Grammy Awards ’22: Ukraine, Foo Fighters and more
In a Grammy Awards ceremony that featured a video plea from Ukraine’s president, as well as a tribute to Foo Fighters dummer Taylor Hawkins, artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic and Jon Batiste scooped the top prizes.
The 64th event was held last night (3 April) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after a three-month delay due to the Covid-19 surge in the US.
Jazz musician Batiste won album of the year for We Are, while Rodrigo won best new artist and best pop album.
Silk Sonic, a joint project between Bruno Mars and rapper/drummer Anderson .Paak, took home both the record and song of the year prizes for Leave The Door Open.
This year’s Grammys presented one of the most open fields in years, with the “big four” categories expanded to include 10 nominees each.
The ceremony featured performances from Silk Sonic, Gaga, Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, J Balvin, BTS and more
Other winners included Lady Gaga, Doja Cat and Foo Fighters, who picked up three a little more than a week after their drummer Taylor Hawkins was found dead in his Colombia hotel room at the age of 50.
Presenter Jimmy Jam accepted the prizes in the band’s absence, “with prayers to their loved ones”.
Elsewhere, in a pre-taped message, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky urged musicians to “fill the silence” left by Russian bombs “with your music”.
“Tell our story,” he said. “Tell the truth about the war on your social networks and TV. But not silence.”
His speech was followed by a performance by John Legend, accompanied by Ukrainian musicians Siuzanna Iglidan and Mika Newton, and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.
The ceremony also featured performances from award winners Silk Sonic, Gaga and Rodrigo, as well as Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Chris Stapleton, J Balvin and K-pop stars BTS.
A full list of award winners can be found here.
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