LAS VEGAS, April 3 (Reuters) – Multi-genre artist Jon Batiste received album of the yr and R&B duo Silk Sonic took two of the highest honors on Sunday at a Grammy awards ceremony that featured a shock enchantment for assist from wartime President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine.
Batiste, who leads the band on “The Late Present with Stephen Colbert,” landed 5 awards general, together with the evening’s greatest prize for “We Are,” a jazz album impressed by the Black Lives Matter motion.
“I consider this to my core – there isn’t any finest musician, finest artist, finest dancer, finest actor. The inventive arts are subjective,” Batiste stated. “I simply put my head down and I work on the craft every single day.”
Batiste’s different wins included finest music video for “Freedom,” a vibrantly coloured tribute to New Orleans, and an award for composing and arranging of songs for animated Pixar film “Soul.”
Silk Sonic, that includes Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, claimed the music and file of the yr awards for his or her Seventies impressed hit “Depart the Door Open.” The pair rose from their seats and danced slowly earlier than making their technique to the stage.
“We’re actually making an attempt our hardest to stay humble at this level,” joked Paak because the pair accepted the second honor.
Olivia Rodrigo, the 19-year-old singer of heartbreak ballad “drivers license” on her album “Bitter,” scored three awards, together with finest new artist.
“That is my greatest dream come true. Thanks a lot!” Rodrigo stated as she held her trophy.
Halfway by means of the ceremony, host Trevor Noah launched a video message from Zelenskiy, who contrasted the enjoyment discovered by means of music to the devastation brought on by Russia’s invasion of his nation greater than a month in the past.
“What’s extra reverse to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed individuals,” Zelenskiy, carrying a inexperienced t-shirt, stated in a hoarse voice.
“Fill the silence along with your music,” he added. “Assist us in any manner you possibly can. Any, however not silence.” L2N2W10HZ
The remarks preceded a John Legend efficiency that featured two Ukrainian musicians and a Ukrainian poet.
The best honors in music have been postponed from January throughout a spike in COVID-19 circumstances and moved from Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Backyard Enviornment in Las Vegas. Stars walked a crimson carpet and 1000’s of spectators packed the venue, a distinction to final yr’s scaled-down out of doors occasion.
Noah urged the viewers to consider the night as “a live performance the place we’re handing out awards.”
“We’re going to be conserving individuals’s names out of our mouths,” Noah added, a jab about actor Will Smith, who per week in the past slapped comic Chris Rock on the Oscars and instructed him to not point out his spouse’s identify.
Korean pop band BTS, a world phenomenon that has by no means received a Grammy, left empty-handed once more. However the group delivered a high-octane efficiency of their hit “Butter,” dodging laser beams in what appeared like a scene out of a heist film.
Rock band Foo Fighters, whose drummer Taylor Hawkins died a little bit over per week in the past, received three awards, together with finest rock album for “Medication at Midnight.” Nobody from the band appeared to simply accept the trophies.
Winners have been chosen by some 11,000 voting members of the Recording Academy.
In comedy classes, comic Louis C.Okay. received finest album for “Sincerely Louis C.Okay.,” his first comedy particular since he admitted to sexual misconduct in 2017.
Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Las Vegas; Further reporting by Maria Caspani in New York; Enhancing by Diane Craft, Stephen Coates and Bradley Perrett
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