Host Trevor Noah said the singer's late arrival was due to traffic.
Beyoncé missed a record-tying moment in her career. The 41-year-old singer tied the record for the GRAMMYs' most-awarded person ever at Sunday's ceremony, but wasn't at Crypto.com Arena to give her acceptance speech.
Instead, Nile Rodgers and The-Dream jumped onstage to accept the trophy for Best R&B Song for her track, "Cuff It."
"Y'all know n****s be on CP time," the latter man said. "Beyoncé thanks y'all."
Afterward, host Trevor Noah took to the stage to give a reason for Beyoncé's late arrival.
"Beyoncé is on her way. The upside of hosting the GRAMMYs in L.A. is that everyone can be here. The downside of hosting the GRAMMYs in L.A. is the traffic," he joked. "Beyoncé is on her way."
Rodgers spoke next, recalling, "When I got called to play on this song, it was the most organic thing that every happened to me. I heard the song and I said, 'I want to play on that right now.' It was one take. I promise. I played it. It was one take. I never even got, 'Well, Nile, maybe you should do this, maybe you should do that.' It was just what I felt in my heart. I'm so happy to work with y'all."
Beyoncé, who has since arrived at the ceremony, has won three times on Sunday. She won for Best Dance/Electronic Recording and Best Traditional R&B Performance, the former for "Break My Soul" and the latter for "Plastic Off the Sofa."
The wins tie her with conductor Georg Solti, who long has held the record for most-ever GRAMMY wins, with 31 competitive wins under his belt.
Of course, this is not the only title Beyoncé has. During the 2022 GRAMMYs, she became the most-awarded female artist when she took home her 28th win and surpassed the record previously held by Alison Krauss. Additionally, she and husband JAY-Z share the record for the most nominations ever, with 88 each. For Beyoncé, that includes her time as a solo artist and with Destiny's Child.
Beyoncé is still up for three awards on Sunday -- Album, Record and Song of the Year. Winning any of those categories would make Beyoncé the sole record holder.
The 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards are taking place at Crypto.com Arena and are being broadcast and streamed live on CBS and Paramount+. Follow along at ETonline.com for full coverage from music's biggest night, including performances, GRAMMY winners and more.
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