The Grammys 2024 was full of surprises for the crowd, from Burna Boy, Brandy, and 21 Savage lighting up the stage, Taylor Swift winning four Album Of The Year Awards, to the women reigning the Musical Gala. The audience was up for one more surprise of the night, with the sudden appearance of Tracy Chapman after nine long years, with country star Luke Combs.
Grammys 2024: Tracy Chapman Makes Her First Appearance After Almost A Decade
The audience was surprised with Tracy Chapman’s first-ever appearance after almost nine years at the stage of Grammys 2024 Awards, with her performance on the 1998 hit “Fast Car.” Luke Combs, nominated for his rendition cover of “Fast Car,” joined the former winner of the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1989.
Several musicians in attendance, such as Taylor Swift, Brandi Carlile, and her spouse Catherine Shephard, War and Treaty, and many more, were moved by the performance and got up to join the pair in the audience, cheering for them.
The performance included some nostalgic moments, with Denny Fongheiser, the original drummer, and Larry Klein, the bassist, playing. Tracy Chapman, the star of the Grammys 2024, performed the song’s last verse and received a bow from Combs.
Chapman last performed “Stand By Me” live on the television night show “Late Show With David Letterman” in 2015. She has kept essentially to herself since then, except for a pre-recorded performance of “Talkin'” ‘Bout a Revolution” on Seth Meyers in 2020 to increase voting turnout.
Award shows are tedious and crass, but the smile on Tracy Chapman’s face when the auditorium goes nuts for her before she takes everyone to school with no lip sync, no auto-tune and no in-ear monitors is a pretty sweet moment to capture live. pic.twitter.com/YZGbWgMmHJ
— Sean Armstrong (@manatee73) February 5, 2024
In 2020, Luke Combs released an acoustic cover of “Fast Car,” which gained instant popularity among fans, and he turned it into a studio version for his 2023 album, “Gettin’ Old.” The song instantly climbed to No.1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Chapman the first black woman to be credited as the sole songwriter of a No.1 country hit.
Luke Comb’s studio version of “Fast Car” won “Song Of The Year” at the 2024 CMA Awards in Nashville, granting Tracy the first black female songwriter to win the award. At the awards event, Chapman thanked the CMAs and congratulated Combs on his rendition version of Fast Car in a heartfelt letter.
