Eminem Stuns with ‘Houdini’ and ‘Somebody Save Me’ Performances at 2024 MTV VMAs
Eminem’s latest album may be titled The Death of Slim Shady, but for his first TV performances from the album, the rapper brought back his platinum-haired alter ego, along with a horde of look-alikes.
In an opening reminiscent of his 2000 VMAs performance of “Real Slim Shady” and “The Way I Am,” where Eminem was accompanied by 100 look-alikes, Eminem kicked off the 2024 VMAs and his performance of “Houdini” by entering Long Island’s UBS Arena sporting a platinum-blond wig, joined by many men with the same hair.
Before entering the arena, the 2024 MTV VMAs displayed a Bat-Signal-like “E” above the New York City skyline. When Eminem and his doppelgängers reached the stage, he weaved among them as he continued to perform.
He then transitioned into “Somebody Save Me,” discarding the wig for a black hat, resembling his modern self more. The track features Jelly Roll, but his parts were only shown via onstage video as Jelly Roll was on tour and unable to attend the New York awards show. He was scheduled to perform in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday night.
The performance concluded with Eminem sitting in a chair, appearing reflective.
Eminem went into the 2024 MTV VMAs with eight nominations, including video of the year, best hip-hop, song of the summer, and VMAs most iconic performance, the latter for his 2000 medley. He won best hip-hop and best visual effects.
With those two wins, Eminem broke his tie with Peter Gabriel for the most VMA wins by a solo male artist in show history. He also holds the record for most wins by a rap artist with 15 VMAs and is the second most nominated artist in VMAs history with 67 nods, behind only Madonna with 71 nods.
Taylor Swift leads the 2024 VMA nominations with 12 nods, followed by Post Malone with 11, Eminem with eight, and Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, SZA, and Sabrina Carpenter with seven each.