Eminem made a surprise performance on the Academy Awards, coming out for a rousing rendition of “Lose Yourself,” his Oscar-winning hit from the 2002 film “8 Mile.”
His appearance immediately followed a montage celebrating the sound editing/ mixing award, which wound down with footage from “8 Mile” and concluded with Burt Reynolds in “Deliverance,” saying the famous line “Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything.”
His appearance was a tightly kept secret: Sources say the Dolby Theater was put on lockdown during rehearsals (which must have been extensive, as he was accompanied by a large band and a string section), and that if the news of his appearance leaked to the media, he had the option to cancel.
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
The reaction of the crowd was impressively ecstatic — the song is nearly 20 years old, after all, and several of the evening’s stars who sang along probably remember it from their teens — with everyone from Brad Pitt and Leonardo di Caprio to Billie Eilish and Anthony Ramos standing and applauding at the end. (Martin Scorsese, however, appeared unimpressed.)
By: Damilola Faustino