[imagesource: Chris Pizzello / AP]

Oh, thank the heavens.

Now we can finally stop losing sleep over exactly why Eminem performed at the Oscars.

Side note – I don’t care, but this is something people have been fretting about, so let’s answer the riddle.

I guess much of the confusion stems from the fact that Eminem performed a song from 2002, ‘Lose Yourself’, which then went on to win the 2003 Oscar for Best Original Song.

That’s actually part of the reason he was at this year’s Oscars, according to CNN:

Consider the 92nd Academy Awards a do-over for the 2003 ceremony. In an interview with Variety, Eminem said he never expected to win back then, so he didn’t go. Plus, he’d performed “Lose Yourself” on the Grammys that year a few weeks earlier.

“And also, back at that time, the younger me didn’t really feel like a show like that would understand me,” he said. This begs the question — do the Oscars understand him now?

The way Slim tells it, the Academy had already planned to include his song in the montage, and then asked Eminem if he wanted to perform it live, 17 years later.

He said yes, “because we just put out an album [January’s ‘Music to be Murdered By’], so we said that maybe that’ll make sense with the timing of the new album.”

Ah, so a touch of redemption for skipping the 2003 Oscars, with a healthy dose of self-promotion woven in.

Let’s relive his performance before we carry on:

The phrase ‘mom’s spaghetti’ will never be the same.

Not only was his appearance good for promoting his new album, but it also provided a healthy boost for his back catalogue.

These details from Forbes:

The song may have appeared on many more workout playlists today, as “Lose Yourself” sold 4,000 downloads on Sunday, jumping 1,894% over the previous day, Chart Data reports. The song rocketed to No. 1 on iTunes’ Top Songs chart following Eminem’s performance, and it’s still there at the time of this writing.

The rapper’s recent surprise album, Music to Be Murdered By, also topped iTunes’ albums chart; it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last month, giving Eminem his record 10th consecutive No. 1 debut.

All in all, a profitable appearance for the rapper.

Sunday’s real hero, though, remains Bong Joon-ho.

[sources:cnn&forbes]