Houdini vs. Houdini

Speaking of music videos, check out the nominations for the Best Music Video at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Yes, we have TWO videos called "Houdini" in competition. Houdini by Eminem and Houdini by Dua Lipa.

And the winner is...

Houdini by Ehrich Weiss.

Related:

• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?
• "Houdini" works magic for Eminem
• Dua Lipa has to explain Houdini was a real person

LINK: 2024: The Year Houdini Finally Returned

Let's bid goodbye to 2024 with this piece from Genius about Houdini's footprint in music this year. Notably, the two hit songs from Eminem and Dua Lipa, both called "Houdini." But my favorite part is excerpted below.

Em an Dua weren’t the only artists to give Houdini his flowers this year. According to Genius pageview data, ol’ Harry turns up in 43 songs released in 2024. His admirers range from country-rock hero HARDY to R&B great Kehlani to rapper French Montana. But—plot twist—it turns out 2024 isn’t the top year for Houdini mentions. Not by a long shot.

That distinction belongs to 2020, when Houdini magically appeared in 103 songs. Rounding out the Top 5 are 2018 and 2019 (86 mentions in each year), 2021 (76), and 2017 (64). Houdini might not have been able to holler at his wife from the great beyond, but insofar as he’s a pop-cultural legend whose name still resonates with the public a century after his death, he’s immortal.

Have a safe and Happy New Year.

Related:

• Dua Lipa drops by the Houdini Estate
• Eminem drops his own "Houdini"
• The Inner Me rocks Houdini

"Houdini" works magic for Eminem

Like Dua Lipa before him, conjuring the name Houdini has worked magic for Eminem, with his new single, "Houdini," topping the U.S. and UK charts. The following comes from Billboard.

The song’s impact has been similarly instantaneous, both in terms of its own consumption and in its lifting of associated cuts. “Houdini” has already racked up over 30 million official on-demand U.S. streams through Wednesday (June 3), according to early reports from Luminate, while also selling over 36,000 copies – both tremendous four-day numbers for any artist in 2024, let alone one twice the age of many contemporary superstars. The song has also elevated the rest of Eminem’s discography, with his non-”Houdini” catalog notching nearly 46 million streams combined over those four days, a 38% rise from the equivalent period the prior week. (A big part of that gain comes from 2002’s “Without Me,” whose iconic “Guess who’s back, back again” intro “Houdini” resurrects, and which is up 56% to over 3.1 million streams for those four days.)

Of course, Steve Miller is eating off the “Houdini” success as well: The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s eponymous band’s biggest Hot 100 hit more than doubled its streams over the same period, up 101% to 613,000. And yes, even that other recent hit of the same title is getting some spillover from the deluge: Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” was up 8% in streams over that period, to just over 2 million.

Alt Eminem-Houdini poster by Reddit user BenNice.

Related:

• Eminem drops his own "Houdini"
• Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' reaches #1
• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?

Eminem drops his own "Houdini"

Less than six months after Dua Lipa released her chart-topping single "Houdini," another major artist has released a single called "Houdini." This time, it's Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers aka Slim Shady). The rapper got an assist teasing the release from magician David Blaine on Instagram. The song's release on May 31st marked the biggest streaming debut of Eminem’s career.

The song only mentions Houdini's name in passing (it is the second time Houdini has been named-checked in an Eminem song), but I really like it. It's funny and a breath of fresh air. I also love the single's artwork above. 

You can watch the official music video below or in fullscreen on YouTube.

Related:

• Songs Called 'Houdini': Who Did it Best?
• Dua Lipa's 'Houdini' reaches #1
• "The lean make me feel like Houdini"