The Top 27 Grammy Moments of All Time

1973: Helen Reddy Refers to God as a Woman

Though few would bat an eye at this declaration today, when Australian-American singer Helen Reddy referred to God in the female sense at the 15th annual Grammy Awards in 1973, people had quite a bit to say. In concluding her acceptance speech for best female pop vocal performance for her song “I Am a Woman,” Reddy said, “I would like to thank God, because She makes everything possible.”

1978: Barbra Streisand and Debby Boone Tie for Song of the Year

Though rare — but, perhaps, not as rare as you might think — Grammy ties can happen. The first time it occurred was in 1978 when Barbra Streisand’s “Love Theme from A Star Is Born” and Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” were both named song of the year at the 20th annual Grammy Awards. As a co-writer of “Love Theme” with Paul Williams, Streisand added the songwriting award to her list of accolades while the award for “You Light Up My Life” went to writer Joe Brooks.

1984: Annie Lennox Performs as a Man

Imagine being a stage manager frantically looking for the talent that’s supposed to go on stage next and you think they’re nowhere to be found, yet you’re looking right at them. That’s what happened at the 1984 Grammys when Annie Lennox showed up dressed as a man and didn’t let anyone in on the ruse, including the show’s producers, who didn’t know what was happening until she walked out to perform “Sweet Dreams” with Dave Stewart. In a 2009 interview with CTV News, Lennox said of her decision that night, “There had been so much talk about my gender. Is she a man, is she a woman? And I said to Dave, ‘Let’s just do it like this, it’ll be such a laugh. I’ll take an old rumor and I’ll use it to show that everything is just performance.’”

1984: Michael Jackson’s Record-Breaking Night

At the 26th annual Grammy Awards, Michael Jackson set the record for the most Grammy wins in one night, taking home eight awards, including album of the year and record of the year. Sixteen years later, Santana became the only artist to tie Jackson’s record at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards in 2000.

1985: Prince Shows He’s a Star

If the song title “Baby I’m a Star” didn’t convey the message, Prince and the Revolution’s live performance of the track at the 27th annual Grammy Awards in 1985 certainly did. The six-minute set marked the singer’s first time on the Grammy stage, and the energy was palpable as Prince asked the crowd “Do you want some more?” before hitting a dance break complete with eight back-to-back splits. At the end of the song, Prince walked off the stage through the crowd making as grand of an exit as he did an entrance.

1990: Milli Vanilli Wins Best New Artist

In 1990, Milli Vanilli became the first — and to date the only — Grammy-winning artist to be stripped of their award. The pop due won best new artist for their album Girl You Know It’s True at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards. However, eight months later, the award was revoked by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences when producer Frank Farian admitted the pair didn’t actually sing on their album.

1988: Michael Jackson’s Victorious Performance

When Michael Jackson’s album Bad failed to win in any of the categories it was nominated in at the 30th annual Grammy Awards, it was considered one of the biggest snubs of the night. Yet Jackson remained victorious, delivering what’s considered one of his best award show performances when took to the stage with a medley of “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror.” The L.A. Times called it “A dazzling and ultimately triumphant moment in Grammy history, one that overshadowed everything else on the program.”

1998: Aretha Franklin’s Impromptu Performance of "Nessun Dorma”

Aretha Franklin showed she’s more than the “Queen of Soul” at the 40th annual Grammy Awards when she sang an impromptu rendition of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.” The song was initially supposed to be performed by opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, who was set to open the ceremony in 1998. However, when he fell ill at the last minute, his good friend Franklin stepped in at the request of producer Ken Ehrlich, and received resounding applause from the audience.

1998: Bob Dylan's Set Is Crashed

The 40th annual Grammy Awards delivered yet another memorable moment when three minutes into Bob Dylan’s performance of “Love Sick,” a shirtless man appeared next to him with the words “Soy Bomb” written on his chest. It turns out the crasher was an actor named Michael Portnoy who’d been hired to simply stand on stage and act like he was having fun during the set. Portnoy, however, a vegetarian at the time and, far from a Dylan fan, decided to go off script. “I knew I had to do some kind of intervention. That’s what I was into then, something completely unexpected,” he later said in an interview. The stunt got Portnoy escorted off stage and left in the shivering cold outside of Radio City Music Hall where the ceremony was held.

