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While the rapper is very much back in the public consciousness thanks to his controversial new album Music to Be Murdered By , his presence at the Oscars came as a shock to some, given that he declined to show up when "Lose Yourself" won Best Original Song back in 2002. Speaking to Variety after the show, Eminem explained why he didn't attend the ceremony 17 years ago, and how this long-overdue performance came about.
"Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win," he said. "And we had just performed "Lose Yourself" on the Grammys with the Roots a couple of weeks before the Oscars, so we didnt think it was a good idea. And also, back at that time, the younger me didnt really feel like a show like that would understand me. But then when I found out I won, 'Thats crazy!' That to me shows how authentic and real that award is when you dont show up and you still win. That makes it very real to me."
He said that he wasn't exactly disappointed to have missed the Awards, having spent the night at home with his daughter, adding that he was mostly just "blown back" at having won in the first place. He also denied rumors that he had been prevented from performing the song in 2002 due to its explicit content, as "theres not even that many cuss words in it," and conceded that it would have "been crazy" to be handed the Oscar by Barbra Streisand .
When it came to doing the track at this year's Awards, the timing was just right. Footage from 8 Mile was already included in the montage that preceded his surprise set, and Eminem had just dropped a new record. "I kinda figured maybe since I didnt get a chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool," he said. "And it was cool because we just put out an album, so we said maybe thatll make sense with the timing of the new album."
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The new version of "Lose Yourself" included a string quartet and live band, requiring multiple off-site rehearsals while everybody involved vowed to keep the whole thing a secret. Eminem ended up receiving a standing ovation from the likes of Brad Pitt , Leonardo DiCaprio and musical newcomer Billie Eilish but his personal highlight of the evening came elsewhere:
"I got to hug Salma Hayek!"