February 02, 2026
Cher came to the Grammys as a recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award and left as perhaps the most entertaining act of the evening.
The music icon first took to the stage in a rock-inspired sheer ensemble, complete with a leather jacket and boots, as she accepted her latest honour.
“I knew what I wanted to be when I was five years old,” she announced in her speech, joining fellow music legends Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, Paul Simon, and Whitney Houston as the other Lifetime Achievement honourees.
Concluding her address by awkwardly quipping, “I guess I'm supposed to walk off now,” the singer and actress turned around to leave the stage.
However, before she could exit, the evening’s host Trevor Noah called her back to present the record of the year.
“Before you go, Cher, could I get you to announce the nominees? I could do it but it’s not the same. I don’t have the track record,” he said.
After hilariously fumbling the presentation by forgetting to open the envelope, Cher still found the time to make the moment even more unforgettable.
“The Grammy goes to… Luther Vandross!” the 79-year-old music veteran announced the name of a singer-songwriter who has been dead since 2005.
As the camera panned to Kendrick Lamar, who was the award’s actual winner for his song Luther, Cher hurriedly corrected herself by saying, “Kendrick, no! Kendrick Lamar!”
Social media expectedly blew up after the chaotic moment, with many X (formerly Twitter) users sharing their thoughts about the viral mishap.
Some felt that the presentation for Cher’s honour itself was incredibly ill managed.
While most people just revelled in the mess that transpired on live television.