White Girl Yellow Dress Bruno Mars Performance Grammys
Delayed by Virus, Grammy Awards Celebrate Music Industry's Return
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The 64th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night featured major wins by Silk Sonic, Jon Batiste and Olivia Rodrigo, elaborate performances from a music industry struggling to emerge from the pandemic and an impassioned plea for help from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
The show, broadcast from Las Vegas, opened with Silk Sonic, the retro soul-funk project of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, playing "777," about the high-rolling, Sin City side of Las Vegas. Moments later, the group won song of the year for "Leave the Door Open," a throwback to smooth early '70s soul.
"Leave the Door Open" also won record of the year, as well as best R&B song. Silk Sonic also tied Jazmine Sullivan for best R&B performance.
"We are really trying to remain humble at this point," said Anderson .Paak, born Brandon Paak Anderson, while accepting record of the year. "But in the industry we call that a clean sweep." (The record of the year prize is for a single recording, while song of the year recognizes songwriters.)
Silk Sonic and Batiste's wins kept Rodrigo — a 19-year-old Disney television star who burst on the music scene with smashing success and critical respect — from making her own sweep of the four top categories. But she did take best new artist.
"This is my biggest dream come true," Rodrigo said as she accepted that prize. She also took home best pop vocal album for "Sour" and pop solo performance for "Drivers License," which she performed on a set like a suburban street, her voice swelling to emotional peaks and then breaking as it fell.
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Jon Batiste, the bandleader of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," took album of the year for "We Are," which had virtually no commercial impact but was supported strongly by the membership of the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammys. Batiste was up a total of 11 awards, more than any other artist, and won five.
"I believe this to my core," Batiste said, taking album of the year. "There is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most."
The Grammys ceremony, initially planned for Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, had been delayed nine weeks by the Omicron variant, and moved to Las Vegas for the first time. "Better late than never," the host, Trevor Noah, said as the CBS telecast opened at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"We're in Vegas," he said. "Look at this. You know, people are doing shots. I mean, last year, people were doing shots, but it was more Moderna and Pfizer."
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President Zelensky had pressed the producers of the Academy Awards to speak last week, but was turned down. Invited to speak at the Grammys, he made an impassioned plea for his country, saying in a hoarse voice that Ukrainian musicians "wear body armor instead of tuxedos" and urging American music fans to "tell the truth about the war" on social media and "support us in any way you can."
John Legend then led a somber performance of his song "Free," featuring Ukrainian artists like the singer Mika Newton and the poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.
The night was also a complementary balance of vital young stars — Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X — giving powerful, fizzy performances that showed them fully in command of their art, and older acts being lauded for decades of work. Tony Bennett, the 95-year-old lion of the American songbook, won best traditional pop vocal album for the 14th time for "Love for Sale," his Cole Porter project with Lady Gaga, who sang solo from that album. (Bennett, who has Alzheimer's disease and has retired from performing, did not attend the ceremony, but briefly introduced Lady Gaga by video.)
Women delivered some of the most memorable messages. Sullivan, who won best R&B album for "Heaux Tales," said her project "ended up being a safe space for Black women to tell our stories, for us to learn from each other, laugh with each other and not be exploited at the same time."
Doja Cat, a spitfire rapper and internet provocateur, won pop duo/group performance for her hit "Kiss Me More," featuring SZA. Taking the stage, she joked about racing back from the restroom just in time. Then she teared up. "It's a big deal," she said.
Lil Nas X, the rapper, singer and meme master, performed a high-concept medley of his songs "Dead Right Now," "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and "Industry Baby," featuring Jack Harlow, interspersed with a montage of overheated media commentators. In other performances, the K-pop stars BTS began their song "Butter" looking like "Oceans 11" characters, and the Latin pop superstar J Balvin sang with Maria Becerra.
There were several nods to the controversy that marred last week's Academy Awards, when the actor Will Smith slapped the comedian Chris Rock onstage. During a nontelevised ceremony before the telecast, one presenter, Nate Bargatze, introduced the classical field while wearing a thick helmet. "This is what comedians at awards shows have to wear now," Bargatze said.
And early on in the telecast Noah promised that "we're going to be dancing, we're going to be singing, we're going to be keeping people's names out of our mouths," alluding to Smith's expletive-filled demand that Rock stop talking about his wife.
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A series of complications in recent days had challenged Grammy producers as the show came together. Kanye West was barred from performing and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters, which had been scheduled to play, died while on tour. Two members of BTS, the K-pop phenomenon, announced that they had tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving fans to guess whether their performance would go on.
