"Houdini" is a song by American rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

, and is the lead single from his twelfth studio album, ''

The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) ''The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)'' is the twelfth studio album by the American rapper Eminem. It was released through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records on July 12, 2024. The concept album centers around a b ...

''. The song was produced by Eminem and Luis Resto, and was released through

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of '' The Slim Shady LP'' that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem ...

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996. It operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Interscope Records. The label's roster includes artists ...

, and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

on May 31, 2024. It interpolates multiple previous Eminem works, as well as "

Abracadabra ''Abracadabra'' is a magic word, historically used as an Apotropaic magic, apotropaic incantation on amulets and common today in stage magic. The actual origin is unknown, but one of the first appearances of the word was in a second-century work ...

" by the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles ...

; Jeff Bass,

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

, Steve Miller,

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

DJ Head Kevin Bell (born September 12, 1971), professionally known as DJ Head, is a hip-hop producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. He's best known for producing and co-producing songs for Eminem, Xzibit, Jay-Z, D12, Valid, Obie Trice, Bizarre, and ...

, and

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

are credited as songwriters due to the interpolation of the latter. Released alongside an accompanying music video, "Houdini" debuted at the top of the ''Billboard'' Global 200. It also topped the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and has reached the top ten of the charts in Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United States.

Release and composition

In April 2024, Eminem announced his twelfth studio album, ''The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)'', to be released in mid-2024. Three weeks later, he shared an

iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms – including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS – as part of Apple ecosystem, Apple's approach t ...

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. On May 28, the rapper posted a joint video call between himself and magician

David Blaine David Blaine (born David Blaine White; April 4, 1973) is an American magician, mentalist, and Endurance art, endurance performer. Born in New York City, Blaine became interested in magic at a very young age. He gained prominence in 1997, when h ...

, in which the former asked Blaine for help and a magic trick to which the latter responds by drinking a glass of wine and then eating it; Eminem then states that for his "last trick", he was going to make his career "disappear". 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. "Houdini" was released on May 31, 2024. A

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

song, "Houdini" interpolates Eminem's " Without Me", "

My Name Is "My Name Is" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his second studio album '' The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). It is also the opening song and lead single of the album. The song contains a sample from British singer Labi Siffre's 1975 track " I G ...

", and " Just Lose It", as well as the 1982 song "

" by the

. The day after release, Steve Miller praised Eminem as "one of those timeless originators building something new on a long musical legacy of original artists". The lyrics reference

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

, after whom the song is named, as well as the Sherri Papini kidnapping hoax,

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

's testicles, and the

Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

in a pun on R. Kelly's urolagnia. 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". Eminem also calls his manager Paul Rosenberg a "male

cross-dresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

" and a "fake ass bitch", before saying "fuck" those giving him "shit" for that,

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

, himself, "you", and his own children. The song's lyrics also inquire as to whether a collaboration with

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

would give Eminem "a shot at a feat", a reference to her being shot in the foot by

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. First discovered by Sean Kingston, he received initial recognition for his mixtape ''Conflicts of My S ...

, fantasize about hitting an eight-year-old child in the face with a

participation trophy A participation trophy is a trophy given to participants in a competition, usually children, regardless of their success. One of the first known mentions of participation trophies occurred on February 8, 1922, in a Massillon, Ohio newspaper, ''Th ...

, and assert that Eminem's "

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

cat" is Siamese, "identifies as black", and "acts Chinese".

Music video

The music video for "Houdini", directed by

Rich Lee Richard "Rich" Lee is an American music video and commercial director. He has directed music videos for Eminem, Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5, The Black Eyed Peas, Norah Jones, Michael Bublé and The All-American Rejects. Rich Lee started his professi ...

, who previously directed Eminem's videos for "

Not Afraid "Not Afraid" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his seventh studio album ''Recovery (Eminem album), Recovery'' (2010). It was released as the album's lead single on April 27, 2010, by Interscope Records. "Not Afraid" was first r ...

", "

Rap God "Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, as the third single from Eminem's eighth studio album, ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' ...

", " The Monster", "

Phenomenal A phenomenon ( phenomena), sometimes spelled phaenomenon, is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was he ...

", " Walk on Water" and "

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

", was released alongside the single on May 31, 2024. The music video is set in a

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

-esque city. Eminem, who is in bed, receives a message from

that his

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

Slim Shady, time traveled through a portal from 2002 to the events of the music video. He turns into his "Rap Boy" persona from "Without Me" (''

The Eminem Show ''The Eminem Show'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 26, 2002, through Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records and Interscope Records. Eminem produced most of the album himself, with additional production by ...

'', 2002) and joins Dre in a yellow sports car. The two drive around the city while tracking down Shady, who takes a shortcut through the city stadium and interrupts a junior sports competition. He then hurries over to the communications tower, attempting to cancel Eminem and Dre. Eminem climbs the tower and confronts his alter ego. It results in Eminem and Shady combining into one person. The news is sent worldwide via satellite. When he gets back in the car, Dr. Dre leaves and another Eminem/Shady character enters the driver's seat before the two drive away into the night. The music video features cameo appearances from fellow rappers

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

Royce da 5′9″ Royce may refer to: Places Physical geography * Royce Brook, a creek in New Jersey, USA * Royce Peak, a mountain in California, USA Settlements * Royce, Alberta, Canada; an inhabited locality Facilities and structures * Royce Hall, on the ca ...

