Eminem turned back the clock at the 2024 MTV VMAs by recreating his iconic performance at the awards show from almost 25 years ago.
Opening the show for the first time since 2010, the Detroit rap legend performed his recent single “Houdini” while wearing a blond wig and accompanied by a legion of lookalikes.
The now-bearded 51-year-old even began his performance by walking through the audience inside the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York as he made his way to the stage.
Once on stage, Em was joined by longtime collaborator Mr. Porter of D12, as well as his dozens of doppelgangers.
The performance was a nod to his classic VMAs appearance in 2000 where he and army of bleach-blond lookalikes took over New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
Eminem began that performance in the bustling street outside the venue before he and his squadron of Slim Shadys flooded into the venue as the Interscope signee performed his hit single “The Real Slim Shady.”
Em reflected on that performance in his 2008 book The Way I Am, writing: “‘The Real Slim Shady’ was my biggest hit then, and the 2000 VMAs were a real milestone. I can’t front, I was nervous about that performance.
“When I saw all those lookalikes walking out of Radio City Music Hall, I was trying to be as cool as I could and keep my composure, but for at least the first 30 seconds of the song I could not shake my nerves off. I watched a DVD of that night recently, and I can see how tense I was.”
He added: “That was one of those moments when I was thinking, ‘Hey, I think I’ve made it in rap. I’m a big-time rapper, rappin’ big-time!’”
After his nostalgic rendition of “Houdini,” Eminem removed his blond wig, swapped the playfulness for poignancy and capped off his VMAs medley by performing “Somebody Save Me” alongside Jelly Roll.
The song, taken from his latest album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), finds Marshall Mathers ruminating on his biggest regrets as a parent, largely stemming from his past drug addiction and hectic music career.
Eminem had reason to leave VMAs in high spirits, though, as “Houdini” won the award for Best Hip Hop Video, beating out Drake‘s “Rich Baby Daddy,” Travis Scott and Playboi Carti‘s “FE!N,” Megan Thee Stallion‘s “BOA” and GloRilla‘s “Yeah Glo!”
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The whimsical, superhero-themed video also took home the trophy for Best Visual Effects, although it lost out in the four other categories it was nominated in: Video of the Year, Song of the Summer, Best Direction and Best Editing.
Em was also up for Artist of the Year, losing out to Taylor Swift, and VMAs Most Iconic Performance, which went to Katy Perry’s 2013 rendition of “Roar.”
Check out the full list of 2024 MTV VMAs winners below.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
• Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”
• Billie Eilish – “LUNCH”
• Doja Cat – “Paint The Town Red”
• Eminem – “Houdini”
• SZA – “Snooze”
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” [WINNER]
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Ariana Grande
• Bad Bunny
• Eminem
• Sabrina Carpenter
• SZA
• Taylor Swift [WINNER]
SONG OF THE YEAR
• Beyoncé – “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”
• Jack Harlow – “Lovin On Me”
• Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso” [WINNER]
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight”
• Teddy Swims – “Lose Control”
BEST NEW ARTIST
• Benson Boone
• Chappell Roan [WINNER]
• Gracie Abrams
• Shaboozey
• Teddy Swims
• Tyla
MTV PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
• August 2023: Kaliii – “Area Codes”
• September 2023: GloRilla – “Lick or Sum”
• October 2023: Benson Boone – “In The Stars”
• November 2023: Coco Jones – “ICU”
• December 2023: Victoria Monét – “On My Mama”
• January 2024: Jessie Murph – “Wild Ones”
• February 2024: Teddy Swims – “Lose Control”
• March 2024: Chappell Roan – “Red Wine Supernova”
• April 2024: Flyana Boss – “yeaaa”
• May 2024: Laufey – “Goddess”
• June 2024: LE SSERAFIM – “EASY” [WINNER]
• July 2024: The Warning – “Automatic Sun”
BEST COLLABORATION
• Drake ft. Sexyy Red & SZA – “Rich Baby Daddy”
• GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion – “Wanna Be”
• Jessie Murph ft. Jelly Roll – “Wild Ones”
• Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven”
• Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” [WINNER]
BEST POP
• Camila Cabello
• Dua Lipa
• Olivia Rodrigo
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Tate McRae
• Taylor Swift [WINNER]
BEST HIP HOP
• Drake ft. Sexyy Red & SZA – “Rich Baby Daddy”
• Eminem – “Houdini” [WINNER]
• GloRilla – “Yeah Glo!”
