Eminem’s live collab with Skylar Grey is like fire and water! Grey flowed over the heavenly vocal and piano opening of “Love the Way You Lie,” before Eminem exploded onto the stage with his fiery verse on the 35 million view performance. Grey cut the initial demo of the song before Rihanna recorded the studio vocal, and Grey returning to sing her song feels like coming full circle. Grey’s take on the vocals is so angelic and bittersweet, and there’s nothing like hearing the songwriter sing their own parts.
After the melodic intro, Eminem roared onto the stage like a thunderstorm, dropping an intense and heartfelt verse while stalking the stage. Slim Shady was backed up on the mic by his longtime collaborator and D12 bandmate Denaun Porter, who accented the Detroit star’s verse, adding to the hype energy. One thing that The Music Man loves about Eminem’s music is how deeply personal it is, and this performance is a perfect example of that, with Em pouring his heart and soul into his story of romance gone wrong.
Eminem and Grey teamed up for the performance on BBC Radio 1, and it became one of the most popular performances on the Radio 1 YouTube channel. Fans were digging the live collab, and added comments such as “The way Skylar and Eminem blended their styles for this song was absolutely stunning!” and “Eminem sounds exactly the same live, if not better. Not many people can do that anymore. Props to you man!”
Slim Shady always brings the thunder when he drops into the BBC Radio 1 studio. One of his most popular live cuts on YouTube is his take on his hit “Stan” at the BBC’s Maida Vale studio, which is also where he performed with Grey. The Music Man has to say that “Stan” is possibly the greatest rap song ever written, with such brilliant and inventive lyrics, not to mention that iconic opening vocal hook from Dido. With the emotion that Em puts into the performance, seeing him perform it live is really powerful.
Eminem released “Love the Way You Lie” on June 18, 2010, as the second single from his 2010 studio album Recovery. Grey wrote the initial version of the song and recorded the first demo of the tune. Em then got his hands on the song and penned the verses, before inviting Rihanna to record the final melodic vocal takes. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that “Love the Way You Lie” sold 12 million copies in the US and remains one of Eminem’s biggest hits.
