Released alongside an accompanying music video, "Houdini" debuted at the top of theBillboard Global 200.[1] It also topped the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and has reached the top ten of the charts in Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United States.
In April 2024, Eminem announced his twelfth studio album,The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), to be released in mid-2024.[2] Three weeks later, he shared aniMessage screenshot with a cryptic message that says "...and for my last trick!", sent to all of his contacts. The date for the message read May 31, hinting at an upcoming release.[3] On May 28, the rapper posted a joint video call between himself and magicianDavid Blaine,[4] in which the former asked Blaine for help and a magic trick to which the latter responds by drinking a glass of wine and then eating it; Eminem then states that for his "last trick", he was going to make his career "disappear".[5] The rapper then previews the track by playing a short instrumental snippet. At the end of the clip, the song title and release date are revealed.[6]
"Houdini" was released on May 31, 2024. Ahip-hop song,[7] "Houdini" interpolates Eminem's "Without Me", "My Name Is", and "Just Lose It",[8] as well as the 1982 song "Abracadabra" by theSteve Miller Band.[9] The day after release,Steve Miller praised Eminem as "one of those timeless originators building something new on a long musical legacy of original artists".[10]
The lyrics referenceHarry Houdini, after whom the song is named,[11] as well as theSherri Papini kidnapping hoax,[12]RuPaul's testicles, and theBlack Eyed Peas in a pun onR. Kelly's urolagnia.[13] They also reference Eminem's controversy over homophobic lyrics in his earlier career, and imply that the "old" Eminem would consider "the way shit is today" to be "gay".[14] Eminem also calls his managerPaul Rosenberg a "malecross-dresser" and a "fake ass bitch", before saying "fuck" those giving him "shit" for that,Dr. Dre,Jimmy Iovine, himself, "you", and his own children.[15] The song's lyrics also inquire as to whether a collaboration withMegan Thee Stallion would give Eminem "a shot at a feat", a reference to her being shot in the foot byTory Lanez, fantasize about hitting an eight-year-old child in the face with aparticipation trophy,[16] and assert that Eminem's "transgender cat" isSiamese, "identifies as black", and "acts Chinese".[14]
Andrew R. Chow ofTime stated that the song was "revolting his critics".[9]Stereogum's Tom Breihan was not impressed with "Houdini", writing that it was "truly amazing" that Eminem had continued "to find new ways to get even shittier" and opined that he andLuis Resto had managed to make "Abracadabra" "sound even more like circus music". He also described the lyrics as "full of hack-ass jokes about how everything is toowoke now" and Eminem's cadences as "cluttered and unpleasant", and wrote that listeners could "make a fucking bingo card" out of the song.[16] Eddie Fu ofConsequence wrote that Eminem "sounds like ass" on the track, opined that his customary potshots at celebrities were "more predictable and boring than shocking and clever", and stated that his publication "could also do without his complaining about being 'targeted' by theTikTok backlash" given that "leaning into controversy" had been his strategy throughout his entire career.[18]
A more positive review came from Brian McCollum of theDetroit Free Press, who praised the song as a "catchy throwback" with "clever, multilayered wordplay".[19] Robin Murray ofClash described the song as a "perfectly timed dose of cartoonish fan service, a colorful, occasionally shocking (and occasionally boring) dose of ultra-colorful chart rap", though felt the use of "gay" as a slur rankled and that the verse about Eminem's "transgender cat" was "corny as hell", and wrote that "Houdini" failed to "escape the lingering stench of the era it embodies".[7] In addition, Lindsay Zoladz ofThe New York Times felt that the track's "garish, carnivalesque beat", over which Eminem "surveys the current cultural moment and strings together some stiltedly rapped jokes [while] desperate to offend at every turn", was "exhausting".[20]
"Houdini" debuted at number two on the USBillboard Hot 100 on the chart dated June 15, 2024, with 48.8 million streams and 49,000 copies sold. It became his 23rd top ten song in his native country and his highest-charting single since "The Monster" a decade earlier.[21] "Houdini" also received significant airplay on Alternative Radio, and debuted at No. 35 on theUS Alternative Airplay chart dated July 7, 2024, making it his first song in nearly 22 years to enter the chart since "Lose Yourself" in 2002, and his fifth overall song on the chart.[22]
In Canada, "Houdini" entered theCanadian Hot 100 at number one, and is his sixth track to reach the summit.[23]
In the United Kingdom, "Houdini" debuted at the top of theUK Singles Chart on June 7, 2024 – for the week ending date June 13, 2024 – with 104,800 chart units including 13.3 million streams. It became Eminem's 11th chart-topping song in Britain, his first since "Godzilla" withJuice Wrld in January 2020, and his first without a feature since "Like Toy Soldiers" in February 2005. This was Eminem's best first-week performance on the UK Singles Chart since "Without Me" in May 2002.[24] It remained at the top of the chart for two weeks, becoming his first song to hold the summit of the UK Singles Chart for more than one week.[25]
The song alsotopped theARIA Singles Chart in Australia, where it became the first Eminem song to feature on the charts since "The Monster" (featuringRihanna) in2013, and the first without a feature since "We Made You" in2009. "Houdini" became the eighth Eminem song to reach number one in Australia.[26][27][28]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 29. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 23. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
^"TOP30".Hit Radio. June 22, 2024. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. RetrievedJune 22, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts.Media Forest. Retrieved September 22, 2024.Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 37. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 23. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
