ABC had wanted Eminem to perform at the Oscars for years

Variety

Robert Mills, ABC's vice president of reality TV and alternative programming, told Variety in an interview Monday that the network had long been interested in Eminem because it was looking to replicate Justin Timberlake's opening to the 2017 Oscars. “It’s something we’ve talked about for years,” said Mills. “Because that was one of the great film anthems of all time, and anthems all together. But it’s one that he never performed on the Oscars. After Justin opened the show with ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling,’ you saw how a number like that can really inject some energy into the show.” The breakthrough came this year because Oscars producer Lynette Howell Taylor produced A Star is Born, which featured a soundtrack released by Interscope, Eminem's label.  “Lynette had a relationship with Eminem’s people and Interscope, and I think she’s the one who made miracles happen and got him out there,” Mills said. So why was Eminem's performance in the middle of the telecast instead of at the beginning? Because if Eminem had backed out at the last minute, producers would've easily been able to scrap the performance.

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