SZA Defends Cher After Luther Vandross Flub at 2026 Grammy Awards

Luther Vandross was awarded six Grammy Awards in his lifetime, but only made it out of the pop and R&B categories once, in 2004, when he won Song of the Year for “Dance With My Father.” In some ways, Kendrick Lamar and SZA‘s Record of the Year win for “Luther” at the 2026 Grammy Awards is an honorary win for him, too — at least that’s how SZA sees it. The artist spun an uplifting narrative around the win after Cher mistakenly named Vandross when presenting the award.

“We share the frequency of the song. Like, that’s his frequency that allowed us to win and that allowed it to be memorable,” SZA told Entertainment Tonight after the ceremony. “So, she’s not wrong — and she’s from that era. She probably really knew Luther Vandross. Of course, her brain and her energy is connecting that energy to the energy that we’re sharing.”

Vandross and Cher only crossed Grammys season paths once, in 2004, when Cher was nominated in the Best Dance Recording category for her cover of “Love One Another.” It was a big night for Vandross, who took home four awards including Song of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Dance With My Father,” Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals for “The Closer I Get to You” with Beyoncé, and Best R&B Album for Dance With My Father. It’s possible they crossed paths at the ceremony.

“Luther” builds around a sample of Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 rendition of “If This World Were Mine,” hence the confusion. “We’re mooching off of what Luther already gave us,” SZA said. “We’re grateful. It’s like, I wish I could speak to him. Thank you, Luther.” Lamar honored Vandross in his speech. “This is what music is about,” he said, noting that the musician’s estate requested for “no cursing” on the record. “Luther Vandross is 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 all near dropped to tears … It proved we were somewhat worthy to be just as great as them individuals. They granted us that.”

Cher could be seen apologizing to producer Sounwave while Lamar and SZA delivered their speeches. She seemed to have been misdirected by producers at the Grammys about the order of events. Cher presented Record of the Year after accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, which itself was presented without any decades-spanning overview of her life and career in music and entertainment. After delivering her speech, she began to walk away before being instructed to return to present the award. After the nominees were previewed, Cher waited for the name of the winner to appear on screen (as she said she was told it would be) before opening the envelope to read it herself.