The 2025 Grammy Awards reached a chaotic conclusion when music legend Cher mistakenly announced the late Luther Vandross as the winner of Record of the Year, an award actually meant for Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s collaboration “Luther.”
The 79-year-old icon initially walked onstage to accept her own lifetime achievement award before leaving prematurely.
Host Trevor Noah had to call her back because she still needed to present the Record of the Year trophy.
When the moment arrived, Cher encountered immediate confusion.
“And the Grammy goes to…,” she began, trailing off into an uncomfortable pause while staring ahead. “Oh! They told me it was gonna be on the prompter,” she explained to the audience.
After realizing she needed to open the envelope herself, Cher did so and enthusiastically declared the winner: “Luther Gandross!”
The pronouncement left viewers stunned, as Vandross passed away two decades ago.
Lamar, 38, responded to the mix-up with good-natured laughter and proceeded to the stage anyway, understanding Cher meant his song.
The veteran performer eventually caught her mistake, shouting “Oh, no, Kendrick Lamar!” while laughing as the winners’ music played.
The confusion stemmed from Lamar and SZA’s song “Luther” sampling Vandross’s vocals as tribute to the late crooner.
During his acceptance speech, Lamar made certain to thank Vandross for the inspiration.
Social media erupted with reactions to the blunder.
Users posted comments including “Cher high as hell man,” “Luther Vandross got me hooting and hollering,” and “Lord Cher just found out Luther vandross passed away today lmaooo.”
Cher’s entire appearance proved disorganized from start to finish.
She originally came onstage to present Record of the Year but was interrupted by Noah to receive her lifetime achievement award first.
Following her acceptance speech encouraging viewers to pursue their dreams, she awkwardly stated: “Thank you. I guess I’m supposed to walk off now. All right.”
She departed to thunderous applause, only to immediately return for the Vandross incident.
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The ceremony featured numerous other notable moments, beginning with Noah’s opening monologue that sparked speculation about tension with Justin Bieber.
The pop star went viral for displaying a forced smile during Noah’s attempts at banter with him and wife Hailey.
After congratulating Bieber on his nominations and son Jack Blues’s birth, Noah delivered material that drew polite laughter from Hailey but no reaction from Justin.
When Noah asked Hailey about a “discount code” for her Rhode lip tint, Justin visibly grimaced.
Billie Eilish used her Song of the Year win for “Wildflower” to deliver political statements with brother Finneas O’Connell, declaring “no one is illegal on stolen land” and shouting “F*** ICE.”
Bad Bunny won Album of the Year for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” the first full Spanish-language album to claim the prize.
He dedicated the award to immigrants who left their homeland to chase dreams, speaking mostly in Spanish except for that English sentence.
Jelly Roll’s Best Country Album win for “Beautifully Broken” included a passionate speech about Christianity’s importance to him.
“I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life,” he said. “I want to tell y’all right now: Jesus is for everybody, Jesus is not owned by one political party.”
