Cher Makes Embarrassing Blunder During Surprise Grammys Appearance

Kendrick Lamar and SZA took home the hardware for Record of the Year at the 2026 Grammys Sunday night, but Cher overshadowed the big moment with an awkward blunder.

Onstage at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, Cher was preparing to present Lamar with his historical fifth Grammy of the night when she bungled the big moment. She apparently thought the winner’s name would be on the event’s teleprompter when it was not.

After a brief moment, she then read from her envelope the winner, which was Lamar’s song with SZA, “luther.” But what Cher actually said out loud was “Luther Vandross.” Vandross, who died in 2005, is coincidentally sampled in Lamar’s “luther.”

“Oh! The Grammy goes to Luther Vandross!” – Cher #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/G9tFB5rBHX

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 2, 2026

“No! Kendrick Lamar!” Cher could be heard saying as Lamar and SZA began to hesitantly make their way to the stage.

“This is what music is about. Luther Vandross…” Lamar said during his speech, drawing a roar of laughter from the crowd. “This is special for me. I gotta take my time. It’s 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 damn near all dropped a tear.”

The song, written by Lamar and SZA with Ink and Sam Dew, took home two Grammys on Sunday: Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance.

To top off the awkward moment, it all happened after Cher had accepted her lifetime achievement award — a moment that was unplanned in and of itself. The surprise was all well and good until she left the stage too early and host Trevor Noah had to call her back up to present Record of the Year.