By Lisa Richwine
The Grammy awards, the highest honours in the music industry, were out at a live ceremony in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Multi-genre artist Jon Batiste won album of the year and R&B duo Silk Sonic took two of the top honours at a Grammy awards ceremony that featured a surprise appeal for support from wartime President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine.
Batiste landed the night's biggest prize for "We Are," an album inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
"I believe this to my core - there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor," Batiste said. "The creative arts are subjective ... I just put my head down and I work on the craft every day."
Silk Sonic, featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak, claimed the song and record of the year awards for their 1970s inspired hit "Leave the Door Open."
"We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point," joked Paak as the pair accepted the second honour.
Olivia Rodrigo, the 19-year-old singer of heartbreak ballad "drivers license," was crowned best new artist.
"This is my biggest dream come true. Thank you so much!" Rodrigo said as she held her trophy.
Midway through the ceremony, host Trevor Noah introduced a video message from Zelenskiy, who contrasted the joy found through music to the devastation caused by Russia's invasion of his country more than a month ago.
"What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," Zelenskiy, wearing a green t-shirt, said in a hoarse voice.
"Fill the silence with your music," he added. "Support us in any way you can. Any, but not silence."
The remarks preceded a John Legend performance that featured two Ukrainian musicians and a Ukrainian poet.
The highest honours in music were postponed from January during a spike in Covid-19 cases and moved from Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Thousands of spectators packed the venue, a contrast to last year's scaled-down outdoor event.
This #Grammys clip has it all:
— Variety (@Variety) April 4, 2022
-Avril Lavigne
-Doja Cat & SZA winning for pop duo performance
-Lady Gaga helping SZA with the train of her dress
-Doja Cat running from the bathroom to accept the award
-BTS & Olivia Rodrigo
-Doja getting emotionalhttps://t.co/rjX2S54hkr pic.twitter.com/R82aAyhwH6
Winners were chosen by some 11 000 voting members of the Recording Academy.
Noah urged the audience to think of the evening as "a concert where we are handing out awards."
"We are going to be keeping people's names out of our mouths," Noah added, a jab about last Sunday's Oscars slap by actor Will Smith, who told comedian Chris Rock not to mention his wife's name.
Below is a list of winners in key categories.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
"We Are" — Jon Batiste
RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Leave The Door Open" — Silk Sonic
SONG OF THE YEAR
"Leave The Door Open" — Silk Sonic
BEST NEW ARTIST
Olivia Rodrigo
BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
"Kiss Me More" - Doja Cat Featuring SZA
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
Sour — Olivia Rodrigo
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
"Making A Fire" - Foo Fighters
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
"Family Ties" — Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
"Starting Over" - Chris Stapleton
BEST MUSIC FILM
"Summer Of Soul" — Various Artists
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM
“Subconsciously” - Black Coffee
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