Cher paused before opening the envelope and said, “Oh! They told me it was going to be on the prompter.”

Seeing the song title “Luther,” she initially announced, “The Grammy goes to Luther Vandross,” before correcting herself: “The Grammy goes to Kendrick Lamar.”

Lamar laughed as SZA made her way to the stage, and the performers and producers acknowledged the song’s tribute to the late R&B singer.

“First and foremost, let’s give a shout-out to the late, great Luther Vandross,” said producer Sounwave.

“‘Luther,’” the third single from Lamar’s GNX album, samples Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s cover of If This World Were Mine, written by Marvin Gaye.

Lamar said, “When we got that clearance, I promise you, we damn near all dropped a tear, because we know how much he and Cheryl Lynn poured into that record.

Being able to put our vocals on it proves that we are somewhat worthy of being just as great as them.”

He added that Lynn and the Vandross estate required “no cursing” for the sample, saying, “We are going to do just that.

No cursing, and we are going to make sure the song represents love.” Lamar concluded his speech with: “Luther forever.”

Grammys host Trevor Noah later commented on the moment, saying, “I love live television,” acknowledging Cher’s funny gaffe.