Flanked by Lady Gaga and J. Lo, Michelle Obama receives standing ovation at the Grammys

Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michelle Obama, and Jennifer Lopez.
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

The 61st annual Grammy Awards started with a bang, as former first lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance alongside Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and host Alicia Keys.

Each woman spoke about the power of music, and as soon as Obama had the microphone, the crowd went wild, cheering and giving her a standing ovation. "From the Motown records I wore out on the Southside to the 'Who Run the World' songs that fueled me through this last decade, music has always helped me tell my story," she said.

Whether we listen to country or rap or rock, "music helps us share ourselves, our dignity and sorrows, our hopes, our joys," she said. "It allows us to hear one another, to invite each other in. Music shows us that all of it matters, every story within every voice, every note within every song." Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.