As the multibillion-dollar touring industry tries to return to full capacity, some of music's biggest stars gathered for a celebration of the art — and business — of performance. In a series of segments, behind-the-scenes crew members introduced those stars, telling of the hard work and close bonds that develop on the road. Nicole Massey, the production manager for Billie Eilish, introduced the woman she called "the best 20-year-old boss in the world."
Foo Fighters won all three awards they were nominated for: rock performance ("Making a Fire"), rock song ("Waiting on a War") and rock album ("Medicine at Midnight"). Voting by Recording Academy members ended in January, long before Hawkins's death.
Chris Stapleton won three country awards: solo performance ("You Should Probably Leave"), country album ("Starting Over") and country song ("Cold," with Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure and Derek Mixon). The jazz keyboardist Chick Corea, who died last year, won two.
Joni Mitchell won best historical album for her "Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967)," sharing the award with Patrick Mulligan, her fellow compilation producer. In a rare televised appearance, Mitchell gave a brief introduction for a performance by Brandi Carlile, whom she called "my brilliant friend and ambassador."
The 64th Grammy ceremony honored music released during a 13-month period, from Sept. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021. Winners were chosen by more than 11,000 voting members of the Recording Academy, who qualify by gaining recommendations from fellow music professionals.
Speeches from early winners highlighted personal triumphs, social ills and the power of music to serve as a balm in troubled times.
Accepting the award for best country duo/group performance, T.J. Osborne, of the group Brothers Osborne, said their song "Younger Me" was written about his coming out as gay — a risk given Nashville's largely conservative music business.
"I never thought that I'd be able to do this professionally because of my sexuality," he said, "and I certainly never thought I would be here on this stage accepting a Grammy after having done something I felt like was going to be life-changing, potentially in a very negative way."
The comedian Louis C.K., who has admitted to sexual misconduct, won for best comedy album ("Sincerely Louis C.K.").
The first award of the day, for best musical theater album — a prize that in the past has gone to Broadway smashes like "Hamilton" and "The Book of Mormon" — went to "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical," a D.I.Y. project by Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow, who created the music as fans, while spurred on by comments from viewers online who watched them work.
"A year ago, when I asked the internet, what if 'Bridgerton' was a musical," said Barlow, "I could not have imagined I would be holding a Grammy in my hands."
April 3, 2022, 11:51 p.m. ET
Jon Batiste caps five wins with album of the year.
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Vintage-sounding, Black-genre-hopping multi-instrumentalists took home the top two prizes of the night: Silk Sonic, a duo made up of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, won record of the year for "Leave the Door Open," while the jazz musician and late-night bandleader Jon Batiste earned album of the year honors for "We Are."
"I believe this to my core: there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor," Batiste said in his speech. "The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most."
He added, in closing: "This is for real artists, real musicians — let's just keep going. Be you."
Batiste, a New Orleans native and musical fixture of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," which like the Grammys airs on CBS, had 11 nominations in all, the most of any artist. In winning album of the year — his fifth victory of the night, following four genre awards announced at the preshow ceremony — he beat pop stars like Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Doja Cat.
Mars's win for record of the year was his third in the category since 2016, when "Uptown Funk" took the prize. His album's title track, "24K Magic," won in 2018, when he was also recognized for album of the year and song of the year ("That's What I Like"), plus three other awards. Earlier, Silk Sonic's "Leave the Door Open" won song of the year, as well.
"We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point," Anderson .Paak said after record of the year was announced. "But in the industry we call that a clean sweep."
Mars, in celebration, lit a cigarette onstage.
April 3, 2022, 11:32 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
The Jon Batiste win for album of the year caps an utterly inconsistent night for the Grammys, in which youth was rewarded (not really!) and elders were showcased (also not really!) and an album that peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard album chart is deemed to be the year's best. See you next year!
April 3, 2022, 11:30 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
The Grammys sometimes give you a brief glimmer of hope that they're not going Grammy, and then ... they Grammy like they've never Grammied before. You almost have to respect it.
April 3, 2022, 11:30 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
Trevor Noah, ending the night wearing a white D.J., appropriately enough (that would be dinner jacket to you and me).
April 3, 2022, 11:27 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
I watched "CODA" the morning of the Oscars and I just listened to this Jon Batiste album for the first time today at 5 p.m. So I should have known.
Jon Batiste
Wins album of the year for "We Are."
April 3, 2022, 11:18 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
Now that the results are in, we can announce that the night's real winners were Caryn Ganz and myself, the only members of the pop music staff to place any "bets" on Silk Sonic in our annual record of the year pool.
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April 3, 2022, 11:12 p.m. ET
A last-minute change expanded the top Grammys categories.
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The day before this year's Grammy nominations were announced last November, a surprise decision by the Recording Academy board behind the awards made room for even more contenders.
Originally expected to include eight artists in the top four categories — song, record and album of the year, plus best new artist — the expansion added two nominees in each of those fields, with the academy's chief executive Harvey Mason Jr., calling the change a way "to make room for more music, more artists and more genres, and to embrace the spirit of inclusion."
But with a preliminary list including only eight nominees already circulating among media outlets, those who benefited raised some eyebrows. As recently as the 2018 Grammys, there were only five nominees in the top categories.
Among those added were stars like Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Abba and Lil Nas X, most of whom were already represented in other categories. In song of the year, Brandi Carlile's "Right on Time" was a last-minute addition despite the fact that she was already nominated for another song in the same category.
For album of the year, the two added to the ballot were Swift's "Evermore" and West's "Donda," joining releases from Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, H.E.R., Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X and Jon Batiste. In record of the year, Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and Abba's "I Still Have Faith in You" entered the race. The song category also added Doja Cat's "Kiss Me More," while best new artist grew to include the rapper Baby Keem and the Pakistani American composer and vocalist Arooj Aftab.
Mason said the artists added to the list were simply the ninth and 10th most voted by the academy's members, and that the booking of the Grammys' telecast was not a factor. "A thousand percent no," he said at the time. "That was not a consideration."
April 3, 2022, 11:10 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Did I remember, before I looked it up this afternoon, that H.E.R. won the 2021 song of the year Grammy? Admittedly I did not. But I will more likely remember that kinetic H.E.R. performance, featuring Lenny Kravitz and the pop-punk Zelig Travis Barker on drums. She's certainly performed at quite a few awards shows these past few years, but that was one of her most telegenic moments.
Silk Sonic
Win record of the year for "Leave the Door Open."
April 3, 2022, 11:09 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
I fear Timothée Chalamet has started a shirtless trend (hello, Keith Urban).
April 3, 2022, 11:06 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
If there's an EGOT for performing in award-show house bands, someone from the Tonys had better get Travis Barker on the line.
April 3, 2022, 11:01 p.m. ET
The Grammys pays tribute to Taylor Hawkins, Stephen Sondheim and other music luminaries.
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The Grammy Awards took an extended moment to honor Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died just over a week ago while on tour with the band in Colombia.
The show featured a compilation of photos and video footage from Hawkins's career as a charismatic drummer known for his wide smile. Hawkins, who joined Foo Fighters in the '90s, died at age 50. The band was scheduled to perform at the awards ceremony but pulled out after Hawkins's death.
Earlier in the night, Billie Eilish paid tribute to Hawkins when she performed in a T-shirt with the drummer's image on it while singing her song "Happier Than Ever."
After the tribute to Hawkins, a quartet of musical-theater performers honored other musical luminaries who have died over the past year, including Stephen Sondheim, the iconic Broadway composer and lyricist who died in November. Singing a compilation of Sondheim songs, including "Send In the Clowns" and "Somewhere" were Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Rachel Zegler, who played Maria in the recent Steven Spielberg-directed film adaptation of "West Side Story."
Those honored included Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones drummer; Wanda Young, one of the lead singers of the Motown group the Marvelettes; DMX, the top-selling rapper; Meat Loaf, the "Bat Out of Hell" singer; and Biz Markie, the rapper and producer.
April 3, 2022, 11:00 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Doja Cat, who just won a Grammy while apparently in the bathroom, dodging the CBS censors: "I've never taken such a fast piss in my whole life."
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Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Doja Cat featuring SZA
Win best pop duo/group performance for "Kiss Me More."
April 3, 2022, 10:57 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
World, meet Justin Bieber, Serious Musician. His performance of "Peaches," a deeply unserious song (and I say that as a compliment), began with a ponderous, point-proving performance at the piano. But here's the thing: He sounded great. And Daniel Caesar and Giveon sounded like they were singing with a peer, not helping out a supplicant.
April 3, 2022, 10:49 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
#LetJustinSingR&B
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April 3, 2022, 10:45 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
This year's most-nominated artist is Jon Batiste, part of a crucial New Orleans musical family and the bandleader on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." He is not, in any way, a pop hitmaker. But in this context, he makes an improbable amount of sense. His performances activate the whole body, his message is hard to quibble with and his sense of music is communal. He ended his performance out in the audience, jumping on the table in front of Billie Eilish and Finneas and getting them to sing along with him: "Freeeeeeeedom!"
