25 Most Iconic Grammys Moments of All Time

Including Blue Ivy telling her parents to 'calm down'.

Updated on2nd February 2023 at 4.22pm

Always a high point of awards season, the Grammys have had their fair share of iconic and memorable moments over the years.

From Michelle Obama making a surprise appearance on stage to Adele stopping to restart her performance — and who can forget Blue Ivy telling her parents to calm down? — here are the greatest ever moments from the Grammys...

Best Grammys Moments Ever - Grazia

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Michelle Obama's Surprise Appearance

The former First Lady surprised everyone in attendance when she joined Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Jada Pinkett Smith and host Alicia Keys on stage to discuss the importance of music, stating 'music always helped me tell my story.'

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Madonna performing with Gorillaz

In 2006 the 3D animated band Gorillaz performed 'live'. Holographic projection brought them to life, and they played 'Feel Good inc' from their album Demon Days. Madonna then joined them on stage and sung her song 'Hung Up'. It was a sight to behold.

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Two Queens showed everybody how it's done

In 2008 Tina Turner brought Beyoncé out onto the stage and together they sung her song 'Proud Mary'. The pair dazzled in silver and truly rocked.

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MIA's a Mummy

The 2009 Grammys took place of 8 February...which happened to be the due date of singer MIA. It didn't stop her from putting on an amazing show, even though she was reportedly having contraction{ =nofollow}s during her performance.

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Melissa Etheridge's Powerful Performance

American singer Melissa Etheridge was still going through chemotherapy when she performed a powerful Janis Joplin tribute on-stage with Janis Joplin.

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Aretha Saves the Day

In 1998, after Luciano Pavarotti pulled out of his performance at the last minute due to illness, Aretha Franklin saved the day and put on an incredible show that no one would ever guess was planned last minute.

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The real Lady Marmalade

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? In 2002 Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, Pink and Mya performed 'Lady Marmalade', and they were joined at the end by the real Lady Marmalade herself, Patti LaBelle. If only the girls would still perform this today.

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Blue Ivy Shuts Down the Show

Has there ever been anything more iconic than Blue Ivy shushing her parents, Jay Z and Beyoncé, while sitting in the front row at the 2018 Grammys?

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God Is a Woman

Helen Reddy walked so Ariana Grande could fly — while accepting her Grammy for Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for "I Am Woman," Reddy thanked God, stating, 'because She makes everything possible.' It didn't go down well in 1973, though we don't see what the problem is.

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We're All With You, Kesha

At the 2018 Grammys, Kesha and other powerful female singers including Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, Andra Day, and Bebe Rexha, all wearing suffragette white, gave a powerful performance of Kesha's single, Praying. It was particularly poignant as it was Kesha's first single since her legal battle with her former producer, Dr. Luke, who she has accused of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

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A Great Grammys Scandal

German duo Milli Vanilli won the Grammy for Best New Artist...only to have to turn it in the following November after being exposed in a lip syncing scandal. Yikes.

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We're Going to the Chapel...

While Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performed their song, Same Love, on stage, Queen Latifah officiated the marriages of 33 same sex couples.

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Pink Takes Flight for the First Time

Singer Pink is known for her aerial performances these days, but back at the 2010 Grammys it hadn't been seen before. She shocked audiences and she flew through the sky, dripping wet.

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An Unlikely Friendship

When Sir Elton John and rapper Eminem took the stage together together, it was unexpected to say the least, considering Eminem has quite a few homophobic lyrics.

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The Original Kanye/Taylor Feud

The OG 'I'm gonna let you finish...' moment, a member of the Wu Tang Clan jumped on stage and grabbed the microphone as the award for Song of the Year was being presented to Shawn Colvin.

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The Dress Is Born

The 2000 Grammys saw the reveal of the dress, which infamously caused the launch of Google Images.

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This One's For You, Kanye

Taylor Swift won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2016 and stated in her acceptance speech, '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.' Ahem, Kanye, ahem.

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Best Grammys Moments

At the 2017 Grammys, while beginning her tribute performance in honour of George Michael, Adele stopped singing, cursed and started over, stating 'I'm sorry for swearing and I'm sorry for starting again. I can't mess this up for him. I'm sorry, I can't.' This is why we love you, Adele.

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Gaga's tribute to Bowie

Following the sad passing of Ziggy Stardust last year, Lady Gaga performed nine of his songs at the Grammys in tribute to him, including 'Space Oddity,' 'Rebel, Rebel,' and 'Let's Dance'. She was dressed the part too, in the iconic zigzag makeup, orange hair and white jumpsuit - the look so synonymous with Bowie when he first propelled to international stardom.

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Beyoncé and Jay Z performing 'Drunk In Love'

In 2014 Beyoncé and Jay Z performed their sexually-charged single 'Drunk in Love' from the album Beyoncé. Always one to give a good show, Bey's aura was brimming with lust; the chair-ography mixed with the bodysuit and wet-look hair had us glued to our screens. Jay Z joined her on stage for his verse and together they owned the stage.

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A Star is Born...or Should We Say Hatched?

Lady Gaga showed up to the 2011 Grammys inside a weird semi-see-through, which she was then birthed from during her performance. A star is born, literally.

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Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams performing 'Get Lucky' with Stevie Wonder and Nile Rodgers

Daft Punk and Pharrell's legendary song 'Get Lucky' enjoyed an epic rendition at the 2014 Grammy Awards, when they were joined by music heroes Stevie Wonder and Nile Rodgers. The entire audience were on their feet, but it was Pharrell's giant fedora hat that gained the most attention that night.

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Jennifer Hudson's touching tribute to Whitney Houston

Just one day before the 54th annual Grammy Awards in 2012 was set to take place, music icon Whitney Houston sadly passed away, stunning the world into mourning - especially the music industry she had influenced so profoundly over the stretch of her career. In her honour, Jennifer Hudson performed her most powerful ballad, 'I Will Always Love You', which Whitney had performed herself at the 1994 Grammy Awards. Jennifer's performance was raw and emotional and at the end she changed the titular lyrics to 'we will always love you'.

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Adele's Grammy triumph

The 2012 Grammys marked a high point in Adele's career. She won no less than six awards on the night, winning every category she was nominated for, which no other artist, bar Beyoncé (naturally), has ever achieved. The occasion also marked her first comeback performance after undergoing throat surgery. She performed her hit 'Rolling in the Deep' - the song for which she won Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video of the Year - and was flawless.

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Drake and Rihanna gave a real show

These two undeniably have a lot of history, what with him confessing his undying love for her at the VMAs last year. During the Grammys in 2011 the pair performed their hit 'What's My Name?' and epitomised on-screen chemistry.

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