ Lethal to explore their hip hop influences by recording with Method Man. DJ Premier of Gang Starr was brought in to produce the collaboration. The band wanted to record "a track that was straight hip-hop", according to Borland. American artist Mear One created the cover by painting it on a wall as graffiti. A time-lapse video of the process is featured in the enhanced CD version of Significant Other.
Since its inception, the hooded figure has often been used as Limp Bizkit's logo as seen in subsequent releases by the band, including the albums Results May Vary (2003) and Still Sucks (2021).
Critical reception
Significant Other received generally positive reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne wrote, "Significant Other isn't simply modern rock; it's postmodern rock." Rolling Stone and its album guide awarded the album three and a half out of five stars. In 2014, Revolver magazine said Significant Other was "one of the great guilty-pleasure hard-rock albums of all time", and listed it as one of ten essential nu metal albums "you need to own."
In 2021, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999 by Metal Hammer magazine. In 2025, Rae Lemeshow-Barooshian of Loudwire included the album in her list of "the top 50 nu-metal albums of all time", ranking it number 14 on the list.
Commercial performance
Significant Other debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 643,874 copies in its first week of release. Durst stated during the concert, "People are getting hurt. Don't let anybody get hurt. But I don't think you should mellow out. That's what Alanis Morissette had you motherfuckers do. If someone falls, pick 'em up. We already let the negative energy out. Now we wanna let out the positive energy".
| 38
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! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 98
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! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 9
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
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! scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Position
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! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 21
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! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
| 29
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! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 13
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! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| 52
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! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 43
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!scope="row"| Europe (European Top 100 Albums)
| 81
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! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 41
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!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 18
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! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 22
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
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! scope="col"| Chart (2001)
! scope="col"| Position
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! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 85
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! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 192
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Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
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!Chart (1990–1999)
!Position
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!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|83
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{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
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!Chart (2000–2009)
!Position
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!scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|118
|}