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April 3, 2022, 10:46 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
And then, minutes later, "Freedom" appeared in ... a Gap commercial! Talk about synergy.
April 3, 2022, 10:44 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Rachel Zegler joined forces for a tasteful Stephen Sondheim tribute that doubled as the soundtrack to the in memoriam segment. Each year the list of those we lost always seems depressingly longer than the last, but this one felt especially rough.
April 3, 2022, 10:40 p.m. ET
Moments from between the ceremony.
April 3, 2022, 10:39 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
A straightforward but moving montage in tribute to the Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died March 25. There's something so tragic about the fact that "My Hero," a song Dave Grohl wrote for another gone-way-too-soon bandmate, Kurt Cobain, has now become a kind of memorial song for Hawkins as well.
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April 3, 2022, 10:37 p.m. ET
Jon Batiste, the show's most nominated artist, takes center stage.
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When Jon Batiste learned he had picked up 11 Grammy nominations — more than any other artist for the 64th annual awards — he told The Times, "I'm so over the moon."
On Sunday, he got a chance to celebrate the recognition by performing his nominated song "Freedom" from his genre-crossing album "We Are." (The track is a contender for record of the year later tonight.)
The composer and bandleader may be best known for his work as musical director on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." For some, he became a more familiar face during the early months of the pandemic, as Black Lives Matter protests spread in the wake of George Floyd's murder. In the summer of 2020, he played a slew of open-air jazz concerts and led what he called "Music Marches" through the streets of New York, guiding tubas and trumpets through Washington Square Park and leading thousands of protesters through renditions of "We Shall Overcome."
Originally from New Orleans, Batiste grew up inspired by the history of protest music in his hometown and the organizing efforts of his grandfather, who led a postal workers union. His music meshes jazz, R&B and soul. "I've always made an effort to show that the genres are all connected, just like people in all of our lineages are connected," he told The Times in November.
Batiste has won four Grammys so far; two of his competitions — album and record of the year — are yet to come.
April 3, 2022, 10:28 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
How long before Jared Leto sternly saying "JUSTin BeBURR, DOUGHshakat, billyayylish, Ariana GRANDAY and Olivia RRRRodrigo" becomes a TikTok audio?
Olivia Rodrigo
Wins best pop vocal album for "Sour."
April 3, 2022, 10:22 p.m. ET
Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to Grammys audience in a prerecorded video.
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Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, addressed the Grammy Awards in a video, giving an emotional plea for support in his country's war against Russia.
"What is more opposite to music?" Zelensky said. "The silence of ruined cities and killed people."
The leader's aides had lobbied for an appearance at the Academy Awards last week, but organizers did not commit to it, drawing some backlash.
In his brief address, Zelensky, an actor turned wartime leader, emphasized that many of the musicians in his country were fighting in the battle against the Russian invasion.
"Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos," he said. "They sing to the wounded in hospitals. Even to those who can't hear them."
"Support us in any way you can," he added. "Any, but not silence."
After Zelensky's address, John Legend performed his song "Free," featuring a Ukrainian singer, Mika Newton, and a poet, Lyuba Yakimchuk, who fled the country days ago.
Here is Zelensky's full speech:
The war. What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died. And we'll never see them drawing. Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning in bomb shelters. But alive. Our loved ones don't know if we will be together again. The war doesn't let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence. Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can't hear them. But the music will break through anyway. We defend our freedom to live, to love, to sound on our land. We are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on your social networks, on TV. Support us in any way you can. Any — but not silence. And then peace will come. To all our cities the war is destroying — Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Volnovakha, Mariupol and others — they are legends already. But I have a dream of them living and free. Free like you on the Grammy stage.
Many in the music industry have made public statements opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and showing support for the Ukrainian people. On Sunday night at the Grammys, the Recording Academy teamed up with Global Citizen to highlight its "Stand Up for Ukraine" initiative.
The three major record conglomerates — Sony, Warner Music and Universal Music — have all suspended operations in Russia in response to the war, along with the touring behemoth Live Nation, which released a statement saying the company will "cease work with any and all Russian-based suppliers." Spotify suspended its streaming service in Russia and closed its office in Moscow.
Musicians have also pledged solidarity with Ukraine, canceling shows and speaking out on social media. Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Björk, the Killers, AJR, Iggy Pop and others pulled out of shows in the region. Pink Floyd and David Gilmour yanked some of their music off digital providers in Russia and Belarus, writing in a statement on Twitter that the move was an effort "to stand with the world in strongly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
And artists have hosted benefit concerts across the globe. Arcade Fire held a last-minute benefit show in New Orleans in March, donating all proceeds of the pay-what-you-can event to a relief fund for citizens in Ukraine. Days later, the band said it raised over $100,000 after donating the proceeds from additional shows in New York. Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Nile Rodgers and others played a benefit concert in England last week. At a New York fund-raiser where she performed alongside Gogol Bordello, a band with Ukrainian roots, Patti Smith announced a $50,000 donation to Doctors Without Borders on behalf of Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon.
Rachel Sherman contributed reporting.
April 3, 2022, 10:17 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
These interstitial rooftop performances are serving to display worthy talent in some of the lesser-known Grammy categories, including the bluegrass radical Billy Strings, the Cuban singer Aymée Nuviola and the gospel ensemble Maverick City Music.
April 3, 2022, 10:16 p.m. ET
Last year's rock categories featured female nominees. This time, not so much.
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At last year's awards, rock fans celebrated the fact that nominees in that genre — whose four categories are usually a gallery of male, white, boomer-era stars — were surprisingly young and diverse. Best rock performance, for example, featured women among every nominee, including Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers and Brittany Howard. (Apple won for "Shameika.")
This year, that sense of progress vanished. Virtually every nominee was male and, for the most part, could have come from any of the last three decades. Best rock album, for example, included AC/DC, Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters and Chris Cornell, in addition to the recent Grammy favorite Black Pumas. (The award went to Foo Fighters.)
The only woman up for any rock award this year was Ilsey Juber, who contributed to Weezer's "All My Favorite Songs," a contender for best rock song. (That award also went to Foo Fighters.) Best alternative music album, which is not part of the rock field, included Halsey, Japanese Breakfast and St. Vincent. (St. Vincent took home the trophy.)
What changed? Most Grammy watchers point to the increased diversity of last year's rock field as one of the positive signs of the otherwise maligned nominations review committees — panels of anonymous experts who determine the final ballot.
Those committees were largely eliminated last year, after coming under harsh criticism as an unaccountable system that could skew the wishes of the Recording Academy's thousands of voting members. But maybe when it came to genres like rock, they sometimes did some good?
April 3, 2022, 10:15 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
I was all ready to complain about the injustice of Jazmine Sullivan losing best R&B album ... and then she WON! Best upset of the night, and a beautiful, heartfelt speech dedicated to the Black women she presents in such glorious complexity on (the now Grammy-winning) "Heaux Tales."
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Jazmine Sullivan
Wins best R&B album for "Heaux Tales."
April 3, 2022, 10:07 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
The "Quantum Leap" Grammys continue, with Lady Gaga arriving from somewhere in the 1940s
April 3, 2022, 10:07 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Toto, we're not on Chromatica anymore.
April 3, 2022, 10:06 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Gaga is going full Liza right now and I am ... transfixed.
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April 3, 2022, 10:05 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
Ok, Lady Gaga has changed into a swagged mint green strapless dress with possibly the biggest bow in existence on her behind.
April 3, 2022, 10:03 p.m. ET
Tony Bennett's long history at the Grammys.
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At 95, Tony Bennett is the oldest album of the year nominee ever, for "Love for Sale," his Cole Porter tribute with Lady Gaga. And Bennett's extraordinary history with the Grammy Awards goes back nearly six decades.
He first won in 1963, at the fifth annual Grammy ceremony, taking home record of the year (and best solo vocal performance, male) for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Seventeen more wins have followed, including album of the year in 1995 for "MTV Unplugged." Bennett was 68 at the time, and his win drew wide concern in the music industry as a sign that the Grammys had crossed a line into cultural irrelevance.
The following year, the Recording Academy, the organization behind the awards, began using special screening committees to review the nominations in the top categories, whittling down the initial choices from the academy's thousands of voters to come up with a final ballot. In theory, it was meant to protect the integrity of the awards and weed out inappropriate candidates.
But the fairness of the committee process was long debated behind the scenes, and the issue blew up in recent years, condemned by major artists like the Weeknd who blamed the committees when they did not receive the nominations they felt they deserved. Last year, the Academy eliminated the committees in all but the so-called craft categories, like production, engineering and packaging.
When the latest nominations were announced, in November, Grammy watchers scoured the list for signs of a post-committee new (old?) order, and many zeroed in on one title: "Love for Sale."
