NEED TO KNOW
Did Luther Vandross respond to Cher’s accidental mention of the late singer at the 2026 Grammys from beyond the grave? Well, not exactly.
After Cher, 79, accidentally read out “Luther Vandross” while announcing Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Record of the Year win for “Luther” during the 2026 Grammys at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 1, the R&B icon’s team responded to the viral moment on social media.
Vandross’ official X account shared a video featuring the clip of Cher announcing “the Grammy goes to Luther Vandross” spliced with his own acceptance speech from the 1992 ceremony for winning Best Male R&B Vocal Performance — as if she actually presented him with the honor.
“I really appreciate this. This is not taken lightly. I take this home, I put it on the front door, you have to lift it up before you can ring the bell,” said Vandross — who died in 2005 at age 54 — in the video, accepting the award for his song “Power of Love/Love Power.”
“So, good night and thank you everyone,” continued Vandross in the clip.
The social media post featured the caption, “If only we could turn back time, @Cher.”
Vandross’ team also shared a clip of Lamar, 38, shouting him out on stage juxtaposed with videos of the “Never Too Much” singer performing throughout his career.
At the 2026 Grammys, Cher quickly corrected herself and read out Lamar and SZA’s names as the winners of Record of the Year. SZA, 36, later reacted to the moment in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“Me too, I didn’t know what was going on,” said the “Kill Bill” artist with a laugh as she joined Leon Thomas’ conversation with the reporter. “A legend was speaking…that’s what I understood. Cher was, you know, she was queening.”
SZA noted that she “didn’t expect” to win the award, adding, “That’s why I looked so lost.”
Kevin Winter/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty
In another clip from the ET interview, she spoke further on Cher’s mixup. “We share the frequency of the song, like that’s his frequency that allowed us to win and that allowed us to be, like, memorable,” said SZA of “Luther,” which samples Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 version of “If This World Were Mine.”
“So [Cher’s] not wrong, and she’s from that era, so she probably knew Luther Vandross,” continued SZA.
“Of course her brain and her energy is connecting that energy to the energies that we’re sharing. We’re mooching off of what Luther already gave us. So, we’re grateful,” she said. “Thank you, Luther.”
