SZA defended Cher after the artist mistakenly named Luther Vandross when presenting Record of the Year to Kendrick Lamar for 'Luther' at the Grammys.
Cher presents the Record of the Year award for"luther" to Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Scott Bridgeway, and Kamasi Washington at 2026 GRAMMYs.Luther Vandross was awarded six Grammy Awards in his lifetime, but only made it out of the pop and R&B categories once, in 2004, when he won Song of the Year for “Dance With My Father.
” In some ways, Kendrick Lamar andis an honorary win for him, too — at least that’s how SZA sees it. The artist spun an uplifting narrative around the win after“We share the frequency of the song. Like, that’s his frequency that allowed us to win and that allowed it to be memorable,” SZA toldafter the ceremony. “So, she’s not wrong — and she’s from that era. She probably really knew Luther Vandross. Of course, her brain and her energy is connecting that energy to the energy that we’re sharing.” Vandross and Cher only crossed Grammys season paths once, in 2004, when Cher was nominated in the Best Dance Recording category for her cover of “Love One Another.” It was a big night for Vandross, who took home four awards including Song of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Dance With My Father,” Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals for “The Closer I Get to You” with Beyoncé, and Best R&B Album forJelly Roll Says ‘Jesus Is Not Owned by One Political Party‘ in Grammy SpeechDonald Trump Is Crashing Out Over Trevor Noah’s Jeffrey Epstein Joke “Luther” builds around a sample of Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 rendition of “If This World Were Mine,” hence the confusion. “We’re mooching off of what Luther already gave us,” SZA said. “We’re grateful. It’s like, I wish I could speak to him. Thank you, Luther.” Lamar honored Vandross in his speech. “This is what music is about,” he said, noting that the musician’s estate requested for “no cursing” on the record. “Luther Vandross is one of my favorite artists of all time. They granted us the privilege to do our version of it. When we got that clearance, I promise you we all near dropped to tears … It proved we were somewhat worthy to be just as great as them individuals. They granted us that.” Cher could be seen apologizing to producer Sounwave while Lamar and SZA delivered their speeches. She seemed to have been misdirected by producers at the Grammys about the order of events. Cher presented Record of the Year after accepting thewhich itself was presented without any decades-spanning overview of her life and career in music and entertainment. After delivering her speech, she began to walk away before being instructed to return to present the award. After the nominees were previewed, Cher waited for the name of the winner to appear on screen before opening the envelope to read it herself.Catherine O'Hara, 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone' Star, Dies at 714 hours ago
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