Eminem is a man of his word, according to Ed Sheeran.
In a new interview with Nardwuar, Sheeran, 32, shared what he had to go through to get Eminem, 50, to take the stage with him at Detroit’s Ford Field in July, where he surprised his hometown audience by performing “Lose Yourself” and “Stan” with the British superstar.
To get the rap icon to join him, Sheeran had to pull off an insane travel stunt while doing Eminem a solid. “It was pretty difficult,” Sheeran said to Nardwuar, 55, with a laugh. “I went over to play the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with him [in 2022] … I [had] basically flown off on a day off because I was shooting 14 music videos, back to back, and I had one day off in between. That [day off] was the day of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So I got on a plane that night, flew, played, got on a plane that night and then flew back.”
Sheeran performed “Stan” alongside Eminem for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November 2022. Slim Shady was clearly taken by the amount of travel and physical exhaustion Sheeran went through for him.
“He was like, ‘Anything you ever need,’ and I just said, then and there, ‘I’m coming to Detroit,’ so [let’s do that],” Sheeran said.
When asked whether he was worried about being ghosted by Eminem the night of the show, Sheeran said he wasn’t too concerned. “I was there [in Detroit] for a couple of days as well. He let me use his studio to record some stuff, so I sort of knew it was going to happen,” he said. “I gave him the out. Whenever I perform with people, I always say, ‘You can cancel last minute if you want,’ so there’s never any pressure.”
While the live surprise was a success, there was one thing Sheeran couldn’t get Eminem to do: join him on the rotating circular stage he used for his Mathematics stadium tour. “I tried to get him on the revolve, and I think it was a bit too much,” said Sheeran. “Because I’ve been on it for 100 shows now, so I’m used to it, but it’s definitely different for people.”
Sheeran celebrated the release of Autumn Variations, his second album of 2023, on Friday, September 29. He commemorated the record by releasing a new single, “American Town,” and by going on a pub crawl through one of the most American towns there is: New York City.
Sheeran previously released – (Subtraction) in May, which contains the singles “Eyes Closed,” “Boat” and “Life Goes On.”
