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Cher joined the Grammys as a special guest to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award and pass on some wisdom to generations of musicians. The music legend received a standing ovation but asked the audience to sit back down during her speech.
“I knew what I wanted to be when I was five years old, and I was famous at 19 and had one of the most popular shows in my 20s,” Cher said. “But I didn’t realize how hard my career and my life would become. And I’m not saying, ‘Oh, poor me,’ but whatever. Either I was a loser or I won an Oscar. I’m sure many of you in the audience know what I’m talking about.”
She added: “In the early ’80s, things got so bad that I had to go to Las Vegas. Back then they called it ‘elephant graveyard.’ Then I got dropped by my label. Another label signed me and I recorded a song called ‘Believe.’
Cher: “Don’t give up on your dreams”
Cher continued after the camera missed the opportunity to cut to Charli XCX, offering advice that could apply to any artist in the audience. “The one thing I want to tell you, the one thing I want to leave you with, and I’ve been in this business a long time,” she said. “Never give up on your dreams, no matter what. Live them, be them, and if it doesn’t work out now, it will work out soon. That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”
Cher briefly left the stage, appearing a little overwhelmed by the added responsibility of presenting Kendrick Lamar and SZA with the Record of the Year award for their collaboration “Luther.” When she announced the winner, whom the 79-year-old initially mistook for Luther Vandross (an inspiration for the song), Cher quickly corrected herself and apologized to the song’s producers, Jack Antonoff and Sounwave.
Cher, now a two-time Grammy winner herself, last took home the award in 2000 for “Believe,” which was named best dance recording and also nominated for Record of the Year.
