Cher's Powerful Grammy Speech: Never Give Up on Your Dreams
Cher received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards, delivering an inspiring speech about perseverance and later presenting the Record of the Year award to Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
Cher made a special appearance at the 2026 Grammy Awards to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award and share wisdom with fellow musicians. The legendary artist received a standing ovation before urging the crowd to sit down to begin her speech.
"I knew what I wanted to be when I was five years old, and I was famous at 19, and had a top-rated show in my twenties, actually," Cher stated. "But it didn’t occur to me how rough my career was going to be and my life was going to be... I was either a loser or winning an Oscar. I’m sure a lot of you in the audience know what I’m talking about."
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She continued, recalling a challenging period in her career: "In the early Eighties it got so bad that I had to go to Las Vegas. It was called the ‘elephant’s graveyard’ in those days. Then I got dropped by my label. Another label picked me up and I recorded a song called ‘Believe.’ I was the first artist to use autotune. We didn’t call it that. There wasn’t such a thing as auto-tune — it was a pitch machine. You guys are going to know what I’m talking about, right?"
Cher offered advice applicable to any artist: "The thing I want to tell you, the only thing I wanted you to take away with you... Never give up on your dream, no matter what happens. Live it, be it, and if it’s not happening now, it will happen soon. So that’s all I have to say. Thank you."
Later in the evening, Cher presented Kendrick Lamar and SZA with the Record of the Year award for their collaboration "Luther." Initially mistaking the winner for Luther Vandross, she quickly corrected herself and apologized to the song’s producers, Jack Antonoff and Sounwave. Cher last won a Grammy in 2000 for "Believe," which won Best Dance Recording.
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