The 2019 Grammys have been quite the awards show! Becoming author Michelle Obama left everyone in awe when she surprisingly took the stage with Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez and the event’s host, Alicia Keys, to talk about how important music is in her life.

“From the Motown records I wore out on the South Side to the ‘Who Run the World’ songs that fueled me through this last decade, music has always helped me tell my story, and I know that’s true for everybody here,” Michelle, 55, said in front of the cheering audience. “Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves, our dignity and sorrows, our hopes and joys. It allows us to hear one another, to invite each other in. Music shows us that all of it matters — every story within every voice, every note within every song.”

61st Annual GRAMMY Awards - Inside
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While Michelle was still onstage, Alicia revealed why she decided to pursue a career in music. “Music is what we all love, music is what it’s all about,” she explained, adding that music can help to bring people together. “Everybody is out here shining and I’m so proud to bring us together to honor this moment because music is what we cry to, 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.”

After the Grammys, Michelle is set to continue her Becoming book tour by heading to Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, February 12. “I am proud of what I’ve created. I’m proud because it is candid, it’s honest, it is totally and utterly me,” she previously said about her memoir via Instagram. “I’m hoping that, because of this book, others feel the power of their own voice and their own story.” Michelle is so inspirational!