Oprah Winfrey Shares Sweet Backstage Moments With Taylor Swift, Celine Dion at 2024 Grammy Awards

There were several times during Sunday night’s (Feb. 4) 66th annual Grammy Awards where Oprah Winfrey gave Taylor Swift a run for her money when it came to cameras catching the media mogul jumping out of her seat and singing along enthusiastically to the performances on stage.

And on Monday morning (Feb. 5) Winfrey again proved that she’s just as big a fan as anyone else who was in the room via a series of private videos and photos the talk show icon shared on her Instagram Story. In one, Winfrey warmly greets Swift backstage, captioning the video “got to see some history be made — congratulations @taylorswift!” in response to Swift’s record fourth album of the year win during the show for her Midnights LP.

“Hello, how are you doing?” Swift asks Winfrey before enveloping her in a deep hug. “It’s so good to see you. You look gorgeous tonight.”

A second slide captured a very sweet moment between Winfrey and Celine Dion, in which the singer Oprah called an “old friend” in the caption stared into Winfrey’s eyes as they chatted and held hands to the strains of Celine’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” The clip ended with Dion whispering something unheard into Winfrey’s ear.

Dion made a surprise appearance at Sunday’s show at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to hand out the coveted album of the year trophy. Dressed in a long, burnt-orange coat and a chunky necklace, the singer soaked in a long, heartfelt ovation from the crowd in her first public awards show appearance since revealing in Dec. 2022 that she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome. The rare neurological disorder is known for causing uncontrolled muscle spasms that make it hard to move. The diagnosis forced the “Power of Love” singer to postpone all of her 2023 tour dates, before ultimately canceling the rest of her tour. 

Dion appeared to be in good spirits during her moment onstage at the Grammys and reminded everyone in the audience to appreciate the the power of music. “Those who have been blessed enough to be here at the Grammy Awards must not take for granted the tremendous love and joy that music brings to our lives and to people all around the world,” Dion said.

The rest of Oprah’s Story included a backstage snap with Lenny Kravitz, as well as Kravitz giving Fantasia Barrino a deep good luck hug before the Color Purple singer’s return to the Grammys stage for a riveting tribute to late rock queen Tina Turner. Oprah, who was also a part of the in memoriam tribute to her old friend Turner, posted “how it started” footage of Barrino singing an a cappella version of Turner’s take CCR’s “Proud Mary” on American Idol in 2004; Barrino won that season of Idol.

Winfrey ended the Story with a clip in which she said she was glad she got all her tears out during Saturday’s rehearsal so that she could properly honor Turner on Sunday’s broadcast. “It was so much fun and I though Fantasia killed it,” Winfrey said.