Brandi Carlile Reveals How Janelle Monáe Helped Ease Her Nerves During Epic Grammys Performance

Brandi Carlile stunned the crowd at the Grammys when she performed her winning hit ‘The Joke,’ & revealed there was one star that made her nerves go away!

Brandi Carlile‘s Grammys performance is being hailed as one of the best of the night. Flanked by Phil and Tim Hanseroth, who she calls ‘The Twins,’ Brandi’s hauntingly emotional vocals echoed through the Staples Center as every member of the crowd rose to their feet, with their jaws remaining on the floor. Following her show-stopping performance and three wins, “The Joke” singer spoke to outlets backstage, revealing she was “so friggin’ nervous” taking the Grammys stage for the first time. “I was just so overwhelmed. I was so grateful. To the twins and for my family. I got out there and was so friggin’ nervous, as I am sure you could imagine that I would be, I don’t think I have ever done anything to that magnitude,” Brandi said to the group. “I looked out in the audience and I saw one person standing up looking at me with total peace on her face and it was Janelle Monáe. It really touched me and I lost all my nervousness and I sang to her, and everyone else rose and I don’t think I will ever forget that!”

Brandi was the most-nominated female of the evening, with six nods to her album By The Way, I Forgive You. The first-time winner swept through the Americana category, taking home her very own phonograph-shaped Grammys for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song (“The Joke”) and American Roots Performance (“The Joke”). “Americana music is the island of the misfit toys [and] I am such a misfit,” Brandi told the crowd after picking up the award for Best American Roots Song. “I came out of the closet at 15 years old, when I was in high school, and I can assure you that I was never invited to any parties, I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been the dance of a lifetime. Thank you for being my island.” Backstage, she continued to praise the Americana genre, telling outlets, “I feel like it is a genre that looks around and notices people who are not being seen and it reaches out to people who feel they don’t have a place or a platform.”

Brandi is currently on tour, but you might want to RUN to get her tickets, because after last night’s performance, we have a feeling they’re going to sell out fast.