Tracy Chapman gave a surprise performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 4.
The reclusive musician — who has performed live just three times since her last tour in 2009 — took the stage at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles alongside country superstar Luke Combs to perform her 1988 hit “Fast Car.”
Wearing a blackT-shirt and jeans, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, Tracy smiled broadly when the audience erupted in cheers as she began singing and playing guitar before Luke, 33, joined in.
The country star’s 2023 cover of the song made chart history when it became the first song entirely written by a Black woman to top the Billboard country charts.
“I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car,” she told Billboard in a statement when it topped the country charts.
The evening’s next musical performance came from the night’s most-nominated artist, SZA.
Dressed in a black trench coat and broad-brimmed hat, the singer was in the shadows as she opened with her hit ‘Snooze’ on a stage resembling a dark alley complete with flaming garbage cans.
After she brushed off the approach of a man at the end of the song, the camera panned to a woman in the audience showing off her samurai skills before she and a group of dancers ran onto the stage to join SZA as she pulled off her jacket to join in on a Quentin Tarantino-inspired performance of “Kill Bill.”
Ahead of the main broadcast, the star already picked up two awards, Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance for ‘Ghost in the Machine’ featuring Phoebe Bridgers, and Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS.
Here is a clip of the performance.
