On Monday (Sept. 9), MTV announced that Eminem will be the opening performer for the 2024 Video Music Awards when it premieres live on Wednesday (Sept. 11) at New York's UBS Arena. The decorated talent is expected to deliver select cuts from his latest body of work, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). Eminem last opened the popular event in 2010 with a performance of "Not Afraid" and "Love The Way You Lie" – the latter of which saw an assist from Rihanna.
As confirmed in a press release, Eminem is the second-most nominated artist in VMAs history with 67 in total. Of that figure, he collected 13 wins, the most for any Hip Hop artist. This year, his eight nominations include Video of the Year, Best Hip Hop [Video], and Song of the Summer. He is also nominated for VMAs Most Iconic Performance thanks to a 2000 medley of "Real Slim Shady" and "The Way I Am" that featured a mob of over 100 Eminem look-alikes.
The Detroit rhymer delivered several other memorable VMA moments over the years. In 2022, he performed alongside "From the D 2 the LBC" collaborator Snoop Dogg and transformed the MTV stage into a first-of-its-kind performance inspired by the Otherside metaverse. In 2012, he made a surprise appearance during Dr. Dre and Snoop's live renditions of "Forgot About Dre" and "Still D.R.E." Eminem's first-ever appearance at the VMAs went down in 1999 when he scored a "Best New Artist" Moonman and broke out a medley of "Guilty Conscience" and "My Name Is."
The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) made landfall back in July with contributions from the likes of Ez Mil, JID, Skylar Grey, Big Sean, and 2 Chainz. That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 281,000 album-equivalent units.