Former first lady Michelle Obama made a surprise cameo Sunday at the Grammys, stealing the show while appearing onstage along with Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Jada Pinkett Smith and host Alicia Keys to explain what Motown music has meant to her.
As Obama spoke, she was quickly interrupted, making it only as far as “From the Motown records I wore out on the South Side …” before the crowd stood and loudly cheered for 25 seconds.
“All right — we got a show to do,” said Obama as she tried to settle the audience.
“From the Motown records I wore out on the South Side to the ‘Who Run the World’ songs that fueled me through this last decade, music has always helped me tell my story, and I know that’s true for everybody here,” she said. “Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves, our dignity and sorrows, our hopes and joys. 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. Is that right, ladies?”
