This year's Grammys has given us some pretty memorable moments already, including a double-piano medley by host Alicia Keys. But the breakout star of the evening is definitely 9-year-old Raif-Henok Emmanuel Kendrick, who stole all our hearts when he came onstage to introduce legendary grandmother Diana Ross.
I mean — even his walk up to the stage is iconic!
"Did she say little guy?I'm almost 4-foot-9!" he quipped in response to Alicia Keys' description of him, before delightfully dubbing her "Miss Alicia," and thanking her for her kind words.
"Thank you miss Alicia, for all the wonderful things that you said about my grandmother," he said. "She is amazing, and young people like me can look up to her for her independence, confidence and her willingness to be her unique self. She has shown the world that nothing is beyond our reach."
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Ross performed to celebrate her 75th birthday, but she's clearly passed on some of that showbiz pizzaz to the next generation.
Raif is the son Rhonda Ross, an actress, singer and public speaker. (She's Diana Ross' daughter with Motown founder Berry Gordy.) His father is jazz musician Rodney Kendrick. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross is his aunt, although she and his mother are half-sisters — Ellis Ross is the daughter of Ross' first husband Robert Ellis Silberstein.
This is the first time Raif has upstaged his famous relatives. In 2017, he caused a social media uproar with his dance moves and speech at the American Music Awards, where Ross was receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award.
This kid is a born star.
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