• Gunna – “fukumean”
• Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA”
• Travis Scott ft. Playboi Carti – “FE!N”
BEST R&B
• Alicia Keys – “Lifeline”
• Muni Long – “Made For Me”
• SZA – “Snooze” [WINNER]
• Tyla – “Water”
• Usher, Summer Walker, 21 Savage – “Good Good”
• Victoria Monét – “On My Mama”
BEST ALTERNATIVE
• Benson Boone – “Beautiful Things” [WINNER]
• Bleachers – “Tiny Moves”
• Hozier – “Too Sweet”
• Imagine Dragons – “Eyes Closed”
• Linkin Park – “Friendly Fire”
• Teddy Swims – “Lose Control (Live)”
BEST ROCK
• Bon Jovi – “Legendary”
• Coldplay – “feelslikeimfallinginlove”
• Green Day – “Dilemma”
• Kings of Leon – “Mustang”
• Lenny Kravitz – “Human” [WINNER]
• U2 – “Atomic City”
BEST LATIN
• Anitta – “Mil Veces” [WINNER]
• Bad Bunny – “MONACO”
• KAROL G – “MI EX TENÍA RAZÓN”
• Myke Towers – “LALA”
• Peso Pluma & Anitta – “BELLAKEO”
• Rauw Alejandro – “Touching The Sky”
• Shakira & Cardi B – “Puntería”
BEST AFROBEATS
• Ayra Starr ft. Giveon – “Last Heartbreak Song”
• Burna Boy – “City Boys”
• Chris Brown ft. Davido & Lojay – “Sensational”
• Tems – “Love Me JeJe”
• Tyla – “Water” [WINNER]
• USHER, Pheelz – “Ruin”
BEST K-POP
• Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven”
• LISA – “Rockstar” [WINNER]
• NCT Dream – “Smoothie”
• NewJeans – “Super Shy”
• Stray Kids – “LALALALA”
• TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Deja vu”
VIDEO FOR GOOD
• Alexander Stewart – “if you only knew”
• Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For” [WINNER]
• Coldplay – “feelslikeimfallinginlove”
• Joyner Lucas & Jelly Roll – “Best For Me”
• RAYE – “Genesis.”
• Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
BEST DIRECTION
• Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”
• Bleachers – “Tiny Moves”
• Eminem – “Houdini”
• Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please”
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” [WINNER]
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
• Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” [WINNER]
• Charli xcx – “Von dutch”
• Dua Lipa – “Illusion”
• Olivia Rodrigo – “obsessed”
• Rauw Alejandro – “Touching The Sky”
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight”
BEST EDITING
• Anitta – “Mil Veces”
• Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”
• Eminem – “Houdini”
• LISA – “Rockstar”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” [WINNER]
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
• Bleachers – “Tiny Moves” (Choreography by Margaret Qualley)
• Dua Lipa – “Houdini” (Choreography by Charm La’Donna) [WINNER]
• LISA – “Rockstar” (Choreography by Sean Bankhead)
• Rauw Alejandro – “Touching The Sky” (Choreography by Felix “Fefe” Burgos)
• Tate McRae – “Greedy” (Choreography by Sean Bankhead)
• Troye Sivan – “Rush” (Choreography by Sergio Reis & Mauro Van De Kerkhof)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
• Ariana Grande – “the boy is mine” (Visual Effects by Digital Axis)
• Eminem – “Houdini”(Visual Effects by Synapse Virtual Production, Louise Lee, Rich Lee, Metaphysic & Flawless Post) [WINNER]
• Justin Timberlake – “Selfish” (Visual Effects by Candice Dragonas)
• Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA” (Visual Effects by Mathematic)
• Olivia Rodrigo – “get him back!” (Visual Effects by Cooper Vacheron, Preston Mohr, Karen Arakelian & Justin Johnson)
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” (Visual Effects by Parliament)
BEST ART DIRECTION
• Charli xcx – “360” (Art Direction by Grace Surnow)
• LISA – “Rockstar” (Art Direction by Pongsan Thawatwichian)
• Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA” (Art Direction by Brittany Porter) [WINNER]
• Olivia Rodrigo – “bad idea right?” (Art Direction by Nicholas des Jardins)
• Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please” (Art Direction by Nicholas des Jardins)
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” (Art Direction by Ethan Tobman)
BEST TRENDING VIDEO
• Beyoncé – “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”
• Camila Cabello ft. Playboi Carti – “I LUV IT”
• Chappell Roan – “HOT TO GO!”
• Charli xcx – “Apple”
• Megan Thee Stallion ft. Yuki Chiba – “Mamushi” [WINNER]
• Tinashe – “Nasty”
BEST GROUP
• NSYNC
• Coldplay
• Imagine Dragons
• NCT Dream
• NewJeans
• SEVENTEEN [WINNER]
• TOMORROW X TOGETHER
• Twenty One Pilots
SONG OF THE SUMMER
• Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”
• Benson Boone – “Beautiful Things”
• Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
• Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
• Charli xcx & Billie Eilish – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
• Eminem – “Houdini”
• Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar – “Like That”
• GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion – “Wanna Be”
• Hozier – “Too Sweet”
• Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
• Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen – “I Had Some Help”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please”
• Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
• SZA – “Saturn”
• Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” [WINNER]
• Tommy Richman – “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”
VMAS MOST ICONIC PERFORMANCE
• Beyoncé – “Love on Top”
• Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Missy Elliot – “Like a Virgin” & “Hollywood”
• Eminem – “Real Slim Shady” & “The Way I Am”
• Katy Perry – “Roar” [WINNER]
• Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”
• Madonna – “Like a Virgin”
• Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”
