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Houdini (Eminem song)

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"Houdini"
Single by Eminem
from the album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
ReleasedMay 31, 2024 (2024-05-31)
Recorded2024
GenreComedy hip hop
Length3:47
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Eminem singles chronology
"Lace It"
(2023) 		"Houdini"
(2024)
Music video
"Houdini" on YouTube

"Houdini" is a song by American rapper Eminem. It was released on May 31, 2024, as the lead single from his upcoming twelfth studio album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). The song interpolates multiple previous Eminem works and "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band, and contains various references to pop culture. Released alongside an accompanying music video, critics reviewed the song negatively. "Houdini" topped the charts in Australia, Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and has reached the top ten of the charts in Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden.

Background and composition[edit]

In April 2024, Eminem announced his upcoming twelfth studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), to be released in mid-2024.[1] Three weeks later, he shared an iMessage screenshot with a cryptic message that says "...and for my last trick!", sent to all of his contacts. The date for the message read May 31, hinting at an upcoming release.[2] On May 28, the rapper posted a joint video with magician David Blaine.[3] The video shows a video call between Eminem and Blaine, with the former asking for help and a magic trick to which the latter responds by eating a glass of wine. Eminem then states that for his "last trick", he was going to make his career "disappear".[4] The rapper then previews the track by playing a short instrumental snippet. At the end of the clip, the song title and release date are revealed.[5]

"Houdini" was released on May 31, 2024. The lyrics reference Harry Houdini,[6] the Sherri Papini kidnapping hoax,[7] RuPaul's "big balls",[8] and Black Eyed Peas in a pun on R. Kelly's urolagnia.[9] They also reference Eminem's controversy over homophobic lyrics in his earlier career, and imply that the "old" Eminem would consider "the way shit is today" to be "gay".[8] Eminem jokingly insults several people close to him, including his manager Paul Rosenborg, mentor Dr. Dre, Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine, and his own children.[10] "Houdini"'s lyrics also inquire as to whether a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion would give Eminem "a shot at a feat", a reference to her being shot in the foot by Tory Lanez, fantasize about hitting an eight-year-old child in the face with a participation trophy,[11] and assert that Eminem's "transgender cat" is Siamese, "identifies as Black", and "acts Chinese".[8] The song interpolates Eminem's "Without Me", "My Name Is" and "Just Lose It",[12] as well as the 1982 song "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band.[6] The day after release, Steve Miller took to Instagram to praise Eminem as "one of those timeless originators building something new on a long musical legacy of original artists".[13]

Music video[edit]

The music video for "Houdini", directed by Rich Lee, was released alongside the single on May 31, 2024.[14] In the music video, Eminem, dressed as his Rap Boy persona from "Without Me" (The Eminem Show, 2002), and Dr. Dre drive around a Gotham City-esque city while tracking down and battling Slim Shady, who time traveled through a portal from 2002 to the events of the music video. The music video features cameo appearances from fellow rappers 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Royce da 5′9″, Denaun Porter, along with Westside Boogie, Grip and Ez Mil, signed at the time to Eminem's record label Shady Records, record producer the Alchemist, comedians Shane Gillis and Pete Davidson, adult film actresses Samantha Mack and Ryan Keely, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg, Interscope Records co-founder and executive Jimmy Iovine, and Eminem's own children.

Reception[edit]

Tom Breihan, who had previously used his Stereogum column The Number Ones to criticize "Abracadabra",[15] was also not impressed with "Houdini", writing for Stereogum that it was "truly amazing" that Eminem had continued "to find new ways to get even shittier" and opined that he and Luis Resto had managed to make "Abracadabra" "sound even more like circus music". He also described the lyrics as "full of hack-ass jokes about how everything is too woke now" and Eminem's cadences as "cluttered and unpleasant", and wrote that listeners could "make a fucking bingo card" out of the song.[11] Robin Murray of Clash described the song as a "perfectly timed dose of cartoonish fan service, a colourful, occasionally shocking (and occasionally boring) dose of ultra-colourful chart rap", though felt the use of "gay" as a slur rankled and that the verse about Eminem's "transgender cat" was "corny as hell", and wrote that "Houdini" failed to "escape the lingering stench of the era it embodies".[16] Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times felt that the track's "garish, carnivalesque beat", over which Eminem "surveys the current cultural moment and strings together some stiltedly rapped jokes [while] desperate to offend at every turn", was "exhausting",[17] while Anthony Fantano compared the song positively against his albums Revival and Kamikaze but negatively against The Slim Shady LP.[18] Andrew R. Chow of Time stated that the song was "revolting his critics".[19]

