Eminem Returns to Alternative Airplay Chart After 21 Years With ‘Houdini’

Eminem’s “Houdini” has achieved something no other rapper single has done in over 20 years: entering Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart. The song peaked at No. 35 on the chart dated July 13, marking Eminem’s fifth appearance on the chart and his first since “Lose Yourself,” which peaked at No. 14 in December 2002.

Lose Yourself stayed on the charts for 18 weeks, up to February 2003. That puts Eminem’s gap between Alternative Airplay hits at 21 years and five months. That’s the longest gap between appearances since Kate Bush, who went more than 28 years between January 1994 (“Rubberband Girl”) and June 2022 (“Running Up That Hill [A Deal With God]”), then dropped out after co-starring in Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Eminem’s break is the third-longest in Alternative Airplay’s nearly 36-year history, behind only Bush and Debbie Harry; the latter had to wait nearly 29 years between 1990’s “Kiss It Better” and her featured appearance on Just Loud’s “Soul Train” in 2018.

Eminem’s Alternative Airplay history extends back to “Lose Yourself,” though it’s his highest-peaking entry on the chart. He first hit the list 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 reminiscent of many of Eminem’s earlier singles, which isn’t unexpected from Kevin Weatherly, senior vice president of programming at Audacy and program director at KROQ Los Angeles. This Eminem song was an instant hit and it was well received by our audience when he came out over 20 years ago. he told Billboard . “Like when we played him in the past, the reaction was mostly positive, but there was some negative. That said, we recognized the pop culture moment and wanted to reflect it and be a part of it.”

According to Mediabase, KROQ played “Houdini” 21 times during the latest tracking week (July 28 – July 4), ranking sixth among stations on the Alternative Airplay chart.

KTCL Denver played the song 29 times during that time period, the fourth-most on the chart during that time period; KKDO Sacramento led all stations with 38 plays. One of my friends, B-Large, brought it to our music meeting to discuss, KTCL program director Jeb “Nerf” Freedman shared with Billboard. We play four Eminem songs in our catalog, so it made sense to try something new — but not every artist comes back late in their career. Luckily for us, we constantly engage our audience with online surveys. When we tested it and it skyrocketed, we knew they didn’t think Eminem was just a part of history. Slim Shady is alive and well!

It might sound a little strange to hear a Steve Miller tune on our station, but it’s sure to get you off your speakers. So far, it’s been a huge hit.”

The tune Freedman references in Miller is “Abracadabra,” The Steve Miller Band’s 1982 hit that topped the Billboard Hot 100; “Houdini” incorporates the song’s melody into the chorus.

At the same time, “Houdini” rose to a new No. 29 position on the all-rock, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart through 1.2 million audience views, up 21 percent, according to Luminate. When it debuted in late June, it became Eminem’s first song on the list since 2009.

“Houdini” boasts cross-format approval; in addition to its Alternative Airplay ranking, it has so far peaked at No. 8 on Rhythmic Airplay, No. 16 on Pop Airplay, No. 18 on Hot-Rap-Track, 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 Billboard Hot 100 All-Formats chart. The song holds the No. 16 spot on the latest edition of the latter list through 20.9 million radio plays, 15.7 million official streams in the United States, 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 is scheduled for release on Friday, July 12. Another song released ahead of the album: “Tobey,” featuring Big Sean and BabyTron, peaked at No. 95 on the Hot 100.