Why That Surprise Eminem Performance Happened at the Oscars

The Oscars have pulled some big surprises before, sometimes unintentional (insert that La La Land and Moonlight mix-up reference here) and sometimes awesome. The 92nd Academy Awards had one of the most random -- but also most welcome -- surprises of all time: an Eminem performance.

Yes, Marshall Mathers decided to drop some bars at the awards ceremony. After Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced a Best Original Song montage, which ended with a prolonged clip of 8-Mile, Eminen appeared from a trap door and did a full-on performance of his Academy Award-winning 2003 hit.

According to ABC head of alternative programming Robert Mills, Eminem never performed during the Oscars ceremony the year he won, and this performance rectified that. Turns out, you don't just get one shot and you can miss your chance to blow -- it just might take over 15 years to get a second chance.

For those wondering, Eminem won for "Lose Yourself" but did not perform or pick up his Oscar from Streisand that year. Now he has rectified that. #Oscars

— Robert Mills (@Millsy11374) February 10, 2020

The unexpected performance injected some fun into the hostless awards show as the energy dropped after Janelle Monae's amazing opening. Eminem performed the whole song while nearly every person in the room under the age of 40 mouthed every word (we saw you Kelly Marie Tran and Zazie Beetz, and we relate).

Check out more of TV Guide's 2020 Oscars coverage here.

Other Links From TVGuide.com The 92nd Annual Academy AwardsEminem8 MileLin-Manuel Miranda