During an interview with Variety, the Detroit rapper also reveals why he decided not to perform 'Lose Yourself' at the 2003 ceremony, when it was announced as Best Original Song winner.

• Feb 11, 2020

AceShowbiz - Eminem has gotten candid about why he kept his first performance at the Academy Awards a secret. "The Real Slim Shady" rapper came out with the confession just hours after surprising viewers with a performance of his Oscar-winning song "Lose Yourself" at the 92nd annual prizegiving on Sunday night, February 9.

When asked by Variety why it was so important to keep his performance secret, the 47-year-old MC admitted, "I don't know." He went on to explain, "I think it was either [the Oscars'] idea or Paul and [longtime publicist Dennis Dennehy's] idea before they brought it to me. It was presented to me that way and I said, 'Oh that's kinda dope, to not even announce it.' "

Speaking about the preparation for his Oscars performance, the "Godzilla" hitmaker recalled, "We flew in [to Los Angeles] last week, so we probably have four or five rehearsals just to make sure we got everything right. Most of the rehearsals were offsite, not in [the Dolby Theater], just trying to keep it secret."

During the chat, the father of three also explained why he chose 2020 as the year he delivered a rendition of his hit song. "I kinda figured maybe since I didn't get a chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool," he said before explaining why he didn't attend the 2003 prizegiving event though his track was nominated for Best Original Song.

"Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win, and we had just performed 'Lose Yourself' on the Grammys with the Roots a couple of weeks before the Oscars, so we didn't think it was a good idea."

"And also, back at that time, the younger me didn't really feel like a show like that would understand me. But then when I found out I won, 'That's crazy!' That to me shows how authentic and real that award is - when you don't show up and you still win. That makes it very real to me."

Asked if he was disappointed for missing out on the special moment, the "Love the Way You Lie" rapper replied, "I don't know that I was disappointed, I was blown back by the fact that I won." He added, "I don't even think I understood back then that you could get an Oscar for a song, and I remember being kinda confused about why I was even up for one, because as a kid with the Oscars, it was like a vacuum."

Eminem was not the only one talking about his surprise performance at the 2020 ceremony. Oscars co-producer Lynette Howell explained that the MC's participation was in line with the show's "impact" theme. "We've been holding onto it for a while," she added. "It was nice that we surprised people - we don't usually get to surprise anybody in this day and age!"