Former first lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance Sunday night to kick off the 61st Grammy Awards, telling the crowd of the impact music has had on her life and how it has “helped me tell my story.”

“From the Motown records I wore out on the South Side to the ‘Who Run the World’ songs that fueled me through this last decade, music has always helped me tell my story. And I know that’s true for everybody here,” Obama said. “Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves, our dignity and sorrows, our hopes and joys. It allows us to hear one another, to invite each other in. Music shows us that all of it matters, every story within every voice, every note within every song. Is that right, ladies?”