It's been 10 years since Macklemore's Grammy performance that featured a mass gay wedding

“When we say music has the power to bring people together at the Grammys, we mean it,” screen and music icon Queen Latifah announced when she presented Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performing their hit same-sex love anthem “Same Love” at the the 56th annual Grammy Awards in 2014.

The track was up for Song of the Year award and the hip-hop duo had already won four awards at the ceremony when they came up to perform the song along with lesbian singer Mary Lambert (who sang the song’s hook) and trombone player Trombone Shorty.

Part of the way through the energetic performance, Queen Latifah came back out.

“We are gathered here to celebrate love and harmony in every key and every color,” she said. “As I look out on this audience, I'm delighted to see the faces of 33 couples who’ve chosen this moment to celebrate their vows with us here in Los Angeles and everyone watching around the world as witnesses. It is my distinct honor to now ask our participants to exchange rings, to signal their commitment to one another and to a life shared together with the music of love.”

When she pronounced the couples married, all-time gay icon Madonna came on stage dressed in a white suit and started singing her gay anthem “Open Your Heart” before transitioning into the outro of “Same Love” along with Lambert.

It was a huge moment for public support of gay rights.

２０１４年グラミー賞同性婚Macklemore Ryan Lewis 'Same Love'

It was also a huge moment for Lambert.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, I already I cry at one wedding, how am I gonna hold it together for 33 weddings?'" she told The Grammys. "I got [a] call that was like, 'Can you do a duet with Madonna?' And I was like, 'Oh my God. This isn't real.' A week later, I got a call saying Queen Latifah is gonna marry couples. And then I'm like, 'Is someone gonna get resurrected next?'

Now, 10 years later, we can look back on the moment with some clarity.

This was before Latifah had publicly talked about her same-sex relationships, but she was definitely an icon to the LGBTQ+ community. Seeing her on stage talking about same-sex marriage and love was an important moment for many of her queer fans who felt like it was a kind of acknowledgement of her own sexuality.

Notably, CBS did not censor the word “faggot” when Macklemore rapped the lyrics, “A culture founded from oppression, yet we don’t have acceptance for ‘em/Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board,” calling out homophobia in hip-hop culture. (Usually when swear words, overtly sexual lyrics, or slurs are used in songs performed at the Grammys, the words are censored.)

In 2013, “Same Love” peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the first song about same-sex marriage to become a top 40 hit. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 56th Grammy Awards, but lost to Lorde‘s “Royals.”

In 2014, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won four Grammys, including Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song (both for “Thrift Shop”), and Best New Artist. They were the most-awarded rap artists during a year when Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Drake, and Kanye West put out albums.

While parts of the song haven’t aged well (notably Macklemore saying the word “faggot”), it really was a huge moment for queer people at the time.

“A straight white guy performing a good ally song has an element of cheesiness, but I think gay rights have progressed so astronomically fast, that people forget the impact the song had,” Lambert said in 2022. “I feel like sometimes it's dismissed. I might have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder to be like, 'Don't dismiss it.' If it got released now, I'm sure it'd be a little cheesy. But in 2012, it was everything. It meant so much to a lot of people, and it certainly meant a lot to me. And it still does.”