He might have a new album about to drop, but Eminem is sticking to the fan favorites
He might have a new album about to drop, but Eminem is sticking to the fan favorites.
The 45-year-old rapper changed the format during his Saturday Night Live performance this weekend — rather than treating viewers to two separate songs, as is the norm for the show’s musical guests, he appeared only once and played a nearly nine-minute medley of three songs.
Backed by a string section and band, he started with new single “Walk on Water.” The Grammy-winner was accompanied by the song’s writer, Skylar Grey, who played piano and performed the vocals provided by Beyoncé on the official recording.
Eminem forcefully ended the tune with ” ‘Cause I’m just a man / but as long as I got a mic / I’m God-like / so me and you are not alike / B—-, I wrote ‘Stan!’ ”
From there, Grey took the mic and sang out the first lines of Eminem’s 2000 hit “Stan” — originally produced as a duet with Dido — to cheers from the crowd.
But the throwbacks weren’t done yet. To wrap up the performance, Eminem played his 2010 radio-dominating song “Love the Way You Lie.” Grey covered Rihanna‘s vocals, and the rapper held the microphone up triumphantly as the tune ended. Eminem fans welcomed the surprise trip down memory lane on the Chance the Rapper-hosted episode.
“Omg..I could cry. He’s performing ‘Stan’!” one Twitter user wrote. “Yesss Eminem!”
Another added, “Eminem is a genius. That is all,” while most people expressed their excitement through GIFs.
Eminem performing Stan on SNL got me like pic.twitter.com/ZOrKDPTXjh
— my lower back is killing me (@thisisreallysam) November 19, 2017
The rapper released “Walk on Water” earlier this month. Sharing the track on social media, Eminem wrote, “I’MMM BACK #WalkonWater #Revival @Beyonce #ShadyBack,” alongside an image of the single’s artwork: a black and white photo of a crowd, partially submerged by blue water.
On the slow, moving track, Beyoncé sings “I walk on water, but I ain’t no Jesus / I walk on water, but only when it freezes” as Eminem raps about how even though “kids look to me as a god,” it’s only “a facade.”
Eminem teased the song earlier this week with a series of cryptic posts on social media about a drug named “REVIVAL” — which has its own website— and a written prescription, recommending “walk on water.”
The website for the drug provides further hints that Revival could be the name of Eminem’s new album, saying that “REVIVAL could be music to your ears.”
