Eminem made his grand return to the MTV VMAs in dramatic fashion on September 11, 2024 as the night’s ceremony opener.

The show started with a quick-cut montage of people dressed up like the Detroit icon, a sea of Slim Shady clones in black crew neck T-shirts, white sneakers, dog tags, and blonde wigs. The video quickly burst into real life, as Eminem himself led the dupes through a door into the audience, and proceeded to rush the stage.

It was a reference to Marshall Mathers’ iconic performance at the 2000 VMAs, in which he led a battalion of Slim Shady clones in white T-shirts and blue jeans from the streets onto the stage. Toward the end of the first song in 2024 show’s medley, the Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) lead single “Houdini,” a spitting-image Slim Shady twin, dressed as if he’d walked back in time from the 2000 performance, joined him on stage.

The raucous energy of the ‘Houdini’ performance saw the likes of Taylor Swift and Camilla Cabello shoot to their feet and dance. But the mood grew somber and contemplative as “Houdini” transitioned into the next single from The Death of Slim Shady, “Somebody Save Me.”

Jelly Roll, who could not appear in person, was projected over the VMAs crowd onto a hanging black sphere that made him look, appropriately, like the man in moon. “Somebody save me from myself,” he sang, as Eminem paced the stage. “Me from myself. I’ve spent so long livin’ in hell.” The second half of Eminem’s opener saw him commanding the stage with the same confidence he’s always possessed, but with a new, more measured sense of security. He rapped to fans at the left and right flanks of the stage about his children, Hailie, Alaina, and Stevie.

Then actual home movies and photos began to play in a slideshow above the stage. As Jelly Roll began to croon the crescendo of the song, Eminem retired to an armchair placed next to the slideshow, as if stewing in his private feelings in a makeshift living room.

Jelly Roll watched the entire Eminem show with his teams and the reactions was shared to the public on social media. Jelly can be seeing watching the performance, saying “This is f–king crazy!” before reciting the lyrics of Eminem’s verse on “Somebody Save Me.” You can watch the entire video below: