Madonna gave a fierce speech before introducing Sam Smith (Picture: Getty Images)
Madonna took to the 65th Grammys stage on Sunday night to pay tribute to the ‘troublemakers’ in the star-studded crowd in a surprise appearance.
The 64-year-old singer gave a fierce speech, which came just ahead of Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s performance of their hit song Unholy, which won an award for best pop duo/group performance.
Perhaps nodding to Sam’s new risqué music video I’m Not Here To Make Friends, which some people claimed should have an age restriction on YouTube for its ‘inappropriate’ sexual content, Madonna commended ‘rebel’ artists who are ‘forging a new path and taking the heat for it all’.
The Material Girl hitmaker, who recently announced her world tour, donned a strong black skirt-suit and tie and two plaited pig-tails in loops, as well as a tight plait on either side of her face.
As she stepped onto the stage to present part of the show, the megastar said: ‘I’m here to give thanks to all the rebels out there, forging a new path and taking the heat for all of it.
‘You guys need to know, all you troublemakers out there need to know that your fearlessness does not go unnoticed. You are seen, you are heard, and most of all you are appreciated.
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Madonna’s outfit gave serious power-woman vibes (Picture: Getty Images)
‘If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative, or dangerous, you’re definitely on to something. That’s where you make noise.’
As the Hung Up singer announced the two upcoming performers, the star asked: ‘Are you ready for a little controversy?’
The audience broke into whoops and cheers at a few moments throughout the speech, but Twitter exploded with comments about Madonna’s appearance, rather than her words.
Some fans commented that her face was ‘unrecognisable’ due to its smooth complexion, and cited plastic surgery as a worrisome problem for the star.
But others applauded Madonna for standing up for the LGBTQ+ community.
Madonna appeared to nod to Sam when she praised the ‘rebels’ of the music industry (Picture: Getty Images)
Sam’s performance of Unholy was pretty memorable (Picture: Getty Images)
Kim Petras and Sam made history with their Grammy win (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)
One fan said: ‘Madonna was a visible friend to #LGBTQ+ communities before it was fashionable. She was outspoken about #HIV and included safer sex info with her album Like a Prayer.’
This comes as the Holiday singer added a sixth London date by popular demand to her Celebration Tour, which kicks off in Vancouver, Canada on July 15 2023, and will arrive in Europe for its first London O2 date on October 14.
Madonna’s world tour has created quite the buzz, and many stars got involved in hyping up the Queen of Pop’s dramatic comeback, with Amy Schumer, Lil Wayne, Diplo, Jack Black and Judd Apatow all appearing in the tour announcement video.
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The tour is going to be a retrospective of Madonna’s impressive 40-year career, and will include her greatest hits and everything in between so expect the bangers like Hung Up, Like A Prayer, Holiday to Material Girl to be firmly on the set list.
And as if Madonna herself wasn’t enough, the tour will also welcome special guest Bob the Drag Queen – real name Caldwell Tidicue – across all dates.
Grammys 2023 full winners list
Record of the year
About Damn Time — Lizzo
Album of the year
Harry’s House — Harry Styles
Song of the year
Just Like That — Bonnie Raitt
Best new artist
Samara Joy
Best music video
All Too Well: The Short Film — Taylor Swift
Best pop solo performance
Easy on Me — Adele
Best pop duo/group performance
Unholy — Sam Smith & Kim Petras
Best traditional pop vocal album
Higher — Michael Bublé
Best pop vocal album
Harry’s House — Harry Styles
Best dance/electronic recording
Break My Soul — Beyoncé
Best dance/electronic music album
Renaissance — Beyoncé
Best contemporary instrumental album
Empire Central — Snarky Puppy
Best rock performance
Broken Horses — Brandi Carlile
Best metal performance
Degradation Rules — Ozzy Osbourne feat. Tony Iommi
Best instrumental composition
Refuge — Geoffrey Keezer
Best arrangement, instrumental or a Capella
Scrapple from the Apple — John Beasley
Best arrangement, instruments and vocals
Songbird (Orchestral Version) — Vince Mendoza
Best rap performance
The Heart Part 5 — Kendrick Lamar
Best melodic rap performance
Wait For U — Future feat. Drake & Tems
Best rap song
The Heart Part 5 — Kendrick Lamar
Best rap album
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers — Kendrick Lamar
Best Latin pop album
Pasieros — Rubén Blades & Boca Livre
Best música urbana album
Un Verano Sin Ti — Bad Bunny
Best Latin rock or alternative album
Motomami — Rosalía
Best regional Mexican music album (including Tejano)
Un Canto Por México – El Musical — Natalia Lafourcade
Best tropical Latin album
Pa’lla Voy — Marc Anthony
Best American roots performance
Stompin’ Ground — Aaron Neville with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Best Americana performance
Made Up Mind — Bonnie Raitt
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media
Encanto
Best score soundtrack for visual media (includes film and television)
Encanto — Germaine Franco
Best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök — Stephanie Economou
Best song written for visual media
We Don’t Talk About Bruno (From Encanto) — Lin-Manuel Miranda
Best comedy album
The Closer — Dave Chappelle
Best musical theatre album
Into the Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording) — Sara Bareilles, Brian d’Arcy James, Patina Miller & Phillipa Soo, principal vocalists; Rob Berman & Sean Patrick Flahaven, producers (Stephen Sondheim, composer & lyricist) (2022 Broadway Cast)
Best R&B performance
Hrs & Hrs — Muni Long
Best traditional R&B performance
Plastic Off the Sofa — Beyoncé
Best R&B song
Cuff It — Beyoncé
Best progressive R&B album
Gemini Rights — Steve Lacy
Best R&B album
Black Radio III — Robert Glasper
Best music film
Jazz Fest: a New Orleans Story — Various Artists
Best alternative music performance
Chaise Longue — Wet Leg
Best alternative music album
Wet Leg — Wet Leg
Best rock song
Broken Horses — Brandi Carlile
Best country solo performance
Live Forever — Willie Nelson
Best country duo/group performance
Never Wanted to Be That Girl — Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde
Best country song
‘Til You Can’t — Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis, songwriters (Cody Johnson)
Best country album
A Beautiful Time — Willie Nelson
Best new age, ambient, or chant Album
Mystic Mirror — White Sun
Best improvised jazz solo
Endangered Species — Wayne Shorter & Leo Genovese, soloist
Best jazz vocal album
Linger Awhile — Samara Joy
Best jazz instrumental album
New Standards Vol. 1 — Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, Nicholas Payton, & Matthew Stevens
Best large jazz ensemble album
Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra — Steven Feifke, Bijon Watson, Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra
Best Latin jazz album
Fandango at the Wall in New York — Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra feat. the Congra Patria Son Jarocho Collective
Best gospel performance/song
Kingdom — Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, Jonathan Jay, Chandler Moore, & Jacob Poole, songwriters
Best contemporary Christian music performance/song
Fear Is Not My Future — Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, Nicole Hannel, Jonathan Jay, Brandon Lake, & Hannah Shackelford, songwriters
Best gospel album
One Deluxe — Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin
Best contemporary Christian music album
Breathe — Maverick City Music
Best roots gospel album
The Urban Hymnal — Tennessee State University Marching Band
Best American roots song
Just Like That — Bonnie Raitt
Best Americana album
In These Silent Days — Brandi Carlile
Best bluegrass album
Crooked Tree — Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Best traditional blues album
Get on Board — Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder
Best contemporary blues album
Brother Johnny — Edgar Winter
Best folk album
Revealer — Madison Cunningham
Best regional roots music album
Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Ranky Tanky
Best reggae album
The Kalling — Kabaka Pyramid
Best global music performance
Bayethe — Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini, & Nomcebo Zikode
Best global music album
Sakura — Masa Takumi
Best children’s music album
The Movement — Alphabet Rockers
Best spoken word poetry album
The Poet Who Sat by the Door — J. Ivy
Best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording
Finding Me — Viola Davis
Best recording package
Beginningless Beginning — Chun-Tien Hsia & Qing-Yang Xiao, art directors (Tamsui-Kavalan Chinese Orchestra)
Best boxed or special limited edition package
In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden ’81 ’82 ’83 — Lisa Glines, Doran Tyson. & Dave Van Patten, art directors (The Grateful Dead)
Best album notes
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) — Bob Mehr, album notes writer (Wilco)
Best historical album
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) — Cheryl Pawelski & Jeff Tweedy, compilation producers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Wilco)
Songwriter of the year, non-classical
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Best engineered album, non-classical
Harry’s House — Jeremy Hatcher, Oli Jacobs, Nick Lobel, Mark “Spike” Stent & Sammy Witte, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Harry Styles)
Producer of the Year, non-classical
Jack Antonoff
Best remixed recording
About Damn Time (Purple Disco Machine Remix) — Purple Disco Machine, remixer (Lizzo)
Best immersive audio album
Divine Tides — Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineer; Stewart Copeland, Ricky Kej, & Herbert Waltl, immersive producers (Stewart Copeland & Ricky Kej)
Best engineered album, classical
Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique – The Making of the Orchestra — Shawn Murphy, Charlie Post, & Gary Rydstrom, engineers; Michael Romanowski, mastering engineer (Edwin Outwater & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Producer of the year, classical
Judith Sherman
Best orchestral performance
Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman — Michael Repper, conductor (New York Youth Symphony)
Best opera recording
Blanchard: “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Angel Blue, Will Liverman, Latonia Moore, & Walter Russell III; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Best choral performance
Born — Donald Nally, conductor (Dominic German, Maren Montalbano, Rebecca Myers, & James Reese; The Crossing)
Best chamber music/small ensemble performance
Shaw: Evergreen — Attacca Quartet
Best classical instrumental solo
Letters for the Future — Time for Three; Xian Zhang, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
Best classical solo vocal album
Voice of Nature – The Anthropocene — Renée Fleming, soloist; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianist
Best classical compendium
An Adoption Story — Starr Parodi & Kitt Wakeley; Jeff Fair, Starr Parodi & Kitt Wakeley, producers
Best contemporary classical composition
Puts: Contact — Kevin Puts, composer (Xian Zhang, Time for Three & the Philadelphia Orchestra)
Best rock album
Patient Number 9 by Ozzy Osbourne
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