Bennett's first album with Lady Gaga, "Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard's Top 200 pop and rock chart in 2014. The duo performed two concerts in New York last summer that were billed as his last. In February 2021, Bennett's wife, Susan, revealed that Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. Earlier on Sunday, "Love for Sale" won best traditional pop vocal album as well as best engineered album, non-classical.
April 3, 2022, 9:56 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
John Legend flanked by performers in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and by the flag itself. It's a strong visual, to go with the music.
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April 3, 2022, 9:54 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Quite a moment: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine just gave an impassioned pretaped message, leading into a performance from John Legend. Legend played a new song, "Free," along with the singer Mika Newton, the poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, and Siuzanna Iglidan on the bandura, all of whom are Ukrainian.
April 3, 2022, 9:38 p.m. ET
A spotlight for the people who power the live-music industry.
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For the Grammy ceremony last year, producers turned to shuttered independent music venues as a way to shine a light on a struggling corner of the music community. The segments, featuring workers from places like the Troubadour in Los Angeles and the Station Inn in Nashville, brought a new and poignant narrative thread to a broadcast that is usually devoted to superstars.
This year, with the live music business finally revving up again — though still facing challenges from a lingering pandemic — the Grammys broadcast will highlight another largely invisible part of the multibillion-dollar touring industry: the crew members who build the stages, load the gear, tune the guitars and perhaps tie the mic-stand bandannas for the stars that fans come to see. Producers of the show have said little in advance about the plans, but they are expected to feature crew members introducing some of the night's performers.
The touring business, a vital part of the music economy, was in mothballs for the first year of the pandemic. It has since made only a partial recovery but is poised to come back strong in 2022, with festivals like Coachella set to return and major tours planned by artists like the Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Machine Gun Kelly and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar
Win best rap performance for "Family Ties."
April 3, 2022, 9:26 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
"Overwhelming," Joni Mitchell muttered to herself, making a rare televised appearance (alongside another living legend, Bonnie Raitt) to introduce her friend Brandi Carlile. (Joni, I agree!) I am not sure how large the Venn diagram overlap is between people who watch the Grammys and people who get baseball references, but I feel like Brandi Carlile is to the Grammys what Pete Alonso is to the Home Run Derby: a person who brings their absolute A-game to a somewhat ridiculous and arbitrary competition, year after year. Her performance of the soaring ballad "Right on Time" garnered a standing ovation, and a huge applause every single time she hit That Note in the chorus. What can I say — the Grammys love Brandi and Brandi loves 'em right back.
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April 3, 2022, 9:26 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
Personally, I also love Carlile's bejeweled ode-to-Elton jackets.
April 3, 2022, 9:26 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
Great to hear Nas perform "One Mic" and "Made You Look" at the Grammys ... checks calendar ... 20 years after their release!
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April 3, 2022, 9:27 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Time is illmatic indeed.
April 3, 2022, 9:20 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
The wildest assortment of nominees in any category this year was in best new artist, but there was only one clear winner: Olivia Rodrigo. She took home the trophy in a year in which almost every other new artist struggled to gain a foothold, whether owing to the pandemic, or the increasingly challenging climate for the untested, or simply to the fact that there's only one "Drivers License" (or "Good 4 U") (or .... you get the point).
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April 3, 2022, 9:13 p.m. ET
Joni Mitchell makes a rare appearance on the Grammy stage.
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Never one for the limelight, the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, 78, has kept a very low public profile since she had an aneurysm in 2015, and spent subsequent years in gradual recovery.
But on Sunday night, Mitchell made a rare public appearance on the Grammys stage, introducing Brandi Carlile on the live broadcast.
The last year or two has brought a wave of recognition for Mitchell. Her 1971 album "Blue," which had little commercial impact upon its release but was long a connoisseur's favorite, was widely celebrated last year, upon its 50th anniversary. In December, she was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor, and a sampling of her songs, like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Both Sides Now," were performed by Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard and Norah Jones.
In a speech during the White House reception for the event, she addressed her health, saying, "I'm hobbling along but I'm doing all right." She even joked in an on-camera interview on the red carpet, "I'm old enough to have been honored before."
On Friday, Mitchell was the honoree in a gala for MusiCares, a Grammy-affiliated charity that helps needy musicians. Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Stills, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Sara Bareilles, Beck, Brandi Carlile and others performed her music.
Other presenters at the Grammys this year include Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Questlove, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Porter, Avril Lavigne and Ludacris, as well as Jared Leto, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Anthony Mackie.
Olivia Rodrigo
Wins best new artist.
April 3, 2022, 9:10 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
Donatella Versace makes a guest appearance on stage with Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion in matching Versace safety-pin dresses for a meta fashion moment.
