The Grammys (AKA music’s biggest night) has returned!
On Sunday night (April 3rd) the 64th annual awards ceremony took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas – hosted by Trevor Noah. After the pandemic forced the Grammys to improvise last year, things mostly went back to normal this time. And for the most part, they went off without a hitch, making for a much smoother affair than the Oscars last weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise appearance via video link, where he gave a powerful speech about the ongoing invasion.
Silk Sonic opened the show in spectacular fashion with their record “777”. The duo that is Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak swept the board as they won in all four of the categories they were nominated in: Record of the Year; Song of the Year; Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance — though the last of these was tied with Jazmine Sullivan’s “Pick Up Your Feelings”.
Later in the night, Sullivan received the second Grammy of her career to date for Best R&B Album “Heaux Tales”. Discussing the project in her speech, Sullivan shared:
“[Heaux Tales ended up being] a safe space for Black women to tell their stories. For us to learn from each other, laugh with each other, and not be exploited at the same time… Shout out to all Black women who are just living their lives and being beautiful. I love you all.” (Watch the full speech here).
Jon Batiste was the most-nominated artist of the Grammys this year (receiving a total of 11 nominations) and he collected 5 awards. Competing against the likes of Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber for Album of the Year, it’s fair to see Batiste was the underdog. But his genre-fluid album – “We Are” – was ultimately victorious.
“I believe this to my core – there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer… the creative arts are subjective, and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most.” (Watch the full speech here).
Doja Cat and SZA won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Kiss Me More (which peaked at No. 3 on the charts)— though Doja almost missed the big moment. Shortly after SZA took to the stage on crutches (owing to an untimely leg injury), she was joined by Doja who joked: ”I’ve never taken such a fast [wee] in my whole life!”
Lil Nas X performed a set of smash hits including “Industry Baby” and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” — and of course, he took the opportunity to flex yet another fantastic set of outfits.
H.E.R opened her set with “Damage,” (which was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance) which was followed up by a high-energy performance of “Are You Gonna Go My Way” with help from Lenny Kravitz and Travis Barker on the drums.
Elsewhere, Kanye, who had his offer to perform rescinded due to “concerning online behaviour”, won two awards (making this his 24th Grammy from the 80 nominations he’s received throughout his career).
Nas, who was nominated in two categories at this year’s ceremony, also made an appearance. The rapper was accompanied by a full band for his set that consisted of the classics “I Can,” “Made You Look,” “One Mic,” and “Rare.”
Check out the main winners of the 2022 Grammys below:
Album of the year — Jon Batiste — “We Are”
Record of the year — Silk Sonic – “Leave the Door Open”
Best pop/duo group performance — Doja Cat featuring SZA – “Kiss Me More”
Best R&B album – Jazmine Sullivan – “Heaux Tales”
Best rap performance – Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties
Song of the year – Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open
Best dance/electronic album – Black Coffee – Subconsciously
Best R&B performance — Silk Sonic “Leave the Door Open” and Jazmine Sullivan |Pick Up Your Feelings”
Best traditional R&B performance — HER – “Fight for You”
Best R&B song — Silk Sonic – “Leave the Door Open”
Best rap song — Kanye West featuring Jay-Z – “Jail”
Best new artist – Olivia Rodrigo
Best pop vocal album – Olivia Rodrigo – “Sour”
Best melodic rap performance — Kanye West featuring the Weeknd and Lil Baby – “Hurricane”
Best American roots performance — Jon Batiste – “Cry”
Best American roots song — Jon Batiste – “Cry”
Best progressive R&B album — Lucky Daye – Table for Two
Best contemporary blues album — Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – “662”
Best traditional blues album — Cedric Burnside – “I Be Trying”
Best reggae album — Soja – “Beauty in the Silence”
Best jazz vocal album — Esperanza Spalding – “Songwrights Apothecary Lab”
Best global music album – Angélique Kidjo – “Mother Nature”
Best global music performance – Arooj Aftab – “Mohabbat”
Best jazz instrumental album — Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo Rubalcaba – “Skyline”
Best gospel album – CeCe Winans – “Believe for It”
Best gospel performance/song – CeCe Winans – “Never Lost”
Best contemporary Christian music performance/song – CeCe Winans – “Believe for It”
Best roots gospel album – Carrie Underwood – “My Savior”
Best music film – Questlove – “Summer of Soul”
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media — Andra Day – “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
