Sam Smith raved over Madonna and expressed thanks for her ‘kindness’ as she introduced them on stage at the Grammys.
The 64-year-old music legend stood in front of the star-studded audience to greet Sam, 30, and Kim Petras, 30, before their performance of the popular tune Unholy.
Unholy won the prize for best pop duo/group performance, and Kim became the first trans musician to win a gramophone for their music.
Sam publicly thanked the Like A Virgin hitmaker by posting a racy photo of the duo backstage during the ceremony on Sunday night.
The award-winning singer wore a red see-through top and knelt before Madonna, who was dressed in a black corset and fishnet stockings.
They penned the caption: ‘Overwhelmed, grateful and inspired. Thank you for your love and support. I’ll never forget your kindness’, next to the picture that received plenty of love from supportive fans on Instagram.

‘sam smith is following madonna’s legacy in the queer community, sam is making a revolution as madonna did, POP ROYALTY [sic],’ wrote one fan.
Another pleaded with the pair to make music together: ‘Okay we need the collab now [sic]’.
An Instagram user commented: ‘OMG you are killing me Smith! [sic]’.
In the shot, the pop diva wore her hair in braids and pinned them to her head while standing erect.


Despite words of support from fellow artist Sam, Madonna’s Grammy performance piqued the interest of some fans who thought she didn’t look like herself.
‘Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech, which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim – Many people chose to only talk about Close-up photos of me taken with a long lens camera by a press photographer that would distort anyone’s face!!’ she wrote on her Instagram account.
‘Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in. [sic]’
Then quoting from a Beyonce hit, the singer urged: ‘You won’t break my soul.’
The mother-of-six was seen locking lips with singer Jozzy and dancing alongside Cardi B and Ab-Soul in video footage released on her social media from the night.