April 3, 2022, 9:08 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
Whiplash: Trevor Noah back in pink.
April 3, 2022, 9:03 p.m. ET
Pop music critic
Billie Eilish truly enacted the Times pop music editor Caryn Ganz's four-part theory of "Happier Than Ever" — the crooning, then the raging, then the catharsis-ing, then the undoing. An actually inspiring rendition of this song, though there was something pointed in how long the camera lingered on Olivia Rodrigo for reaction shots at the end.
April 3, 2022, 9:02 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Billie Eilish cranking up the volume and rocking the house, probably pleasantly surprising the people who only know her more whispery fare. I will never tire of watching her play "Happier Than Ever," and this excellent performance was no exception.
April 3, 2022, 8:58 p.m. ET
Pop music writer
Billie Eilish is performing the title track from her album "Happier Than Ever" in a T-shirt paying tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
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April 3, 2022, 9:02 p.m. ET
Chief fashion critic
Now, that's a meaningful fashion statement.
April 3, 2022, 8:52 p.m. ET
Meet the 10 competitors for best new artist.
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The Grammys' expansion this year from eight to 10 nominees in its top four categories may have freshened up best new artist most of all. The potential winners include rap, rock, pop, country and classical, from chart toppers to little-known experimentalists. Take a listen.
Meet the Best New Artist Grammy Nominees
Meet the Best New Artist Grammy Nominees
The Grammys expanded its top four categories this year to 10 nominees, from eight — freshening up best new artist most of all. Nominated are chart-toppers like Olivia Rodrigo and little-known experimentalists.
Take a listen to them all →
April 3, 2022, 8:44 p.m. ET
Silk Sonic wins song of the year.
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The first televised award of the night, following three elaborate performances, was a major one: "Leave the Door Open," by the throwback soul and R&B duo Silk Sonic, won song of the year, a category with 10 total nominees and steep competition. The track peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The Grammy, awarded to a track's songwriters, went to the group's members, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, along with Christopher Brody Brown and Dernst Emile II, known as D'Mile, who dedicated the win to his mother, who died on Wednesday.
"Because of you guys, me and Andy gonna be singing this song forever," Mars said at the microphone.
Anderson .Paak, whose initial remarks were bleeped as he appeared to adjust the zipper on his pants, concurred: "For the rest of our lives! We love you!"
"Leave the Door Open" topped an expanded field that also included Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License"; Billie Eilish's "Happier Than Ever"; Doja Cat's "Kiss Me More" (featuring SZA); Justin Bieber's "Peaches" (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon); Brandi Carlile's "Right on Time"; Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)"; Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits"; Carlile and Alicia Keys's "A Beautiful Noise"; and "Fight for You" by H.E.R., who won the prize last year for a protest anthem, "I Can't Breathe."
The award was presented by Questlove, who won earlier at the preshow, for "Summer of Soul," which was named best music film. Referring to the film's win at the Oscars last weekend — a celebration that directly followed Will Smith smacking Chris Rock — Questlove said, "I trust that you people will stay 500 feet away from me."
April 3, 2022, 8:40 p.m. ET
After a long absence from social media, Lil Nas X returns.
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Lil Nas X, known for his virtuosic and frequent use of Twitter to clap back at his antagonists and entertain his fans, went missing from his preferred social media platform for so long recently, his listeners started to worry.
In December, the rapper reportedly tweeted and then deleted a post saying he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Until mid-March, the last tweet on his timeline was a Dec. 6, 2021 post about a festival appearance during which he stumbled while adjusting his pink skirt. He popped back online months later with a joke about his album release cycle and a shirtless snippet of him lip-syncing along to new raps. (One of a flurry of return tweets read, "i'm so happy i'm back on the internet. i missed me so much.")
On Sunday night, he made another return — to the Grammys stage. At the 2020 awards, he performed "Old Town Road" with a host guests that had appeared on the song's remixes, including Billie Ray Cyrus, BTS, Diplo and Mason Ramsey. The rapper, who is nominated for five awards including album of the year, performed the autobiographical "Dead Right Now," the controversy-generated "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and the buoyant, braggadocious hit "Industry Baby" alongside the Louisville rapper Jack Harlow.
"Industry Baby," which is up for best melodic rap performance, opens with references to the two Grammys Lil Nas X won for his breakout smash "Old Town Road." Harlow received a nomination last year for best rap performance for his streaming blockbuster "Whats Poppin"; his next album, "Come Home the Kids Miss You," comes out May 6.
