Grammy Awards executive producer Ben Winston has defended the show's handling of the chaotic Record of the Year announcement, insisting that Cher was properly briefed before presenting the category. The 79-year-old singer mistakenly named Luther Vandross as the winner instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA, whose song 'Luther' took the prize. Winston told Rolling Stone's Music Now podcast: 'I promise you, we had briefed her, and I promise you, what she had to do was in the prompter.'
Despite the error, Winston said he would not change a thing. 'I’d want that to happen again,' he said. '[Cher’s] happy with it. She had a great time. You want a bit of anarchy.' Earlier in the evening, Cher had been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, telling the crowd: 'Never give up on your dream, no matter what happens.'
The confusion began when Cher returned to the stage to present Record of the Year. She initially appeared to leave the stage prematurely, prompting host Trevor Noah to call her back. 'I could do it, but it’s not the same; I don’t have the track record,' Noah joked. After returning, Cher expressed irritation, saying she expected the winner's name to appear on the teleprompter rather than in the envelope. She then announced 'Luther Vandross' before correcting herself: 'No, Kendrick Lamar!'
The winning song 'Luther' samples Vandross's 1982 collaboration with Cheryl Lynn, 'If This World Were Mine'. It remains unclear whether Cher was confused by the name 'Luther' on the winner's card or by a note crediting Vandross for the sample. Accepting the award, Lamar said: 'This is what music is about. Luther Vandross. This is special for me, I gotta take my time, because it’s one of my favorite artists of all time, and they granted us the privilege to do our version of it.'
