Grammys 2026: Cher announces wrong ‘Record of the Year’ winner
Cher was responsible for one of the funniest mishaps of the night at the Grammys 2026, after she mistakenly announced the wrong winner for ‘Record of the Year’, instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA for their song ‘Luther’.
The iconic singer was firstly accepting her ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ on the night, given to her by host Trevor Noah in recognition of her seismic impact on the music industry over the past six decades.
“Never give up on your dreams, no matter what happens,” she powerfully said, noting that she has “either been at the top or bottom” throughout her career.
Subsequently, Cher was also entrusted with handing out the coveted prize for ‘Record of the Year, but despite her previously eloquent speech, things happened to go slightly awry on the live broadcast.
After a lengthy pause before announcing the winner as the name did not appear on the teleprompter, the singer opened the envelope to mistakenly reveal Luther Vandross as the winner.
The error was made as the real victor was Kendrick Lamar and SZA for their song ‘Luther’, and despite seeming slightly taken aback, the pair headed to the stage smiling to give their winners’ speech.
Following the mishap, Lamar paid tribute to Vandross as he is indeed the namesake of the song and is sampled on the track. The rapper said: “This is what music is about, Luther Vandross. This is special for me, one of my favourite artists of all time.”
He also revealed that the conditions granted by Vandross’s estate in order to use the sample was that no swear words appeared on the lyrics of the track, which he abided by.
It marked an historic night for Lamar, after his new scoop of Grammys brought his total win of the awards to a massive 27 over the course of his career.
He became the coveted winner of the same ‘Record of the Year’ award two years in a row, after he also took home the prize in 2025 for his smash hit ‘Not Like Us’.
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