Sam Smith performing “Unholy” at the Grammy Awards. Image courtesy of The Doctor of Common Sense Rumble channel.

On Sunday (Feb. 6), Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed their song “Unholy” at the 65th Grammy Awards, a display that has been labeled “satanic” by a number of Christian leaders.

Smith came out as gay in 2014, changed to genderqueer in 2017, and came out as non-binary in 2019. Smith collected a fifth Grammy Award alongside Petras for their song “Unholy” Sunday night, making Petras the first transgender woman to ever receive a Grammy.

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Madonna introduced the pair’s performance, describing them as “incredibly talented artists” and “rebels” while praising them for “forging a new path.” The controversial “Like a Prayer” singer received a roaring ovation for saying, “All you troublemakers out there need to know that your fearlessness does not go unnoticed. You are seen, you are heard, and, most of all, you are appreciated.”

During the performance, Smith wore red leather pants and high-heeled boots while the duo sang their #1 charting song. Petras sang from inside a cage set in the foreground of a burning stage. Dancers dressed as demons brandished whips.

Toward the end of the song, Smith donned a top hat with horns while dancers rubbed their hands up and down the singer’s body.

Turning Point USA chief creative officer Benny Johnson called the performance “full-on Satan worship.”

Prestonwood Baptist pastor Jack Graham warned: “Our culture has put the worship of Satan front and center as entertainment as recently as Sunday night. We must not open the door to these demonic influences. This is a slippery slope.”

Worship leader and songwriter Sean Feucht (Let Us Worship) told ChurchLeaders that the Grammy performance was demonic, adding, “This full demonic agenda is being exposed, it’s out in the open, and it’s even being celebrated.”

“We are seeing the worst filth, demonic, pornographic, perverted songs,” Feucht said. “What frustrates me is that we do not see enough believers in the industry speaking out against it…We see people almost embracing the affection of the world.”

Feucht reminded Christians that we aren’t “following the Word of the Lord” when we become “friends with the world.” Christians must “resist the devil” so he will flee from them (James 4:7).

“Where are the Shadrach, Meschach & Abednegos that will refuse to bow to the gods of this age when the music plays? We need Daniel chapter three type courage right now,” Feucht said. “It’s time for leaders in the Christian music industry to separate, speak out, and be clear about what is not of God rather than cloaking themselves in this garment of the world and refusing to speak the truth and refusing to draw clear boundaries.”

“We have to rise up as artists and musicians,” the Christian artist continued. “We have to draw a line in the sand and say no more. This is obvious demonic darkness wickedness. It’s not that we don’t love those people, but the spirit in the Principality is what we need to stand up against, expose, and really warn people about.”

Feucht is looking for leaders within the Christian music industry to draw a line in the sand so that their audiences will be warned, arguing, “This is a demonic spirit. Don’t listen to these guys.”

“Where are the Shadrach, Meschach & Abednegos that will refuse to bow to the gods of this age when the music plays? We need Daniel chapter three type courage right now,” Feucht said. “It’s time for leaders in the Christian music industry to separate, speak out, and be clear about what is not of God rather than cloaking themselves in this garment of the world and refusing to speak the truth and refusing to draw clear boundaries.”

“We have to rise up as artists and musicians,” the Christian artist continued. “We have to draw a line in the sand and say no more. This is obvious demonic darkness wickedness. It’s not that we don’t love those people, but the spirit in the Principality is what we need to stand up against, expose, and really warn people about.”

Feucht is looking for leaders within the Christian music industry to draw a line in the sand so that their audiences will be warned, arguing, “This is a demonic spirit. Don’t listen to these guys.”

“We have a call as influencers, and we have a mandate on our lives as people that have an influence to speak…to warn [those who listen to our music] and to be very clear,” Feucht said. “I haven’t seen a lot of that in the wake of the Grammy debacle.”

Feucht expressed that he finds the relative silence “disheartening” and “alarming.”

The night also featured Maverick City Music collecting four awards (Best Gospel Performance/Song, Best Gospel Album, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album).

Beyoncé was the artist with the most Grammy wins of the night with 32. During her acceptance speech for Best Dance/Electronic Album, which she won for her latest album “Renaissance,” Beyoncé thanked “God for protecting” her, going on to thank her family and the “queer community for [their] love and for inventing [the] genre.”

Jesse T. Jackson is the Content Editor for ChurchLeaders where this article first appeared, and Site Manager for ChristianNewsNow. He serves as a deacon, a growth group leader, and is a member of University Baptist Church in Beavercreek, Ohio. Follow him on twitter here. He is an accredited member of the Evangelical Press Association.

The Standard newspaper is available in print and online. You may find videos available on at TheStandardSC on Rumble. The bulk of TheStandardSC video media channel has been censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed almost all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.