A great-grandmother, and greater fan

Presenter got the gift of a lifetime when winner Styles hugged the superfan on stage

Even if Harry Styles was surprised to take home the most coveted prize at Sunday night’s Grammy awards, his feelings couldn’t have surpassed the shock felt by the woman presenting him with the Album of the Year trophy.

It wasn’t another music superstar or a Hollywood A-lister as it has been at Grammy presentations of the past.

Instead, it was a grandmother from Ontario. And a great-grandmother at that.

Even before her step into the spotlight, Reina Lafantaisie wasn’t your average Harry Styles fan.

The 78-year-old grandmother of five and great-grandmother of two, who was born in Timmins (but now resides in Sudbury), has been listening to the former One Direction frontman since his start. In an interview with the Star immediately after she landed in Toronto flying back from the awards, she said she listens to the singer “daily” and constantly asks Alexa to “play Harry Styles.”

“My favourite songs are ‘As It Was,’ ‘Late Night Talking,’ ‘Matilda’ and ‘Boyfriends,’ ” she said.

Lafantaisie said she doesn’t go to bed without her earbuds playing one of the singer’s songs to lull her to sleep, a habit for which she said her husband, Dan, forgives her.

Her admiration of Styles is why she advocated on his behalf at a family dinner in December, a conversation that her granddaughter, Renee Grenon, filmed for a TikTok. The resulting video has been liked more than 55,000 times on the social media platform, even garnering the attention of Grammy producers who invited the Canadian to attend the annual ceremony on Sunday.

“Over the holidays, all the family got together and we started chatting about music artists, so I gave a little speech to everyone explaining why Harry Styles is a true entertainer.”

While she lauds the singer’s unique abilities onstage, his act reminds Lafantaisie of someone she had seen decades earlier.

“He’s just like Elvis (Presley) was and I’ve seen Elvis twice in my lifetime,” she said. “He is humble, he loves his fans, he can sing, he’s full of energy and he gives an amazing show!”

It was Styles’ showmanship that drew the grandmother to Los Angeles last month to see him perform live, making her return to California Sunday night all the more improbable.

While she was already excited about seeing the British heartthrob in person, even she couldn’t have predicted what would happen after host Trevor Noah invited some of the superfans onstage.

“I was totally shocked and, honestly, was worried I wouldn’t make it,” she said with a laugh.

“I was standing there with Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and all these major stars just looking right at me. And then when Trevor Noah asked me to read the winner I almost fainted.”

The retired Ontario real estate agent said her biggest concern was that she didn’t have her glasses with her. “I was worried I was going to say the wrong thing,” she admitted. “Luckily it all worked out and it couldn’t have been a more special moment.”

Not only did Lafantaisie proclaim Styles the winner and hand him his trophy, she was the first person he hugged onstage.

“When you look into his eyes, he is just full of kindness. He hugged me so hard and for so long, and it made me wonder if he was thinking of his grandmother in that moment.”

While the world became familiar with the “Grammy Granny” on Sunday, her attendance was a closely guarded secret she had to keep from most of her loved ones.

“My family is completely shocked. We couldn’t tell anyone what was going on until the awards were actually airing so everyone was just totally shocked.”

As for why she feels the singer’s music is both ageless and timeless?

“His songs are so positive and relatable to people of all ages.”

For Reina Lafantaisie, the last word is best left to her muse.

Life is never going to be the same as it was.

He hugged me so hard and for so long and it made me wonder if he was thinking of his grandmother.

REINA LAFANTAISIE