JAKARTA - The 2026 Grammy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 1, was marked by an awkward moment that stirred the stomach and confused the audience.
Senior pop diva, Cher, made a mistake when announcing the winner of the Record of the Year category. Instead of mentioning the name of the winner written in the envelope, the 79-year-old singer actually shouted the name of the late Luther Vandross as the winner of the gold gramophone trophy.
The incident began when Cher was appointed as a nominee reader after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. There was a little chaos when Cher seemed to forget that he was also in charge of announcing the winner and almost left the stage.
"Cher, before you go, can I ask you to announce the nominees? I could have done it, but it wouldn't have been the same," said Trevor Noah, who acted as the host.
After seeing the list of nominations, Cher seemed hesitant when opening the envelope. He laughed a little and muttered that the production team promised that the winner's information would appear on the teleprompter screen.
Upon seeing the writing on the winning card, Cher loudly shouted, "Oh! The Grammy goes to Luther Vandross!"
Immediately, the room was silent for a moment before Cher realized his mistake. The winner was actually Kendrick Lamar and SZA through their collaborative song titled "Luther".
Cher immediately corrected his words in a panicked tone. "No, Kendrick Lamar! This Grammy is for Kendrick Lamar," he corrected, which was greeted with loud laughter from the audience, including Kendrick Lamar who was caught on camera laughing.
The song "Luther" itself is a track from Lamar's album "GNX" which takes a sample of the song "If This World Were Mine" which was popularized by Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn.
In his victory speech, Lamar paid a deep tribute to the late Vandross who died in 2005.
"First of all, let's give an appreciation to the late, great Luther Vandross. This is very special for me. I have to say it slowly, because he is one of my favorite artists of all time," said Lamar.
He also told how his team struggled to get permission for the song sample. "The Vandross and Cheryl Lynn families only gave one condition when they allowed this sample: 'There must be no harsh words'. And we did exactly that to make sure this song represents love," he concluded.
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