Tracy Chapman brought down the house with a rousing rendition of her hit Fast Car at the 2024 Grammy Awards in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday.
The legendary songwriter, 59, made a rare appearance as she rocked out on stage with Luke Combs, whose cover of the 1988 song was a crossover hit in 2023 and landed him a Best Country Solo Performance nomination.
As Chapman struck the initial chords and began singing the opening verse, the crowd erupted in applause, with Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey singing along.
The Cleveland native has made only 3 public performances since her last tour in 2009, and last performed at the Grammys in 1989, where she won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance that year for Fast Car.
Fans were quick to take to social media to applaud the performance, as one follower gushed, ‘Witnessing Tracy Chapman get this standing ovation made me cry.’

Tracy Chapman brought down the house with a rousing rendition of her hit Fast Car at the 2024 Grammy Awards in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday

The legendary songwriter, 59, made a rare appearance as she rocked out on stage with Luke Combs, whose cover of the 1988 song was a crossover hit in 2023
Chapman also clinched the title of Best New Artist at the 1989 Grammys, while her self-titled debut album, featuring Fast Car, not only secured the accolade for Best Contemporary Folk Album but also earned a coveted nomination for Album of the Year.
Tracy and Luke kicked off performances by Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Luke Combs, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA and Travis Scott.
Hosted by Trevor Noah, this year’s celebration will air live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and its streaming service Paramount+.
This year SZA tops the nominations with a total of nine nods, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song Of The Year. Taylor Swift follows close behind with six nominations, and will also be competing against SZA in the three aforementioned categories.
The majority of Swift’s nominations were for her acclaimed album Midnights and its single Anti-Hero, which earned some of the best reviews of her career.
That track is up for Record of the Year, a category that honors the artists who recorded the song and its producers and engineers, as well as for the Song of the Year category, which honors songwriters. SZA’s track Kill Bill has also been nominated in both categories.
Swift has already made history in the Album of the Year category, currently tied for three previous wins with music legends Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.
However, she is now poised to become the first-ever person to win the category four times if Midnights ends up victorious this year.

The Cleveland native has made only 3 public performances since her last tour in 2009, and last performed at the Grammys in 1989, where she won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance that year for Fast Car

Fast Car also landed Luke a Best Country Solo Performance nomination.

As Chapman struck the initial chords and began singing the opening verse, the crowd erupted in applause, with Taylor Swift singing along

Oprah Winfrey couldn’t help but get on her feet as well
Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus are also both up for six awards. Eilish’s nominations include Song and Record of the Year for her hit single from the Barbie soundtrack, What Was I Made For?
Cyrus has the chance to win her first ever Grammy this year with her nominations.
Her track Flowers is up for Record and Song of the Year, while her album Endless Summer Vacation has been nominated for Album of the Year.
Olivia Rodrigo is another major name in competition for a trophy.
Olivia – who has already won three Grammys – has been nominated for six awards this year, including Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year.
Other major nominees include jazz crossover artist Jon Batiste, the trio Boygenius (made up of Phoebe Bridges, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker), Lana Del Rey, Janelle Monáe and Victoria Monét, who was nominated for Best New Artist and multiple awards for her album Jaguar II and its singles.
In addition to the big names celebrating career achievements, a host of celebrities are set to be presenting at the show.

SZA tops the nominations with a total of nine nods, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song Of The Year; pictured in March 2023

Taylor Swift follows close behind with six nominations, and will also be competing against SZA in the three aforementioned categories; pictured in March 2023

Mily Cyrus has the chance to win her first ever Grammy this year with her nominations; pictured in December 2022
Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz, Lionel Richie, Mark Ronson, Maluma, Meryl Steep, Samara Joy, Taylor Tomlinson, and Oprah Winfrey have all been announced as presenters.
Audience members and viewers alike will also be treated to an array of incredible performances, including Burna Boy, US and Billy Joel.
Folk music icon Joni Mitchell will also be performing for the first time ever at the Grammy awards this year. She too is up for an award for Best Folk Album Category for Joni Mitchel AT Newport [Live].