Jon Batiste tops Grammys; Silk Sonic soars, Rodrigo crowned
AS VEGAS — Olivia Rodrigo made an im pressive Grammy debut, Silk Sonic claimed two major awards and Jon Batiste had the most stunning victory of the night winning the top prize at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
LBatiste won five Grammys Sunday including album of the year for “We Are” pulling off an upset in a loaded category filled with tough competition from Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and the combined talents of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. After his win, the multi-genre performer honored the artists he beat, telling the audience that “the creative arts are subjective. Be you.”
“I just put my head down and I work on the craft every day,” said Batiste, who won for his song “Cry,” the video for “Freedom” and his work with the Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack for “Soul.”
Silk Sonic — the all-star union of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak — took home awards in all four categories it was nominated in, including record and song of the year. Both were exuberant as they accepted the honor toward the end of the ceremony.
The wins in both major categories put Mars on the brink of history: He became the only artist along with Paul Simon to take win record of the year three times. He tied the record for most song of the year wins with two.
“We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point,” .Paak said. “But in the industry, they call that a clean sweep!” later adding “drinks is on Silk Sonic tonight!”
Rodrigo’s win for best new artist put her in esteemed 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 breakout music star of 2021, leading with her massive viral hit “Drivers License” and following with the single “Good 4 U” and the aching album “Sour,” which took best pop vocal album.
“This is my biggest dream come true,” she said after her best new artist win. She thanked her parents for supporting her dreams, which at one point involved being an Olympic gymnast and quickly veered toward music.
“I want to thank my mom for being so supportive for all of my dreams, no matter how crazy. I want to thank my mom and dad for being equally as proud of me for winning a Grammy as they were when I learned how to do a back walk.”
The win came after the night's festivities briefly grew somber when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the gathering with an update on the war and numbers including children injured and killed. “Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos,” he said. “We are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music.”
He ended by saying: "Tell the truth about the war on your social networks, on TV. Support us in any way you can, but not silence. And then peace will come to all our cities.”
John Legend then performed “Free”with Ukrainian exiles including singer-actress Mika Newton and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. (AP)