Grammy Awards presented: “Fill the silence with your music”

The world’s most important music award, the Grammy, was presented in Las Vegas. Unlike the Oscars, the Grammys gave the war in Ukraine a big spot on the show.

To anticipate: At the Grammys, no hard slaps were handed out, nor were swear words used. The most important music award in the world presented itself with a well-done entertainment show, albeit a very long one at three and a half hours.

Moderator Trevor Noah, however, could not resist a swipe at the Oscars awarded a week ago: “We will listen to music, we will dance, we will sing, we will let people’s names out of our mouths and we will award awards.”

Five Grammys for John Batiste

The big winner was jazz and R&B musician Jon Batiste. He received five Grammys, including in the most important category, album of the year. “I deeply believe there is no such thing as a best musician, best artist, best dancer or best actor. Creative art is subjective and it reaches people at a point in their lives where they need it most,” said Batiste .

His album “We are” is a mixture of gospel, jazz, funk, Motown sound and hip-hop elements. So far, the album by the 35-year-old, who hails from New Orleans, has only peaked at number 86 on the US Billboard charts. Apparently that didn’t influence the 13,000 members of the Grammy Academy in their decision.

Olivia Rodrigo is best newcomer

Best Newcomer of the Year is 19-year-old Olivia Rodrigo from California, she has won three Grammys. The Disney actress became world famous overnight with her hits “Good4U” and “Drivers License”. With her album “Sour” she broke records in the streaming charts last year and was number 1 in the USA for five weeks. Her biggest dream has now come true, said Rodrigo.

Silk Sonic, the collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, won four Grammys. Her song “Leave The Door Open” was, among other things, best recording of the year and best song of the year.

Cousins ​​Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar took home the Best Rap Performance award for their song “Family Ties.” Rock band Foo Fighters won three awards but were not present in person following the death of their drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

Selenskyj speaks in a video message

Unlike the Oscars, the Grammys gave the war in Ukraine a big spot on the show. John Legend sang his song “Free” together with Ukrainian musicians Siusanna Iglidan and Mika Newton and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. Pictures from Ukraine ran in the background.

The Ukrainian President Zelenskyj had previously addressed the audience with a pre-recorded video message: “Our musicians wear protective vests instead of tuxedos. They sing for the injured in hospitals, even for those who cannot hear them,” said Zelenskyj. “Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on your social media, on TV, support us in any way you can, but not with silence.”

The gala was supposed to take place on January 31, but was postponed due to the pandemic and was awarded for the first time in Las Vegas and not in Los Angeles as usual.