Queen Bey ruled the Grammy stage once again. Making her first public appearance since the announcement of her pregnancy, Beyoncé celebrated motherhood with a show-stopping set at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 12).

Introduced by her mother Tina Lawson, the Queen appeared on stage wearing a golden crown-like headdress and an expectant mother’s glow.

Backed by interpretive dancers and dazzling videos, she opened with a powerful spoken word except from her moving LEMONADE visual project.

“Do you remember being born?” she asked. “Are you thankful for the hips that cracked? The deep velvet of your mother and her mother and her mother?”


The performance featured a medley of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles,” songs that portrayed the heartbreak and redemption of a complex relationship on LEMONADE. It also included a visual display with cameos from her mother Tina, her daughter Blue Ivy, and images of herself amid flowy fabric. In many ways, it was reminiscent of the underwater maternity portraits she released when she announced that she and her husband Jay Z were expecting twins earlier this month.

Prior to the show, some wondered how the usually athletic performer would pull off such a high profile set at this stage of her pregnancy. Queen Bey didn’t disappoint. Defying gravity on a tilted chair and standing on a stage filled with flower pedals, Beyoncé provided stirring interpretations of LEMONADE’s most evocative emotional standouts.

The set ended with a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd. Smiling, Queen Bey closed it out by blowing kisses at her husband Jigga and daughter Blue, who were seated in the audience.

Even those who weren’t at the event offered rave reviews. “I’m not even by a tv and I’m crying,” wrote Zendaya.

Beyoncé’s big night continues. The superstar led all nominees with nine this year and won Best Music Video with “Formation” before the show even started. During the show, she also won Best Urban Contemporary Album with LEMONADE and could win more.

“Thank you to the Grammy voters for this incredible honor,” she said, before thanking her collaborators, God, husband, and daughter. “We all experience pain and loss and often, we become inaudible. My intention for the film and album was to create a body of work that would give a voice to our pain, our struggles, darkness, and our history, to confront issues that make us uncomfortable. It’s important for me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror, first through their families, as well the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, The White House, and the Grammys, and see themselves, and have no doubt that they’re beautiful, intelligent, and capable. This is something I want for every child of every race.”