Joni Mitchell lapsed into a long and eerie pause during her Grammys speech, and then had to be reminded onstage that she had won.

The 82-year-old folk music icon and her producer Patrick Milligan earned this year's trophy for best historical album gong for her retrospective collection Joni Mitchell Archives: Volume 4 - The Asylum Years - (1976-1980).

When they took the stage, Mitchell said with a laugh: 'This is the most glitter and glam I ever saw at the Grammys,' but then drifted into a protracted silence.

Eventually Milligan gently touched her arm in order to urge her on, asking softly: 'You gonna say anything?' to which Mitchell said: 'Did I win?'

'We did,' he said, prompting her to chirp: 'Oh, I won? Oh!' earning a laugh and a round of applause from the audience, as Milligan indicated them to her and said: 'See?'

Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 and largely withdrew from the spotlight as she embarked on an extensive recovery that included relearning to speak and walk, though she has been making public appearances again over the past half-decade.

The Daily Mail has contacted Mitchell's representative for comment.