Michelle Obama Made a Surprise Appearance at The Grammys and Everyone Lost Their Minds

Over the weekend, the 61st Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles. Hosted by Alicia Keys, the 15-time Grammy winner had a few tricks up her sleeve. Rather than giving a joke-fueled opening monologue, Keys decided to share the spotlight with four of her friends, who all happen to be some of the most iconic ladies on the planet.

Keys started the night off saying:

“It is so exciting to be here because music is what we all love. Music is what it’s all about. Music is what we cry too, it’s what we march to, it’s what we rock to, it’s what we make love to. It’s our shared global language and when you really want to say something, you say it with a song.”

After a brief pause, the ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ singer continued, “This is a celebration, so you all didn’t think I was coming out here by myself did you?”

Then, behind Keys, walks Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez — and Michelle Obama.

Each of the icons spoke open and honestly about how music has played a significant role throughout their lives. But when Obama was handed the mic, everyone basically lost their minds.

Before she could even finish her first sentence, the audience erupted in applause, with audience members cheering wildly and some even shedding a tear or two.

Once the audience settled, Obama continued, saying, “From the Motown records I wore out on the South Side to the ‘Who Run The World’ records that carried me through the last decade, music has always helped me tell my story, and I know that’s true for everybody here.”

Although the former First Lady didn’t get too political, she did touch on music’s ability to unite us. “Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves,” Obama said. “Our dignities and sorrows, our hopes and joys. It allowed us to hear one another. To invite each other in. Music shows us that all of it matters.”

It was clear that the audience members weren’t the only ones in awe of Obama. Keys, Gaga, Pinkett Smith, and Lopez were also noticeably starstruck by Obama’s words and concluded the opening monologue by linking arms with one another.

You can listen to the whole thing here: