Cher Fumbles Through Grammys 2026 Appearance, Exiting the Stage Early Before Reading Wrong Record of the Year Winner

Cher had a lighthearted onstage moment at the 2026 Grammys after briefly stumbling while announcing Record of the Year.

The music icon had just been honored with the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 1 when she returned to the stage to present the award. Appearing momentarily flustered, Cher initially read out “Luther Vandross” — the late singer whose work inspired the winning track — before quickly correcting herself and naming the actual winners, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, for their song “Luther.”

“And the Grammy goes to… Oh! They told me it was going to be on a prompter,” Cher, 79, said. “Oh, the Grammy goes to Luther Vandross. Oh Kendrick, no Kendrick Lamar!”

The moment was met with laughter inside the arena as the camera cut to Kendrick in the audience, who appeared to chuckle as he realized he had won. As Kendrick and SZA walked to the stage, Cher appeared to mouth, “I’m so sorry” before stepping aside.

“Luther,” from Kendrick’s 2024 album GNX, samples Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 duet “If This World Were Mine,” a connection that several members of the creative team referenced during the acceptance speech.

“This is what music is about. Luther Vandross, this, this is special for me. I gotta take my time,” the rapper, 38, began. “It’s one of my favorite artists of all time, and they granted us the privilege to do our version of this. When we got that clearance, I promise you, we definitely all dropped a tear, because we know how much him and Cheryl Lynn poured into that record.”

“And being able to put our vocals of it, it proves that we were somewhat worthy to be just as great as them individuals,” he continued. “And they granted us that, you know, they said, ‘No cursing, though — can’t curse on it.’ That was the only thing, right? And we said, ‘You know what we’re looking to do just that, no cursing.’ We’re going to make sure that this song represents love. So I want to appreciate and give thanks to SZA.”

“I just want to say thank you to Kendrick for lifting me up,” the “All the Stars” singer, 36, said in response. “I just am a small part of this record. But what I really wanted to say is, please don’t fall into despair. I know that right now is a scary time. I know the algorithms tell us that it’s so scary and all is lost. There’s been world wars, there’s been plagues, and we have gone on. We can go on, we need each other. We need to trust each other and trust ourselves. Trust your heart. We’re not governed by the government. We’re governed by God. And I thank you so much. So God bless you. That’s all I have to say.”

This year’s Record of the Year nominees also included Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.,” Bad Bunny’s “DTMF,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” and Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower.”

According to the Recording Academy, Record of the Year “awards a single track and recognizes the artist’s performance as well as the overall contributions of the Producer(s), Engineer(s), Mixer(s), and Mastering Engineer(s).”

Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” was released in November 2024 and served as the third single from the rapper’s GNX album. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This year, “Luther” also received Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance. Furthermore, the two artists were up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with another GNX collaboration, “30 for 30.”

Lamar earned additional nods for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album with GNX, Best Rap Performance with both “Chains and Whips” and “TV Off,” as well as Best Rap Song with “TV Off.” SZA was also nominated for Best Traditional R&B performance with “Crybaby.”

At the end of the night, Lamar took home five awards: Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Luther,” Best Rap Album for GNX, Best Rap Performance for “Chains and Whips, “as well as Best Rap Song with “TV Off.”