Surprise! After nearly two decades, Eminem finally made an appearance at the Oscars to perform his hit song Lose Yourself from his movie 8 Mile. The Academy Awards were filled with a few surprises but, outside of any of the winners, easily the biggest surprise of the night came when the rapper appeared out of nowhere to perform the song for those in attendance. While the exact reason for the performance remains somewhat mysterious, the crowd certainly welcomed it.
The moment came when Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda took the stage to honor memorable musical moments in movies. A lengthy montage played featuring clips from the likes of Risky Business, Reservoir Dogs, Ghost, Hustle & Flow, The Breakfast Club and many more. Miranda, before the montage, made a point about the importance of music in movies.
“You couldn’t take the song out of the movie and you couldn’t take the movie out of the song.”
The montage concluded with a scene from 8 Mile, but we didn’t hear any music. It was quickly revealed why. Once the camera pulled away from the clip, Eminem and a full band rose from the stage. The acclaimed musician then proceeded to perform his chart-topping, award-winning hit in its entirety, with many of Hollywood’s biggest names bobbing their heads along to the performance. Following the big moment, Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, took to Twitter and shared the following message.
“Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity… Thanks for having me The Academy. Sorry it took me 18 years to get here.”
Eminem also shared a clip from the 2003 Academy Awards with his tweet, which captured the moment that Lose Yourself won the Oscar. Barbra Streisand presented the award and the iconic musician famously didn’t show up to the ceremony, as he had expressed serious doubt that the song would actually win an Oscar. Now, 17 years later, he made up for that with the performance. This comes just after Eminem dropped a surprise album, Music to Be Murdered By. Even though it’s not yet been revealed how this whole thing came together, the timing certainly seems ideal for him. Whatever the case may be, it made for a genuinely surprising and energetic moment.
8 Mile was released in 2002 at the height of Eminem’s popularity. The biopic, directed by Curtis Hanson, went on to become a critical favorite and a box office smash, earning $242 million worldwide. The soundtrack also went on to become a multi-platinum selling hit. Interestingly, Scott Silver penned the screenplay, and he was also behind the screenplay for Joker, which led the pack of Oscar nominees this year. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on all of the other happenings from Hollywood’s biggest night, so stay tuned. Be sure to check out some clips of the performance, as well as the post from Eminem’s Twitter.
Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity… Thanks for having me @TheAcademy. Sorry it took me 18 years to get here. pic.twitter.com/CmSw2hmcZo
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) February 10, 2020
Lose yourself. The #Oscars crowd gives @Eminem a standing ovation after the surprise performance of his Oscar-winning song from ‘8 Mile‘ https://t.co/GsTAC6owzzpic.twitter.com/JPAAkG1O0h
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 10, 2020
EMINEM AT THE #OSCARS ????pic.twitter.com/enMWCOsWif
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) February 10, 2020
