Eminem Returns to Alternative Airplay Chart After 21 Years With 'Houdini'

Eminem's “Houdini” accomplishes a feat that no single by the rapper in the last 20 years: it does Advertising sign's Alternative Airplay chart.

The song bows at No. 35 on the chart dated July 13, marking Eminem's fifth appearance on the survey and first since “Lose Yourself,” which peaked at No. 14 in December 2002.

“Lose Yourself” had an 18-week run on the chart, as of February 2003. Therefore, the gap between Eminem's Alternative Airplay hits was 21 years and five months. This is the longest between appearances since Kate Bush spent more than 28 years between January 1994 (“Rubberband Girl”) and June 2022 (“Running Up That Hill [A Deal With God]”), the latter was released after the 1985 classic was synced to Netflix Stranger Things.

Eminem's hiatus is the third longest in Alternative Airplay's nearly 36-year history, behind only Bush and Debbie Harry. The latter waited nearly 29 years between 1990's “Kiss It Better” and her signature turn on Just Loud's “Soul Train” in 2018.

Eminem's Alternative Airplay history predates “Lose Yourself,” though it's his highest-charting entry on the tally. First charted with “My Name Is” in 1999 (No. 37), followed by “The Real Slim Shady” (No. 19, 2000) and “Without Me” (No. 15, 2002) .

“Houdini” has been described as evocative of many of these past Eminem singles, a fact not lost on Kevin Weatherly, Audacy's senior vice president of programming and program director for KROQ in Los Angeles. “This Eminem song has an instant familiarity and resonates with a large segment of our audience that was there when it arrived 20-plus years ago,” he says. Advertising sign. “Like when we've played him in the past, the response is mostly positive, but there are some negatives as well. That being said, we recognized the moment in pop culture and wanted to reflect it and be a part of it.”

KROQ played “Houdini” 21 times in the final monitoring week (July 28-July 4), sixth-most stations on the Alternative Airplay chart, according to Mediabase.

KTCL Denver has played the song 29 times in that span, the fourth most on the panel in that stretch. KKDO Sacramento led all stations with 38 games. “One of my Jocks, B-Large, brought it to our music meeting for discussion,” says KTCL program director Jeb “Nerf” Freedman. Advertising sign. “We're playing four Eminem songs on the set so it makes sense to hear the new song – but not every artist comes back this late in their career. Fortunately for us, we are constantly engaging our audience with online surveys. When we tried it and it went through the roof, we knew they didn't consider Eminem just a part of the story. Slim Shady is alive and well!

“It sounds a little strange to hear Steve Miller's tune on our station, but it definitely comes out of the speaker at you. So far, it's a huge hit.”

The tune Miller refers to Freedman is that of “Abracadabra,” the 1982 hit by The Steve Miller Band that reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. “Houdini” interpolates the song's melody in its chorus.

Meanwhile, “Houdini” climbs to a new No. 29 high on the audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 1.2 million streams, up 21%, according to Luminate. Debuting in late June, it became Eminem's first song on the chart, which began in 2009.

“Houdini” boasts multi-format support. In addition to the Alternative Airplay chart, it has so far reached No. 8 on Rhythmic Airplay, No. 16 on Pop Airplay, No. 18 on Hot-Rap-Tracks and No. 32 on Adult Pop Airplay.

The track debuted at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts dated June 15, as well as No. 2 on the all-format Billboard Hot 100. It remains at No. 16 on the latest edition's chart with 20.9 million public radio plays, 15.7 million official US streams and 6,000 downloads sold.

“Houdini” is the lead single from The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)Eminem's 12th studio album, which will be released on Friday, July 12. Another song was released before the album: “Tobey,” featuring Big Sean and BabyTron, which bowed at No. 95 on the Hot 100.