LAS VEGAS APRIL 4 (US): John Batiste won Album of the Year in Honor of ‘We Are’ at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, giving him five awards on a night that saw the ’70s orbit of record-breaking Silk Sonic, Song of the Year and Arrival New Olivia Rodrigo gets three awards.
Batiste honored the artists he beat. “Creative arts are subjective,” he said. “be yourself.”
The multi-genre performer also won for his song “Cry”, the video for “Freedom” and his work with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack for “Soul”.
“I just put my head down and work at the craft every day. I love music,” he said.
Major SilkSonic R&B group took home awards in all four categories in which it was nominated, including Record of the Year, AP reports.
Bruno Mars and Anderson Buck were excited as they accepted the honors at the end of the ceremony. The win puts Mars in a historical place once again: he becomes the only artist with Paul Simon to have won the award three times.
“We’re trying really hard to stay humble at this point,” Buck said. “But in the industry, they call that a clean sweep!” Adding later, “Drinks on Silk Sonic tonight!”
John Legend then performed “Free” with Ukrainian exiles including singer and actress Mika Newton and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.
Rodrigo won Best New Artist to put him in a prestigious company including Carly Simon, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Tom Jones, The Beatles and Billie Eilish.
A veteran of the “High School Musical” series, she became the rising star of 2021 with her hit single “Driving License” and followed by her single “Good 4 U” and the haunting album “Sour”, which took home best vocal album.
“This is my biggest dream come true,” she said after winning the Best New Artist award. She thanked her parents for their support of her dreams, which at one point included being an Olympic gymnast and quickly drifted towards music.
“I want to thank my mum for being so supportive of all my dreams, no matter how crazy I am. I want to thank my mum and dad for being just as proud of me for winning a Grammy as they were when I learned how to do back walkers.”
Silk Sonic opened the Grammys in Las Vegas with high energy and an infectious treatment of retro and funk spirit by performing “777.” They returned to the stage shortly afterwards to take home the award for “Leave The Door Open”.
Winning helps Mars set the record for most winning songs of the year. He had previously won the “24K Magic” award.
Mars and Buck both jumped out of their seats, raised their hands and danced to their song.
“We’ll sing this song together for the rest of our lives,” Mars told Buck.
Host Trevor Noah gave the duo’s opening performance by saying that they singled out the ’70s, “which may explain the inflation.”
By the time the show premiered on CBS, Batiste had already won four Grammy Awards, including his first ever. Batiste won Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song, and Best Music Video and tied with Carlos Rafael Rivera for Best Soundtrack for Visual Media. His song “Freedom” in the music video category beat many tough competitors, including Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, and Eilish. All honors were handed out during a pre-television ceremony.
“I am so grateful for the gifts God has given me and the ability to share that for the love of mankind,” Battisti said. “We just wanted everyone to see it. Any depression, any bondage, or any darkness that flew into your life was completely removed by the love and joy in the video.”
It’s the first match since 2019 when Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake tied Anderson, Buck to win Best Rap Performance.
It was a family affair of their cousins Baby Kim and Kendrick Lamar, who won Best Rap Performance for their song “Family Ties”. Lamar won his 14th Grammy and his first for Kim, who said “nothing could prepare me for this moment” after taking to the stage to claim his trophy.
Chris Stapleton won his third Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance for “You Should Probably Leave”.
Tony Bennett cemented his record as the most traditional pop acoustic album with 14 wins with “Love for Sale”, a duet with Lady Gaga.
Dressed in all black, BTS took to the stage with a hilarious moment between V and Rodrigo before the group performed their single “Butter”. They appeared after one of the members tested positive for COVID-19. The seven members – Jin, Jimin, V, RM, J-Hope, Suga, and Jungkook – acted as if they were secret agents with neon blue lasers, dancing with a smooth choreography before moving on to a short rap portion of the song.
The Foo Fighters won three awards Sunday, but weren’t present for their trophies following the recent death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. An extended tribute to Hawkins ahead of the In Memoriam segment of the show honoring the artists and music industry figures who died.
Eilish paid tribute to Hawkins during her performance by wearing a black T-shirt with his image. She went on stage in an upside-down house with her brother Phineas before stepping into the rain to perform “Happier Than Ever”.
TJ Osbourne, who came out as gay last year, fought back tears when he and his brother accepted a Grammy Award for the Osborne brothers’ song “Younger Me”. He noted that the song was inspired by his release.
“I never thought I’d be able to play music professionally because of my sexuality. I definitely never thought I’d be here on stage accepting a Grammy after I did something that I felt was going to change my life and maybe in a very negative way,” Osbourne said.
“And here I am tonight, not only to accept this Grammy award with my brother, whom I love so much, but I am here with a man I love and who loves me again. … I don’t know what I did to be so lucky.”
The party moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas due to a spike in COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant in January, with organizers citing “too many risks.”