Commercial performance[edit]

"Houdini" debuted at the top of the UK singles chart, with 104,800 chart units including 13.3 million streams. It was Eminem's 11th number 1 on the chart, his first since "Godzilla" with Juice Wrld in 2020, and his first without a feature since "Like Toy Soldiers" in 2005. It was Eminem's best first-week performance since "Without Me" in 2002; the latter song also returned to the chart at number 38 that week.[20]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Houdini"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 1
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[22] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[23] 36
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[24] 38
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 4
Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 3
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[27] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 2
Italy (FIMI)[29] 43
Lithuania (AGATA)[30] 14
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 37
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[32] 9
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[33] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[34] 1
South Korea BGM (Circle)[35] 84
South Korea Download (Circle)[36] 93
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[38] 1
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[39] 1

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (April 26, 2024). "Eminem Announces New Album 'The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce),' Releasing This Summer". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (May 21, 2024). ""For my last trick!" – Eminem hints new music is imminent". NME. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Atkinson, Katie (May 28, 2024). "Eminem Conjures Up New Single "Houdini": Here's When It Arrives". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  4. ^ Walker, Joe (May 28, 2024). "Eminem to pull a "Houdini" on new single: "I'm gonna make my career disappear"". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  5. ^ Graham, Adam (May 28, 2024). "Eminem teases "Houdini" single, arriving Friday: 'I'm gonna make my career disappear'". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Zhan, Jennifer (May 31, 2024). "Will The Real 'Houdini' Please Stand Up?". Vulture. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Saponara, Michael (May 31, 2024). "All the Celebrities Eminem Name-Drops on 'Houdini'". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Wratten, Marcus (May 31, 2024). "Eminem takes swipe at RuPaul and Megan Thee Stallion on new song 'Houdini'". PinkNews. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Small, TeeJay (June 4, 2024). "Eminem Returns With "Houdini": 5 Standout Bars". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Saponara, Michael (June 3, 2024). "Eminem's Daughter Alaina Had a Few Hilarious Emojis for the Rapper After His 'Houdini' Diss". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Eminem's New Song "Houdini" Is Really, Really Bad". Stereogum. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Grant, Shawn (May 29, 2024). "Eminem to Release New Single "Houdini" on This Friday". The Source. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Wilkes, Emma (June 2, 2024). "Steve Miller reacts to Eminem interpolating 'Abracadabra' in new song 'Houdini'". NME. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Strauss, Matthew (May 31, 2024). "Eminem Throws Back to His Most Iconic Moments in Video for New Song "Houdini"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  15. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 10, 2020). "The Number Ones: Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra"". Stereogum.
  16. ^ Murray, Robin (May 31, 2024). "Eminem's 'Houdini' Is Goofy But Fun". Clash. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  17. ^ Pareles, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (May 31, 2024). "Eminem Loses the Magic, and 10 More New Songs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  18. ^ "My thoughts on Houdini #eminem #review". Retrieved June 5, 2024 – via TikTok.
  19. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (May 31, 2024). "Why Eminem's 'Houdini' Is Exciting Fans and Revolting Critics". Time. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Smith, Carl (June 7, 2024). "Eminem nets biggest opening week of 2024 so far as Houdini hits Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  22. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  23. ^ "Eminem – Houdini" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  24. ^ "Eminem Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  25. ^ "Eminem: Houdini" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "Eminem – Houdini" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "Streymi, spilun og sala viku 23" (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  28. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  29. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 23" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  30. ^ "2024 23-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  31. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 23, 2024" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  32. ^ "Eminem – Houdini" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  33. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  34. ^ "Singel 2024 uke 23". VG-lista. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  35. ^ "BGM Chart – Week 22 of 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  36. ^ "Download Chart – Week 22 of 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  37. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 23". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  38. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  39. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
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