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Boodles BonBon Video – Divine Bette Midler – From A Distance
From Boodles BonBon
Feb. 22, 2026
Miss M Takes Us To Church
Bette Midler’s performance of “From a Distance” at the Grammys is one of her most memorable live moments, tied to the song’s massive success in the early 1990s.
The performance took place at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1991 (held on February 20, 1991, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City). Bette Midler delivered a powerful, emotional live rendition of “From a Distance,” the hit single from her 1990 album Some People’s Lives. The song, written by Julie Gold and produced by Arif Mardin, had become a huge crossover success the previous year—peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and resonating as an anthem of hope and unity.
Her Grammy performance featured:
* A grand arrangement with piano accompaniment (including Marc Shaiman on piano and the late Robbie Kondor on additional keyboards).
* Backing choir that included New York singers and her longtime collaborators, the Harlettes.
* A soaring, heartfelt vocal delivery that highlighted Midler’s dramatic range and interpretive power, building from intimate verses to an uplifting, choir-supported chorus.
The song itself won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at that same ceremony (awarded to songwriter Julie Gold). Note that Song of the Year honors the composition, not the performance/recording—so while Bette Midler’s version popularized it and earned her a nomination for Record of the Year (which she did not win), the win went to the writer. Midler was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for her recording, but the performance remains iconic for fans as a showcase of her vocal prowess.
This moment came on the heels of her earlier Grammy success with “Wind Beneath My Wings” (Record of the Year in 1990), solidifying her status as a premier interpreter of big, inspirational ballads.
