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Awards

Eminem Opens 2024 MTV VMAs With ‘Houdini’ & Jelly Roll-Assisted ‘Somebody Save Me’ Alongside Slim Shady Clones

Marshall makes another VMAs moment.

Eminem performs on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Sept. 11, 2024.

Eminem performs on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Sept. 11, 2024.

Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Eminem added another MTV VMAs moment to his mantle when he opened the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards in style on Wednesday night (Sept. 11).

The rapper — who received eight nominations this year — kicked off the show at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., where he entered from the aisles in a blond wig alongside a phalanx of Slim Shady look-alikes.


Em stormed out of the tunnel with a dynamic performance of his The Death of Slim Shady lead single “Houdini,” which notched him his highest charting Billboard Hot 100 hit (No. 2) this decade.

The real Slim Shady — in an overdone wig and black rain jacket — got the crowd turned up, with even Taylor Swift getting to her feet and dancing along.

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The fun was quickly sucked out of the UBS Arena when the scene switched to Jelly Roll’s guest appearance via a screen for his “Somebody Save Me” collaboration with Eminem. The Detroit rap icon ditched the blond wig and dug into the poignant record, which finds him pouring out his soul and expressing regrets for the times he wasn’t present for his children, and the missteps he took as a parent.

“Somebody Save Me” reached No. 27 on the Hot 100 and was the third single from The Death of Slim Shady. It’s a great week for Eminem fans, as he’s got even more music on the way. Earlier this week, Em announced plans for his The Death of Slim Shady: Expanded Mourner’s Edition, which is slated to arrive on Friday (Sept. 13) and make for a spooky Friday the 13th.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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Tim Leiweke photographed on April 28, 2023 at Oak View Group in Los Angeles.
Joel Barhamand

Tim Leiweke photographed on April 28, 2023 at Oak View Group in Los Angeles.

Touring

Tim Leiweke to Step Down as OVG’s CEO After Being Criminally Indicted for Bid-Rigging

The government accuses Leiweke of orchestrating a "conspiracy to rig the bidding process" to win a contract to build and operate the Moody Center in Austin.

Tim Leiweke, one of the most accomplished CEOs in the live entertainment and facilities business, announced today that he is stepping down as CEO of Oak View Group (OVG) after being indicted by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division for bid-rigging related to the company’s 2017 contract to build the Moody Center Arena in Austin.

On Wednesday (July 9), a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas returned an indictment against Leiweke, alleging he orchestrated a “conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.” Authorities say Leiweke conspired with the chief executive of Legends Hospitality to rig the bidding for the construction and management of Austin’s $338 million, 19,000-seat Moody Center.

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