Tracy Chapman Sings “Fast Car” at the Grammys, Making Everyone (And Maybe Even You?) Cry

“ Fast car » is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful ballads in the history of Western music. We owe it to singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman who released it in 1988. Her performance during the tribute concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday in the same year made it a world-famous success, while the song talks about poverty and social determinism. But it was only in 2023 that the openly lesbian artist received a prestigious award,” song of the year ” Garlic Country Music Association Awards, becoming the first black person to achieve it. On February 4, 2024, on the stage of Grammy Awards, surprised the audience by taking the stage for the first time in years to perform with majesty. But why such a surprise appearance?

Why did Tracy Chapman perform “Fast Car” at the 2024 Grammy Awards, 36 years after its release?

It was with singer Luke Combs that Tracy Chapman sang “ Fast car » on stage at the 2024 Grammy Awards. He is a 33-year-old country singer whose first musical crush was when he was younger. For this reason he revived it at the beginning of 2023 in a country version, which helped to repopulate it and place it at the top of the charts in June of the same year. That’s what allowed Tracy Chapman to become the first solo black woman to top the country chart as a singer-songwriter, media outlets noted Scoreboard at the time of the facts.

We can therefore rejoice that a new generation is (re)discovering this musical wonder that we owe to one of the rare openly queer black women in the industry, too often invisible or hidden. That it took a cover by a man for Tracy Chapman to be invited on stage Grammy Awards says a lot, but the tears and the long ovation triggered by their performance can serve as sweet consolation amidst the chaos of the world.

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