1998: ODB Crashes the Stage

When Wu-Tang clan member ODB took the stage to receive Shawn Colvin’s award for song of the year at the 40th annual Grammy Awards, his beef wasn’t necessarily with the “Sunny Came Home” singer, but the Recording Academy, whom he felt snubbed the rap group twice that night after also losing to Diddy for rap album of the year.

“Please calm down, the music and everything,” ODB said as he took to the mic. “It’s nice that I went and bought me an outfit today that costed a lot of money today, you know what I mean? ‘Cause I figured that Wu-Tang was gonna win. I don’t know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children. We teach the children, you know what I mean? Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best, OK? I want you all to know that this is ODB, and I love you all. Peace!”

2000: Britney Spears’ Memorable Medley

Britney Spears has only hit the Grammy stage one time, but it was a performance to remember. In 2000, the pop singer performed a medley of two of her biggest hits, “Bottom of My Broken Heart” and “Baby One More Time,” complete with a wardrobe change, dance breaks and robot costumes that fans still talk about today.

2000: J. Lo’s Iconic Versace Dress

On Feb. 23, 2000, Jennifer Lopez wore the dress that solidified her future as a household name. Walking the red carpet at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards, J. Lo wore a green silk chiffon Versace dress with a neck cut to her navel that would become one of the most talked-about designs of the luxury fashion brand. A replica of the dress is currently displayed in the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

2001: Elton John and Eminem Perform Together

News of Eminem’s appearance at the 43rd annual Grammy Awards sparked protests from audiences and organizations like GLAAD, which had deemed the rapper’s third album, The Marshall Mathers LP, to be homophobic and riddled with hate speech. That made Elton John’s decision to perform the single “Stan” with Eminem at the 2001 ceremony all the more shocking.

On receiving the invitation from the Detroit native to perform with him, John told the L.A. Times, “I’m a big fan of his music, and I said I would be delighted to. I know I’m going to get a lot of flak from various people who are going to picket the show, [but] I’d rather tear down walls between people than build them up.”

2001: Toni Braxton’s Little White Dress

Toni Braxton upped the sexy precedent set by J. Lo in 2000 with a white Richard Tyler Gown that left little to the imagination at the 2001 Grammy Awards. The singer told People of her dress of choice, “I’ve always gone a little risqué with all my other awards. I decided that before I got married and had babies, I’d wear this.”

2002: All the Ladies of “Lady Marmalade” Hit the Stage Together

When Pink, Mya, Lil’ Kim and Christina Aguilera teamed up for a remake of “Lady Marmalade,” produced by Missy Elliott for the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge in 2001, it was an instant hit. The song was first made popular by LaBelle in 1974, and at the 2002 Grammys, the funk group’s front woman, Patti LaBelle, joined the ladies on stage to perform the song for what’s been considered one of the greatest female collaborations of the 2000s.

2005: Melissa Etheridge Performs After Breast Cancer Treatment

In 2005, Melissa Etheridge joined Joss Stone in a tribute to Janis Joplin at the 47th annual Grammy Awards. The rock singer, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004, was finishing up chemotherapy treatment and appeared bald on stage as she performed. Of her decision, she later told Entertainment Weekly in a 2014 interview, “I felt it was an opportunity for me to step back into what I loved to do. I mean, 10 years ago when you were diagnosed, people thought, ‘That’s it, she’s out of here,’ you know? So I wanted to show people that no, I’ve been through hell, yeah, this is awful, but I am not dying. I wanted to present myself as, ‘I’m back, I’m not weak, this has made me stronger.’ I just didn’t want anyone to make fun of me.”

2008: Tina Turner and Beyoncé Perform “Proud Mary”

Beyoncé is usually the one making newer artists dream collaboration come true, but in 2008 she got the chance to take the stage with her own idol, Tina Turner. The singers performed a customarily energetic rendition of “Proud Mary” in complementary silver metallic outfits at the 50th annual Grammy Awards to raving applause from the audience.

2009: M.I.A. Performs While Having Contractions

M.I.A wasn’t going to let anything stop her from performing at the 51st annual Grammy Awards, not even labor. The then-pregnant British rapper not only performed on her due date, but she began having contractions just as the show began that evening. Deciding the show must go on, M.I.A. didn’t miss a beat performing “Swagga Like Us” alongside Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T.I., and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy three days later.

