Miley Cyrus fangirls over fellow M.C. Mariah Carey after first Grammys win

She hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan — and she’s going home with an award.

Miley Cyrus won her first-ever Grammy Award Sunday night for her song “Flowers,” and received the trophy from Mariah Carey, who presented the award for Best Pop Solo Performance. Cyrus looked thrilled when the “Always Be My Baby” singer called her name (which she might have pronounced Mari Sarus?) — not just because of the win, but also because she was starstruck by the presenter.

Once Cyrus made her way to the stage, the two M.C.s chatted for several moments off-mic before she began her speech. “This M.C. is gonna stand by this M.C. for this, because this is just too iconic,” she said. “Oh my God, I just got stuck in the rain in traffic and thought I was gonna miss this moment, and I could’ve missed the award, that’s fine. But not Mariah Carey. I just saw you at the Hollywood Bowl, it was everything. I got sat in my lucky number 3 seat.”

Cyrus went on to describe her winning song with a parable about a butterfly. “There’s a story I wanna tell that sums up this moment, and I wasn’t gonna tell it, but now Mariah’s here,” she said. “So there was a little boy that all he wanted for his birthday was a butterfly. And so his parents gave him a butterfly net. And he was so excited, he just went outside out in the sun and started swinging and swinging, but with no luck.”

“He sat down on the ground, he finally let go and he surrendered,” Cyrus continued. “He was okay that he wasn’t gonna capture this beautiful butterfly. And right when he did is when the butterfly came and landed right on the tip of his nose. And this song Flowers is my butterfly. Thank you.” 

Carey enthusiastically celebrated Cyrus’ story. “Yes!” the “Fantasy” singer and famous butterfly enthusiast said.

Cyrus beat out Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, and Olivia Rodrigo to win the Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance. “Flowers” is also nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, while her album Endless Summer Vacation is nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

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