2023 is looking great for Beyoncé, she kicked it off with her multi-million dollar show in Dubai, and now she made Grammy History.
Beyoncé won Best R&B Song for “CUFF IT,” but she wasn’t there to receive her award as she was “stuck in LA traffic,” Trever Noah stated.
Instead, the diva’s longtime collaborator, The-Dream, leaped onstage to claim her Best R&B Song award for “Cuff It.” And while his brief, rude remarks were hardly befitting to the Grammy queen, thankfully, Noah and a surprise recipient swooped in to keep things classy.
“Y’all know n****s be on CP time,” The-Dream, whose real name is Terius Youngdell Nash, said with a shrug before he started to dash away from the podium. (The-Dream’s comment was censored by CBS, although the non-bleeped version quickly surfaced online.) That’s when Noah quipped to the confused crowd at Downtown L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena, “Beyoncé is on her way. You know, the upside of hosting the Grammys in L.A. is that everyone can be here, but the downside of hosting the Grammys in L.A. is the traffic. Beyoncé is on her way!”
Nile Rodgers stepped in to give the acceptance speech. Nile Rodger is a joint winner for “CUFF IT” due to his role in writing the song. Noah practically begged the legendary musician and producer to emerge from the stage wings and give a more eloquent speech. “Nile, please say something before we go. Please say something. The legend, ladies and gentlemen!”
Mr. Nile’s speech was very wholesome, saying, “When I got called to play on this song, it was the most organic thing that ever happened to me. I heard the song, and I just said, ‘All right, I want to play on that right now.’ And it was one take,” Rodgers shared. “I promise, I played it; it was one take. … It was just what I felt in my heart, and I’m so happy to be working with y’all.”
This was the moment Beyoncé became the most Grammy-awarded artist.
Noah also pointed out, “Just for reference, Beyoncé has now equaled the record for most Grammys of any individual of all time.” And about a half-hour after the singer’s surprising no-show, the host proclaimed, “When you set a record, there’s no way you don’t get to hold your Grammy and celebrate that. The queen is in the building. Beyoncé Knowles, ladies and gentlemen!” The host then personally handed Beyoncé her Best R&B Song trophy and joked, “I was shocked to find out that traffic could stop you. I thought you traveled through space and time.”
Trever Noah did an outstanding job at making this moment special for Beyoncé, giving her all the credit she deserves.
Fortunately, Beyoncé had another chance to make history — and deliver at least one acceptance speech of her own — when Renaissance later won Best Dance/Electronic Album. This officially established her as the most-decorated Grammy recipient of all time and, as Noah worded it, “finally ended the GOAT debate.”
“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” Beyoncé said through tears as she accepted her record-setting 31st Grammy, thanking God, her late uncle, her “beautiful husband” and their “beautiful three children” at home, her parents, and the queer community for “inventing the genre” of dance music. “I’m trying to just to receive this night.”
