American rapper Eminem is on track to secure his 11th number one single in the UK charts with Houdini.
The Official Charts Company predicts the song will debut atop the singles chart on Friday, knocking off Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso.
The track, which features on his forthcoming album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace), was released on May 31 and the music video includes appearances from the likes of Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent.
It begins with the lyrics “guess who’s back, back again” – a reference to his 2002 single Without Me in which his alter-ego Slim Shady makes his return.
The rapper has received backlash to the song as the lyrics are thought to also reference when rapper Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the feet in 2020.
“If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me. Would I really have a shot at a feat?”, the lyrics read.
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, achieved mainstream popularity with 1999’s The Slim Shady LP, which earned him the best rap album at the Grammy’s.
The Missouri-born rapper currently has 10 chart-topping UK singles including Stan (2000) and Lose Yourself (2002).
He has also had 10 UK number one albums with records including The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), The Eminem Show (2002) and Encore (2004).
Among his other records are 2017’s Revival and 2018 album Kamikaze.
His latest record will be his first studio album since 2020’s Music To Be Murdered By, which also featured a deluxe edition, Side B.
Elsewhere in the charts, A Bar Song (Tipsy) by American singer Shaboozey could remain at number three next week while Band4Band by rapper Central Cee featuring Lil Baby is predicted to stay at number four.
Lunch from the new album Hit Me Hard And Soft by American singer Billie Eilish could move from number two to number five.
