Trivia
- “Curtains Up” depicts Eminem preparing to enter the stage via a Ferris wheel, which was part of his actual live act between 2002 and 2003.
- This opening skit was originally intended to be a part of the album’s next track, “Evil Deeds.” It was split into its own track after the song “Christopher Reeves” was scrapped, maintaining the album’s twenty-song length. Because of this late change, the album liner notes still list ’s keyboard work for “Curtains Up” under the “Evil Deeds” credits as “Intro Keyboards.”
- Eminem originally intended “We As Americans” to open the album, but after the track leaked alongside other planned Encore material in December 2003, it was removed from the main tracklist and used as a bonus track instead. It is unclear whether this earlier version of the album was already titled Encore or if it retained the same final-show theme, though using “We As Americans” as the opener suggests a different direction.
Words from Eminem
“I wanted Encore to jump off like the whole thought process in my head as I’m being lifted up in that Ferris wheel [used to open live shows between 2002 and 2003]. I wanted people to be able to get a glimpse into what it’s like to be me and to have these expectations to live up to. As I’m getting lifted up in the Ferris wheel, all my thoughts are racing; that’s why you may hear thoughts bouncing back and forth, because my thoughts go crazy. I’m looking down at the crowd. The crowd can’t really see me, but I can see some of the crowd. And it’s just thoughts racing.