“I wonder if I could play you a cover of an Eminem song tonight,” asked Ed Sheeran during his Jul. 15 show in Detroit, Michigan. For Ed, 32, the Saturday show was a chance to pay his respects to one of the town’s biggest stars, and from there, the “Eyes Closed” singer began a rendition of Em’s “Lose Yourself,” the big song from the 8 Mile soundtrack. But, when Ed started to reach the “Snap back to reality” section of the first verse, Eminem himself came to join Ed for the duet.
@hunterwyck EMINEM JUST SHOWED UP TO ED SHEERANS CONCERT IN DETROIT!!!!! #edsheeran #eminem #detroit
The performance, captured by @hunterwyck on TikTok, showed Em and Ed doing an abbreviated version of the song. Afterward, as Em was looking to leave the stage, Sheeran said that he and the rap superstar would only do one track together. “And I said, ‘you can’t come on in Detroit and do just one song.’ Do you want another song?” he asked the audience before launching into a version of “Stan,” Eminem’s 2000 single, with Ed taking over for Dido in this new rendition. Ed and Eminem performed the song, with everyone at Ford Field singing along.
Afterward, Ed would share clips of the performances on his own Instagram. “Detroit. What a moment,” he captioned the video.
Eminem and Ed’s friendship goes back years. They’ve collaborated together on songs such as “River” (2017), “Remember the Name” (2019), and “Those Kinda Nights” (2020), per the Detroit Free Press. Earlier in the concert, Ed even made a reference to how he visited Eminem before the show by stopping for a bite to eat at the rapper’s Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant. He also gave love to Eminem (b. Marshall Mathers) in the encore. Ed returned to perform three songs while wearing a custom Detroit Lions jersey that read “Mathers” on the back.
The rest of the show saw Ed “expertly executing his own prolific catalog of hits,” per the Free Press. “Sheeran, as always, was a likable, down-to-earth host — earnest as he recounted the backstories of his songs and playful as he conducted tens of thousands in a mass chorus.
Ed will continue his U.S. tour, which concludes in Los Angeles this September. As for Eminem, he’s still basking in the glow of having walked his eldest daughter, Alaina Scott, down the aisle at her June wedding.