Olivia Rodrigo
Jon Batiste, Silk Sonic and Olivia Rodrigo were the big winners at Sunday night’s Grammy awards, held in Las Vegas for the first time after the show’s date and location were changed due to COVID concerns. Jazz artist and Late Show With Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste won Album of the Year for his record We Are. Batiste went into the night as the most-nominated artist, with 11, and earned five in total.
Silk Sonic, the ’70s soul tribute team-up between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, won two of the biggest awards, as “Leave the Door Open” was named both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. (Reminder – Song of the Year goes to the songwriter(s).) “Leave the Door Open” won for Best R&B song and oddly, also won a rare tied Grammy, sharing Best R&B Performance with Jazmine Sullivan‘s “Pick Up Your Feelings.” The pair’s album An Evening With Silk Sonic wasn’t even released until after the window of eligibility for this year’s Grammys, so we can expect more nominations for Silk Sonic in 2023.
Some predicted Olivia Rodrigo could sweep the top four categories, as Billie Eilish did in 2020. Out of the four, she won Best New Artist, but Rodrigo also picked up Grammys for Best Pop Solo Performance for “drivers license” and Best Pop Vocal Album for Sour.
Other notable winners were Doja Cat featuring SZA winning the Best Pop Duo Or Group Performance Grammy for “Kiss Me More,” Kanye West added two more Grammys to his collection and Call Me If You Get Lost from Tyler, The Creator winning Best Rap Album. Following its win last week at the Oscars being overshadowed by the Will Smith/Chris Rock incident, Questlove‘s documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) won for Best Music Film.
Foo Fighters (photo: Danny Clinch)
Foo Fighters went three-for-three in the Rock categories, winning Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Album. The band had originally been slated to perform at the show, but obviously did not due to the passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins received a special tribute leading into the In Memoriam segment, with a video set to the Foos’ hit “My Hero.” Billie Eilish also wore a t-shirt with Hawkins on it during her performance of “Happier Than Ever.”
Of course, the Grammy broadcast seems to feature more performances than award speeches and this year’s was no different. Big winners Silk Sonic kicked off the show with the Vegas-themed “777.” Lady Gaga sang a medley of the Jazz standards from her recent duets album with the now-retired Tony Bennett. Lil Nas X also performed a medley of songs off his Grammy-nominated Montero, though he went home empty-handed at the end of the night. Olivia Rodrigo pulled up in a car, naturally, to sing her hit “drivers license.” K-Pop superstars BTS also brought their boy band moves to the stage for their hit “Butter.”
The Grammy broadcast also included a speech from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking about music and resilience before a John Legend performance of “Free” where he was joined by Ukrainian musician Siuzanna Iglidan.
