The 79-year-old fumbled in announcing the winner for Record of the Year, but Kendrick Lamar took it in stride

Cher made a special appearance at the 2026 Grammy Awards to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award and pass on some wisdom for generations of musicians. The music legend received a standing ovation but instructed the crowd to sit down as she delivered her speech.

“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,” Cher said. “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.”

She added: “In the early Eighties 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?”

Cher continued after the camera missed an opportunity to cut to Charli XCX, but continued with advice that could apply to any artist in the audience. “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 said. “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.”

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Cher briefly exited the stage and seemed somewhat thrown by the extra responsibility of presenting Kendrick Lamar and SZA with the award for Record of the Year for their collaboration “Luther.” In announcing the winner, which the 79-year-old initially mistook for Luther Vandross (an inspiration for the song), Cher quickly corrected herself and could be seen apologizing to the song’s producers Jack Antonoff and Sounwave. Now a two-time Grammy winner herself, the last time Cher took the trophy home was in 2000 for “Believe,” which won Best Dance Recording and was also nominated for Record of the Year.