Ed Sheeran fans were already pumped to see the megastar live in Detroit but the show got a whole lot more hype when Eminem crashed it to rap on his iconic tracks “Lose Yourself” and “Stan”. Sheeran began performing “Lose Yourself” solo, which the crowd was already super into, but the entire Ford Field stadium went absolutely nuts when the Rap God appeared.
Sheeran and Em showed great chemistry onstage and hearing them sing the chorus together was really powerful. The gig was part of Sheeran’s two-night stint in the Motor City this July, and the video of their collab has already gained nearly five million views since the concert. You can check it out for yourself below.
For some reason, the stars only performed about a minute of “Lose Yourself”, although they weren’t done yet. After Eminem worked the crowd, Sheeran said “He was going to come on and do one song. I said ‘you can’t come on in Detroit and just do one song’. Do you want another song?” The pair then launched into Em’s hit “Stan”.
Sheeran sang Dido’s beautiful vocal line that opens the song, and hearing him put his spin on it was a real treat. Eminem meanwhile really turned it up and gave a passionate performance for his beloved hometown. Seeing the two legends work together onstage was really magical and judging by their response, the crowd knew they were seeing something special. The show was not the first time the pair have worked together, as they also collabed on Eminem’s single “River”, which you can hear below.
Hearing two of the biggest stars on the planet sing together of course got the internet in a frenzy. One fan reported on how special the big moment was below the video, commenting “The video doesn’t do the justice of how crazy the crowd went when Eminem was on stage. I was in the concert and not a single person stopped screaming at the top of their lungs. It was phenomenal.”
Sheeran’s two-night stint in Detroit was eventful for several reasons other than the appearance of the real Slim Shady. On the first night, Sheeran played in front of 2000 people at the Royal Oak Music Theater, which is quite an intimate event compared to his regular sold-out stadium appearances. He played his latest album Subtract in its entirety, which he said he wasn’t able to do at his regular shows.
This is presumably because the album is downbeat and melancholy – not exactly a stadium pleaser. He appeared with a full band and used the special show to share the stories behind the songs with fans.
The following night Sheeran rocked out at Ford Field, which is when Eminem appeared. Sheeran, who performed without a band this time, also brought out Khalid to feature on “Beautiful People” and violinist Alicia Enstrom to play on “Galway Girl”.
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