Remember When: Eminem’s Surprise Oscar Performance for “Lose Yourself” in 2020

At the 2003 Academy Awards, Eminem’s smash hit “Lose Yourself” took home the Oscar for Best Original Song, stemming from its inclusion on the soundtrack for his 2002 quasi-biographical film 8 Mile. He was meant to perform the song at the ceremony to christen this honor, but ultimately opted out of the show. So, he decided to right this wrong 17 years later, when nobody was expecting it.

The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on February 9, 2020. There, 2019 movies like Parasite, Joker, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood all took home multiple Oscar trophies, highlighting another great night for the film industry. Halfway through the show, though, Lin Manuel Miranda took the stage to introduce a segment honoring all-time great songs that originated from motion picture soundtracks. When the montage arrived at 8 Mile, the screen projector soon switched to a live camera, showing Eminem and his band on stage and the opening notes of “Lose Yourself” beginning to play.

With his usual vigor, Eminem gave a hearty performance of the song, as the surprised crowd of actors and directors in their gowns and suits looked on. However, the performance was slightly hampered by audio issues with Em’s microphone, and by the looks on some of the faces that the ABC broadcast panned to, you could tell the audience noticed. Whether it was Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese, or Irina Menzel, the reactions ranged from bewildered to confused.

Still, though, the performance added another layer to the legacy of 8 Mile, one of the crowning achievements of Em’s illustrious career. After the performance, Em sat down with Variety to discuss “Lose Yourself” at the Oscars, where he explained that he did not perform at the ’03 ceremony because he did not think the song would win Best Original Song.

“Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win, and we had just performed ‘Lose Yourself’ on the Grammys with The Roots a couple of weeks before the Oscars, so we didn’t think it was a good idea,” he said. “And also, back at that time, the younger me didn’t really feel like a show like that would understand me. But then when I found out I won, ‘That’s crazy!’ That to me shows how authentic and real that award is — when you don’t show up and you still win. That makes it very real to me.”

When asked if he enjoyed himself at the 2020 ceremony, though, Em confirmed that he had a great time. “Absolutely,” he said. “I got to hug Salma Hayek!”

[RELATED: Eminem Tells Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to Stop Rapping to “Lose Yourself”]

Lastly, the Variety reporter was curious about how the idea came to fruition in 2020, considering the randomness of it. “As for how it came together, I heard that ‘8 Mile’ was already in the montage, and the Oscars just happened to ask and you said yes?” she questioned.

“I think that’s pretty much how it went,” Em responded. “And it was cool because we just put out an album, so we said maybe that’ll make sense with the timing of the new album.”

Revisit the historic performance below.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images