Grammy honours go to Silk Sonic, Jon Batiste and Olivia Rodrigo
US: Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic and jazz musician Jon Batiste have shared the top honours at the 64th Grammy Awards.
Batiste won album of the year for his uplifting soul album We Are, while Rodrigo was named best new artist.
Silk Sonic’s 1970s throwback single Leave The Door Open took home both Record and Song of the Year.
Apart from the awards, the ceremony saw a tribute to Foo Fighters star Taylor Hawkins, and a video plea from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a pre-taped message, he urged musicians to “fill the silence” left by Russian bombs “with your music”.
“Tell our story. 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.
This year’s Grammys presented one of the most open fields in years, with the “big four” categories expanded to include 10 nominees each.
But the Recording Academy always favours artists who acknowledge their musical heritage – a factor that undoubtedly helped Silk Sonic and Jon Batiste win their respective categories
Batiste’s album, We Are, is rooted in black music tradition, from the New Orleans jazz he grew up with, to the classic soul of Al Green, via modern R&B.
The title track was written in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 – and the album’s themes of positivity and intergenerational wisdom made it a favourite with voters, who awarded Batiste 11 nominations heading into this year’s Grammys.
Silk Sonic, a joint project between Bruno Mars and rapper/drummer Anderson .Paak, plough a similar furrow. Their sumptuous ballad Leave The Door Open is steeped in the 70s soul sounds of acts like The Chi-Lites and Earth, Wind & Fire.
The duo were clearly delighted with their double victory in Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Thank goodness, then, for Olivia Rodrigo – who was recognised for a stellar debut year that saw her score a global hit with the break-up ballad Drivers License, then top it with the whiplash-inducing pop-punk of Good 4 U.
As well as Best New Artist, she also picked up Best Pop Solo performance and Best Pop album.
The 19-year-old dedicated the latter to her parents, saying the award was “for you guys and because of you guys”. There were also three awards for Foo Fighters, a little more than a week after drummer Taylor Hawkins was found dead in his Colombia hotel room at the age of 50.
– BBC