The Oscars Kept Eminem’s Performance a Secret
It’s hard to keep a secret nowadays, but not for the Oscars!
The producers of the Academy Awards were able to keep Eminem’s surprise performance of “Lose Yourself” under wraps — and the story behind it is crazy.
“Really, up until 48 hours before, I think maybe six people knew,” revealed Robert Mills, Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials and Late-Night Programming at ABC, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “The Academy, us at the network, the producers and Eminem’s team. And that was really it.”
Furthermore, Eminem only did one rehearsal with a very select few in attendance, to make sure no one outside the stage area overheard the iconic soundtrack.
Instead, the band played “You Should Be Dancing” by the BeeGees as a cover, according to Robert. The rehearsal was told to others to be a tribute to Saturday Night Live.
What! The lengths ABC goes to keep a secret. But hey, it was worth it, right?