2010: Pink Soars Through the Air

For her first solo Grammy performance, in 2010, Pink decided to fly high. The singer performed her song “Glitter in the Air” from above the crowd, spinning in aerial silks as she belted out the lyrics. She said of her trapeze act in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, “It feels like after 10 years people still don’t know what I do. [The song is] very spiritual and it’s very sensual and it’s very sophisticated and visually beautiful, so I just wanted to really show up.”

2011: Lady Gaga’s Egg Entrance

Lady Gaga made the grandest of entrances at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in 2011 when she was carried down the red carpet inside of an egg. Prior to the performance of “Born This Way,” the singer spent 72 hours inside of the prop she later clarified was a “vessel.” 

“It was time for me to really prepare and think about the meaning of the song and get prepared for the performance,” she said on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio show. “I really wanted to be born on stage.”

2012: Jennifer Hudson’s Whitney Houston Tribute

The 54th annual Grammy Awards took place the day after Whitney Houston was found dead in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11, 2012. During the ceremony, Jennifer Hudson delivered an emotional tribute to the singer, performing her classic hit “I Will Always Love You,” accompanied only by piano.

2012: Nicki Minaj’s Exorcism

On the red carpet of the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Nicki Minaj gave a preview of what was to come during her performance later that night when she wore a red gown similar to a cardinal’s robe while accompanied by a man dressed as the Pope. Admittedly inspired by the ‘70s horror film The Exorcist, Minaj’s live rendition of “Roman’s Revenge” and “Roman Holiday” featured an exorcism that led to her levitating above the crowd, all while hooded priests danced across the stage. The Catholic Church was none too happy with the rapper’s visual representation, yet when asked about the response to her set on a red carpet days after the show, Minaj replied, “I don’t know, what is the big issue?”

2014: Queen Latifah Officiates 33 Weddings

Creating a Grammy first is hard for an award show that’s been in place since 1959, but Queen Latifah did just that when she officiated the wedding of 33 couples during the 56th annual ceremony in 2014. The pairs representing diverse races, ages and sexual orientations said “I do” as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, sang their hit song “Same Love” with the help of Madonna and Mary Lambert.

2016: Taylor Swift’s Album of the Year Acceptance Speech

Taylor Swift took home the coveted award for album of the year at the 58th annual Grammy Awards in 2016. She also took the win as an opportunity to reclaim her narrative in the wake of Kanye West’s song “Famous,” out at the time, in which the rapper claimed he was responsible for the singer’s fame following their infamous clash at the 2009 MTV VMA Awards.

“I want to say to all the young women out there: There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success, or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame,” Swift told the audience. “But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you … you’ll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”

2017: Adele Says Beyoncé Deserved to Win Album of the Year

Though in taking to the stage to accept the award for album of the year at the 59th annual Grammy Awards, Adele said, “Winning this kind of feels like coming full circle,” the vocalist very quickly turned the attention to a singer in the audience whom she deemed more deserving.

“I can’t possibly accept this award,” Adele said through tears. “I’m very humbled and very grateful and gracious, but my life is Beyoncé. The Lemonade album, Beyoncé, was so monumental, and so well thought out, and so beautiful and soul-bearing. And we all got to see another side of you that you don’t always let us see, and we appreciate that,” she continued. “And all us artists adore you. You are our light. And the way that you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my Black friends feel, is empowering, and you make them stand up for themselves. And I love you. I always have. And I always will.”

2019: Michelle Obama’s Surprise Appearance

In 2019, Former First Lady Michelle Obama pulled off one of the biggest surprise appearances in Grammy history when she stood on stage alongside Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez and host Alicia Keys to talk about the power of music.

“That was Alicia’s brainchild,” Lopez told Entertainment Tonight backstage. “She wanted to show unity, and she wanted to give good energy and great vibes to the night, and it was a great way to do it.”

2021: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Perform "WAP"

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s performance of their own female empowerment anthem at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards in 2021 wasn’t received quite as well by audiences. The rappers’ live rendition of “WAP” was deemed too raunchy by some, leading to the FCC reportedly receiving more than 1,000 complaints from viewers, though a representative told The Wrap the total number was“an average amount for this type of event.”