Denaun Porter Denaun Montez Porter (born December 7, 1978), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, or Denaun, is an American rapper and record producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12. He has a close association with rapper Emi ...

, along with

Westside Boogie Anthony Tremaine Dixson (born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Westside Boogie (stylised in all capitals; formerly known as Boogie), is an American rapper. His debut mixtape, ''Thirst 48'', was released on June 24, 2014, followed by his ...

, Grip, and

Ez Mil Ezekiel Miller Sapiera (born July 27 1998), known by his stage name Ez Mil ( ), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. He rose to prominence after his song " Panalo" gained public attention. At age 25, he became the firs ...

, signed at the time to Eminem's record label

, record producer

the Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

, comedians

Shane Gillis Shane Michael Gillis (born December 11, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Gillis started performing comedy in 2012, and in 2016, along with fellow stand-up comedian Matt McCusker, began co-hosting ''Matt and Shane' ...

and

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Friends of the People'', ''Guy Code'', and ''Wild 'n O ...

, adult film actresses Samantha Mack and Ryan Keely, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg,

co-founder and executive Jimmy Iovine, and Eminem's own children.

Reception

Andrew R. Chow of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' stated that the song was "revolting his critics". ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

''s Tom Breihan was not impressed with "Houdini", writing 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 ''Woke'' is an adjective derived from African-American English used since the 1930s or earlier to refer to awareness of racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination, often in the construction ''stay woke''. The term acquired p ...

now" and Eminem's cadences as "cluttered and unpleasant", and wrote that listeners could "make a fucking bingo card" out of the song. Eddie Fu of ''Consequence'' wrote that Eminem "sounds like ass" on the track, opined that his customary potshots at celebrities were "more predictable and boring than shocking and clever", and stated that his publication "could also do without his complaining about being 'targeted' by the

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

backlash" given that "leaning into controversy" had been his strategy throughout his entire career. A more positive review came from Brian McCollum of the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'', who praised the song as a "catchy throwback" with "clever, multilayered wordplay". Robin Murray of '' Clash'' described the song as a "perfectly timed dose of cartoonish fan service, a colorful, occasionally shocking (and occasionally boring) dose of ultra-colorful 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". In addition, Lindsay Zoladz of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' felt that the track's "garish, carnivalesque beat", over which Eminem "surveys the current cultural moment and strings together some stiltedly rapped jokes

hile Hile () is a hill town located in the Province of Nepal, 13 km north of the regional center of Dhankuta Bazar. At an elevation of 1948 meters, it is the main route to other hilly districts like Bhojpur and Sankhuwasabha. The shops and re ...

desperate to offend at every turn", was "exhausting".

Commercial performance

"Houdini" debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the chart dated June 15, 2024, with 48.8 million streams and 49,000 copies sold. It became his 23rd top ten song in his native country and his highest-charting single since " The Monster" a decade earlier. "Houdini" also received significant airplay on Alternative Radio, and debuted at No. 35 on the US Alternative Airplay chart dated July 7, 2024, making it his first song in nearly 22 years to enter the chart since "

Lose Yourself "Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 film '' 8 Mile''. The song was composed and produced by Eminem, longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers, and Luis Resto. ...

" in 2002, and his fifth overall song on the chart. In Canada, "Houdini" entered the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

at number one, and is his sixth track to reach the summit. In the United Kingdom, "Houdini" debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart on June 7, 2024 – for the week ending date June 13, 2024 – with 104,800 chart units including 13.3 million streams. It became Eminem's 11th chart-topping song in Britain, his first since "

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

" with

Juice Wrld Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He emerged as a leading figure in the emo rap ...

in January 2020, and his first without a feature since "

Like Toy Soldiers "Like Toy Soldiers" is a song by American rapper Eminem, from his fifth album ''Encore'' (2004). The song received positive reviews from music critics, and peaked at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Like To ...

" in February 2005. This was Eminem's best first-week performance on the UK Singles Chart since "Without Me" in May 2002. It remained at the top of the chart for two weeks, becoming his first song to hold the summit of the UK Singles Chart for more than one week. The song also topped the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in Australia, where it became the first Eminem song to feature on the charts since " The Monster" (featuring

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

) in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, and the first without a feature since "

We Made You "We Made You" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his sixth studio album ''Relapse'' (2009). It was released as the second single from the album on April 7, 2009. "We Made You" was written by Eminem, Dr. Dre, Dawaun Parker, Mark Batson, Tre ...

" in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. "Houdini" became the eighth Eminem song to reach number one in Australia.

Live performance

On September 11, 2024, Eminem performed "Houdini", along with " Somebody Save Me", live at the

2024 MTV Video Music Awards The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 11, 2024. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on September 10, 2024, but was rescheduled to a day later to avoid conflicts with the pr ...

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Navboxes , title = Awards for "Houdini" , titlestyle = background: lightblue , list = {{MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video {{MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects 2024 songs 2024 singles Aftermath Entertainment singles Billboard Global 200 number-one singles Billboard Global Excl. U.S. number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Eminem songs Interscope Records singles LGBTQ-related songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Latvia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Romania Number-one singles in Switzerland Shady Records singles Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Jeff Bass Songs written by Anne Dudley Songs written by Steve Miller (musician) Songs written by Trevor Horn Songs written by Malcolm McLaren UK singles chart number-one singles