Pop icon Cher was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.
During her acceptance speech, she shared wise words for the younger musicians and singers.
Cher walked on stage to present the trophy for Record of the Year, but left the crowd in splits after announcing the wrong winner.
The 2026 Grammy Awards (68th Annual) saw major wins for Bad Bunny (Album of the Year for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS), Kendrick Lamar (five trophies, including Record of the Year for Luther and Best Rap Album for GNX), and Olivia Dean (Best New Artist). Other notable winners included Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, Leon Thomas, Katseye, Billie Eilish, and others.
Host Trevor Noah, who hosted the Grammys for the sixth and final time, presented Cher with a Lifetime Achievement Award, honouring her illustrious seven-decade career spanning across music, film, fashion, and cultural reinvention. Also known as The Goddess of Pop, the legend was greeted with a standing ovation.
Cher receives Lifetime Achievement Award at Grammys 2026
Dressed in a sheer black-lace gown and biker jacket, Cher, in her acceptance speech, said, “I knew what I wanted to be when I was five years old, and I was famous at 19, and had a top-rated show in my twenties, actually,” per Rolling Stone. “But it didn’t occur to me how rough my career was going to be and my life was going to be. And I’m not saying, ‘Oh, poor me,’ but whatever. I was either a loser or winning an Oscar. I’m sure a lot of you in the audience know what I’m talking about.”
“In the early 80s, it got so bad that I had to go to Las Vegas. It was called the ‘elephant’s graveyard’ in those days. Then I got dropped by my label. Another label picked me up and I recorded a song called ‘Believe.’ I was the first artist to use autotune. We didn’t call it that. There wasn’t such a thing as auto-tune — it was a pitch machine. You guys are going to know what I’m talking about, right?,” said the 79-year-old pop icon.
“The thing I want to tell you, the only thing I wanted you to take away with you, and I’ve been in this business,” she continued. “Never give up on your dream, no matter what happens. Live it, be it, and if it’s not happening now, it will happen soon. So that’s all I have to say. Thank you.”
Cher was asked to present the Record of the Year award to Kendrick Lamar and SZA for Luther. It seemed she was not prepared as he proceeded to call the late Luther Vandross the winner instead of Lamar. She soon apologised to the song’s producers Jack Antonoff and Sounwave. The video from the award ceremony has gone viral on social media, which is one of the most hilarious moments.
For the unversed, Cher's last Grammy win was in 2000 for Believe, which won Best Dance Recording. It was also nominated for Record of the Year.
