Why Did Eminem Perform At The 2020 Oscars?

Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock.

Sorry, Queen — the Academy Awards just took the surprise performance concept to a whole new level when Eminem took the Oscars stage. Sorry, let's be more specific: Eminem got a standing ovation at the 92nd Academy Awards when he made an unannounced appearance during a segment looking back at memorable movie songs.

So... how did this happen? Why did Eminem perform at the Oscars without warning? Let's retrace our steps.

Presenter Lin Manuel Miranda took to the stage to pay homage to some of the songs that have changed movie history. Okay, makes sense. The following montage celebrated such classics as "Unchained Melody" from Ghost, "Don't You Forget About Me" from The Breakfast Club, "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, "Tiny Dancer" from Almost Famous, and..."Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile?

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"Is Eminem here? Is he really going to sing?" voices around the world whispered in hushed, slightly embarrassed and okay, genuinely excited tones. You better believe it!

Marshall Bruce Mathers III himself appeared to give a rousing rendition of his 2002 jam. The song won for Best Original Song back in 2003, but the singer never got to perform it. So good of the Oscars to give white men a chance to live out their dreams 17 years after the original achievement!

The jokes started almost immediately:

Eminem heard Jessica Simpson had a book out and was like, “Comeback time”
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) February 10, 2020

Everyone: The Oscars are too long
The Oscars: Hey here's Anthony Ramos to intro Lin Manuel Miranda to intro a movie music montage to intro Eminem
— The JEB Speak! (@JEBermanator) February 10, 2020

Love this tribute to 8 Mile, a non-Oscar nominated movie that came out over 15 years ago...? pic.twitter.com/JtgVEBRUU7
— Leila, but pronounced wrong. (@leilaclaire) February 10, 2020

the Oscars audience enjoying Kendall Roy's performance of "L to the OG" (audio via @bubbaprog) pic.twitter.com/V1tTNItVuJ
— Mark (@tole_cover) February 10, 2020

But let's face it — we all kind of secretly felt like this.

Some of the #Oscars crowd was super into that surprise Eminem performance. https://t.co/8kz7m5vtnF #Oscars pic.twitter.com/GMcLHMyz00
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2020

The singer tweeted his gratitude to the Academy immediately after the performance: "Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity... Thanks for having me @TheAcademy. Sorry it took me 18 years to get here."

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

Snap back to reality — the Best Director nominees are still all men, sorry. Still, you can enjoy the (heavily bleeped out) performance below.

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/GsTAC6owzz pic.twitter.com/JPAAkG1O0h
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 10, 2020

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The Biggest Surprise Of The 2020 Oscars Was Eminem

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