Eminem Discusses His Surprise “Lose Yourself” Oscars Performance

Eminem made a surprise appearance at the 92nd annual Academy Awards last night to perform “Lose Yourself,” the track that earned him an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2003. His performance comes nearly two decades after Em ditched the ceremony altogether, and ultimately missed the opportunity to accept the award in person. 

On Monday, Variety published an interview with Eminem in which he explained why it took him so long to take the stage and perform his now Oscar-winning 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. And also, back at that time, the younger me didn’t really feel like a show like that would understand me,” he said. “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.”