American First Lady Jill Biden presented two awards at the Grammys in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Host Trevor Noah introduced her, joking that she was “the only person in the world who knows which of tonight’s songs the President sings in the shower”.
She received a standing ovation as she appeared on stage to present the award for Song of the Year, which went to Bonnie Raitt for Just Like That.
She also announced the first Best Song for Social Change award, which went to Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour for his track Baraye.
The song became the unofficial anthem of the Iranian protests that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been in custody of the morality police after violating hijab rules.
Baraye became a viral sensation even among non-Farsi-speaking music fans who were in support of the protests.
“A song can unite, inspire and ultimately change the world”, Biden said as she presented the award.
“This song became the anthem of the Mahsa Amini protests, a powerful and poetic poem for freedom and women’s rights.”
She wore a floor-length, bardot style silver and lilac embellished gown by Oscar de la Renta for the ceremony, a style she has favoured before.
In December, she wore a black version of the same dress for a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Biden is not the only first lady to appear at the Grammy Awards, the music industry’s top honours.
Former first lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance at the Grammys for an opening segment in 2019 and won a Grammy a year later for best spoken word album for the audiobook version of her best-selling memoir, Becoming.
Hillary Clinton won a Grammy in 1997 while she was first lady for best spoken word album for her book, It Takes a Village. (National)
