Lauryn Hill leads Grammys 2026 tributes to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack, as Reba honors Brandon Blackstock

The 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 1, 2026, leaned heavily into remembrance, with the night’s biggest emotional peaks arriving during the “Grammy in memoriam 2026” sequence. The segment featured a rare, high-profile return from Lauryn Hill and a separate moment built around Reba McEntire’s tribute to Brandon Blackstock, tying together multiple generations of soul, R&B, hip-hop, and country.

Lauryn Hill Grammys moment answers the big question

For anyone asking “is lauryn hill performing at the grammys,” the answer in 2026 was yes: Lauryn Hill took the stage during the In Memoriam portion of the ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

It was framed as a special tribute rather than a standard booked performance, which helped explain the tight focus and the unusually large number of guest appearances. As of Monday, February 2, 2026 (ET), this stands as one of Hill’s most prominent televised performances in years—an answer to “lauryn hill today” that’s more about presence than promotion.

D’Angelo tribute Grammys centers on “Nothing Even Matters”

The d’angelo tribute grammys sequence began with a clear nod to Hill’s own catalog: “Nothing Even Matters,” her duet from 1998 that originally featured D’Angelo. From there, the tribute expanded into a medley built around D’Angelo’s body of work and influence.

Coverage of the segment described a rotating lineup of performers moving through multiple songs in quick succession, with Hill acting as the anchor rather than the sole vocalist. D’Angelo died in October 2025 at age 51 after cancer; the In Memoriam presentation treated him as a genre-shaping figure whose impact stretched from neo-soul into contemporary R&B.

Roberta Flack remembered with a Fugees moment

The tribute then pivoted into music associated with Roberta Flack, who died in February 2025 at age 88 after ALS. The emotional peak for many viewers came late in the medley when Hill reunited onstage with Wyclef Jean, leaning into the long cultural echo between Flack’s signature recording of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and the later hit built around it.

That choice mattered because it connected three threads at once: Flack’s original legacy, Hill’s voice as an interpreter, and the collective memory of a 1990s era that helped define modern hip-hop and R&B crossovers.

Reba McEntire and Brandon Blackstock in In Memoriam

Elsewhere in the In Memoriam program, Reba McEntire delivered a performance tied directly to Brandon Blackstock, her former stepson. The presentation positioned Blackstock within the wider music-industry community rather than as a celebrity-adjacent figure, reflecting his behind-the-scenes role as a manager and producer.

Blackstock died on August 7, 2025, at age 48 following a multi-year battle with melanoma, a form of skin cancer. The tribute carried extra weight because it was explicitly personal—one of the night’s clearest examples of the ceremony using the In Memoriam segment to acknowledge losses that shaped families as well as careers.

What the 2026 In Memoriam segment signaled

This year’s approach did not treat remembrance as a quick montage between awards. Instead, it was presented as a full, multi-part set piece with distinct movements—one anchored by Lauryn Hill’s tributes and another built around Reba McEntire’s connection to Brandon Blackstock.

Key moments viewers focused on

• Lauryn Hill opening the tribute with “Nothing Even Matters” as the gateway to the d’angelo tribute grammys set

• Hill and Wyclef Jean sharing the stage during the Roberta Flack portion

• Reba McEntire’s performance framed as a personal remembrance of Brandon Blackstock

Sources consulted: Recording Academy; ABC News; People; Los Angeles Times