April 3, 2022, 8:27 p.m. ET
Kanye West, Taylor Swift, the Weeknd and Drake are unlikely to participate tonight.
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With 22 career Grammy wins and 75 nominations — including the five awards he is up for on Sunday night — Kanye West has been a fixture of the show since 2005, when he took home best rap album for his debut, "The College Dropout."
Yet as with most things Ye, as the rapper is now known, things haven't always been harmonious. A frequent critic of the Recording Academy's treatment of hip-hop and himself, West, who once filmed himself urinating on a Grammys trophy, has been a priority for the new academy leadership in recent years, as some Black talent continued to distance itself from the show.
But even after expanding the most recent slate of nominees for album of the year, a last-minute move that brought West's "Donda" into the fold as the only rap album, he was uninvited from performing on Sunday, owing to his erratic public behavior online. In addition to spats with his former wife, Kim Kardashian, over child custody and her dating life, West targeted the Grammys' host Trevor Noah with a racial slur after the comedian called out his behavior as bordering on harassment and abuse.
The Recording Academy has said that West was still invited to attending the ceremony as a nominee, raising the possibility that he could take the microphone as a winner (or disrupter). But representatives for the rapper have said they could not confirm whether he would attend the show on Sunday.
If West were to sit it out, he would not be the only top star to do so. Taylor Swift, the rapper's longtime public rival and last year's winner for album of the year, was not expected to perform or attend. Swift's sole nomination — best album for "Evermore" — was, like West's nod in the category, a result of the nominations expansion; a win for Swift would make her the artist with the most career album of the year wins, at four.
Drake, another of music's biggest names (and a sometime antagonist of West's), has distanced himself from the Grammys, as well. Two weeks after the nominations were announced, Drake requested that he be removed from contention in the two rap categories where he was recognized. His protest came without explanation, though he has been a frequent critic of the awards' handling of Black music.
Last year, the Weeknd took a similarly hard-line stance, saying that he would boycott the show indefinitely after his blockbuster album "After Hours" was snubbed. Nonetheless, he received three nominations as a collaborator for this year's show.
April 3, 2022, 8:16 p.m. ET
Fans attending the Grammys are 'excited to be out.'
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"Everyone is just excited to be out," Carter Jackson said from the lobby of the MGM Grand as slot machines dinged nearby. Jackson, who is attending the 64th annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday night as a fan, said despite the pandemic-related delay that pushed the show back several weeks, "It feels remarkably normal."
The show's broadcast from the sprawling complex's Grand Garden Arena is its first time in Las Vegas. The 2022 edition was originally set for January in its frequent home of Los Angeles, but was postponed by the surge of the Omicron variant this past winter.
"It's been crazy, but in reality, it was also great because it gave us more time to plan for our trip and come to Vegas," said Jasmine Baptiste, who flew in from New York City for the weekend. Her brother, Denzel, is part of Take a Daytrip, the producing duo nominated for three trophies for their work on Lil Nas X's album "Montero," including album of the year.
"There's just a lot of energy in the city this weekend," Baptiste said. "It's nice to have an opportunity to gather together and celebrate."
That energy has spilled over onto the casino floor, with some tuxedo-clad attendees playing poker in between the preshow ceremony, held this afternoon, and the main telecast. In the casino, tourists sporting flip-flops and T-shirts wandered among attendees flaunting formal attire. Nearby, the lobby's signature statue of a golden MGM lion was flanked by two Grammy Awards.
Aldo Abranzino flew in for the ceremony with his wife from San Jose, Calif. They'd scored tickets through a connected friend, and he was eligible for the recently authorized Covid-19 booster, which he made sure to get it before his Vegas sojourn.
"This is going to be a great experience, and as soon as it was made available, I jumped on getting an appointment," he said. "We're just really looking forward to seeing Lady Gaga."
April 3, 2022, 8:12 p.m. ET
Glass Animals miss Grammy ceremony after lead singer tests positive for Covid-19.
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The lead singer of the British alternative-pop band Glass Animals — a nominee for best new artist — tested positive for the coronavirus, and all of its members have decided to not attend the awards show, the group said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
Dave Bayley was the only one of four band members to test positive, but the entire group will stay back, the post said.
"I am so overwhelmingly heartbroken," Bayley wrote. "Not just within myself, but for everyone who has worked so insanely hard with us over the past couple of chaotic years, and for every one of you who supported and believed in this project enough to get us here through thick and thin."
The band's song "Heat Waves" is currently the No. 1 song in the country, sitting atop Billboard's singles chart for the past four weeks.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/03/arts/grammy-awards
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