Cher brought the Grammys to a crashing shambolic end by accidentally announcing the late Luther Vandross as the winner of an award meant for Kendrick Lamar.
Lamar led the nominations that evening with nine, and he and SZA emerged triumphant that night in the record of the year category for their single Luther.
While presenting their trophy, however, Cher, 79, managed to mar the moment with a catastrophic blunder that left viewers shrieking with laughter.
First she said: ‘And the Grammy goes to….,’ trailing off into an awkward pause as she stared forward before laughing: ‘Oh! They told me it was gonna be on the prompter.’
Once she realized she did in fact have to open the envelope in her hand, she ecstatically announced the winner: ‘Luther Gandross [sic]!’
Lamar, 38, was seen giggling with bemusement at Cher naming Vandross – who has been dead for 20 years – but recognized she meant him and took the stage.
Cher brought the Grammys to a crashing chaotic end by accidentally announcing the late Luther Vandross as the winner of an award meant for Kendrick Lamar
Cher did eventually realize her mistake and manage to crow: ‘Oh, no, Kendrick Lamar!’ and laughing at her mistake during Lamar and SZA’s play-on music
Cher’s whole onstage appearance had been a chaotic affair, as she gave her lifetime achievement speech and then walked off only to walk right back on to present another award
Cher did eventually realize her mistake and manage to crow: ‘Oh, no, Kendrick Lamar!’ and laughing at her mistake during Lamar and SZA’s play-on music.
Fans erupted in hilarity online, cackling: ‘Cher high as hell man,’ ‘Luther Vandross got me hooting and hollering,’ ‘Luther Vandross had me so weak. Cher had me lmfao,’ and: ‘Lord Cher just found out Luther vandross passed away today lmaooo.’
Cher’s whole onstage appearance had been a chaotic affair, as she took the stage to present record of the year only to be interrupted by host Trevor Noah so that he could give her a lifetime achievement award first.
She then delivered her touching, prepared speech encouraging viewers never to relinquish their dreams, only to end by awkwardly saying: ‘Thank you. I guess I’m supposed to walk off now. All right.’
Cher strolled offstage to an explosive chorus of audience applause and then strolled right back onstage immediately to launch into her record of the year fiasco.
The awards show was full of memorable moments, starting right from Trevor Noah’s opening monologue, which triggered rumors of a feud with Justin Bieber.
Bieber went viral for putting on a forced, tight smile when Noah tried to banter with him and his wife Hailey at his table – and even cringing at one of his jokes.
After congratulating Justin on his nominations and the birth of his now one-year-old son Jack Blues, Noah rattled through a bit of material, and although Hailey laughed politely along, Justin neglected to muster even a chuckle.
Justin Bieber went viral for putting on a forced, tight smile when Trevor Noahtried to banter with him at the Grammy Awards – and even cringing at one of his jokes
Bieber caught viewers attention again later that night by delivering a performance of his new song Yukon dressed in nothing but his boxers
When Lady Gaga beat her for a Grammy on Sunday, she got a standing ovation – but Miley Cyrus was shown staying seated and not clapping beside her fiancé Maxx Morando
Gaga remained tearful when she took the stage to accept her award, saying: ‘I’ve been making music since I was a little girl and every time I’m here I still feel like I need to pinch myself’
Then Noah delivered his final punchline at that table, asking Hailey if he could get a ‘discount code’ for her Rhode lip tint, at which point Justin grimaced.
His disdainful response to Noah did not go unnoticed by fans, as one tweeted: ‘do Trevor Noah and Justin Bieber have some sort of beef or? that was painful to watch.’
One viewer joked on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Justin Bieber looks like he was about to murder Trevor Noah in any second hahaha,’ as another observed: ‘Justin Bieber did not want Trevor Noah over there with the jokes.’
Bieber caught viewers attention again later that night by delivering a performance of his new song Yukon dressed in nothing but his boxers.
He stalked the stage the stage, showing off his sprawl of tattoos and accompanying himself on the guitar as his wife Hailey looked on appreciatively.
Online reaction was more divided, with some quarters hailing him for giving a ‘beautiful and vulnerable performance’ while others heaped him with mockery, for example: ‘Justin this is the Grammys and not the beach… just embarrassing.’
Miley Cyrus also came in for opprobrium as fans accused her of failing to applaud when Lady Gaga beat her for a Grammy Award.
Both women were up for best pop vocal album, Cyrus for her latest release Something Beautiful and Gaga for her new project Mayhem.
Billie Eilish took the stage with her brother and longtime co-writer Finneas O’Connell and used their speech as a political polemic, blaring: ‘F*** ICE’
Bad Bunny won album of the year for his latest release Debí Tirar Más Fotos and also made his speech a paean to immigrants in America
Bunny had a few more lighthearted moments as well, such as a running gag in which Noah tried to goad him into singing a bit at the Grammys in defiance of his Super Bowl contract
Gaga, 39, was announced as the winner, whereupon she burst into tears and got a kiss from her fiancé Michael Polansky as the audience erupted in a standing ovation.
Sabrina Carpenter, another one of the singers Gaga had just beaten for the prize, was seen clapping and beaming after rising to her feet.
When the camera cut to Cyrus, 33, however, she was firmly in her seat, not clapping and saying something inaudible to her fiancé Maxx Morando with a faint grin.
At that stage Cyrus was rubbing her hands together, so there remains the possibility that she had clapped a bit beforehand and only just stopped – but her reaction nevertheless provoked a blistering response on social media.
Meanwhile the late Ozzy Osbourne’s family were seen reduced to tears in the audience when the awards show paid tribute to him six months after his death.
Slash and Post Malone led the homage with a performance of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, joined by Chad Smith, Duff McKagan and Andrew Watt.
Osbourne’s widow Sharon Osbourne and their children Jack and Kelly Osbourne could be glimpsed in the audience, clearly moved.
When Billie Eilish won song of the year for Wildflower, she took the stage with her brother and longtime co-writer Finneas O’Connell and used their speech as a political polemic, insisting that ‘no one is illegal on stolen land’ and blaring: ‘F*** ICE.’
Bad Bunny won album of the year for his latest release Debí Tirar Más Fotos and also made his speech a paean to immigrants in America.
Although he spoke almost entirely in Spanish onstage, he reserved the use of English for one sentence: ‘I want to dedicate this award to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.’
Debí Tirar Más Fotos was the first full Spanish-language album to win album of the year at the Grammys, and only the second to be nominated in the category.
Bunny had a few more lighthearted moments as well, such as a running gag in which Noah tried to goad him into singing a bit at the Grammys.
If he did so, he would have violated his contractual obligation to not perform in public until he plays the Super Bowl halftime next Sunday.
In an apparently scripted bit, Noah teased him: ‘Like I find myself thinking when I’m in the room now, I’m like man, I wish I had, you know, I should have taken more photos.’
Bunny, whose Christian name is Benito Ocasio, asked: ‘Is that my song in English?’ and then broke and consented to sing only the briefest bit of Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
