"Lose Yourself" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2003
Eminem Surprises At The 2020 Oscars With A Performance of "Lose Yourself"
In a new interview with Variety, Eminem broke down his thoughts on the time he skipped the Oscars in 2003. He also explained how his performance at the 2020 Oscars came to be.
On his surprise performance of "Lose Yourself," the rapper said: "I kinda figured maybe since I didn’t get a chance to do it [in 2003], maybe it would be cool. 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."
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Eminem has changed his view of the Oscars too
Eminem also feels that he's matured since 2003. "And also, back at that time, the younger me didn't really feel like a show like that would understand me," he said in the interview.
The rapper explained that he stayed home with his daughter on Oscars night 2003, and he was probably asleep when "Lose Yourself" won Best Original Song that year. It had appeared in his film, 8-Mile, in 2002.
"Lose Yourself" at the 2020 Oscars
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As for the surprise performance?
Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was scheduled to appear in the music montage that was to be seen during the ceremony (before his performance). The show's producers reached out to see if he was interested in performing his song live at the ceremony too and he quickly agreed.
The secretive nature of the performance was pitched to Eminem. He immediately bought into the idea: "I said, 'Oh that's kinda dope, to not even announce it'."
It turned out that the performance was a wise decision for Eminem. "Lose Yourself" saw a "massive" increase in sales after the 2020 Oscars aired.
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Give it a listen!
