L’eclectic jazzman Jon Batiste and young pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo confirmed their status as favorites on Sunday April 3 at the 64e edition of the Grammy Awards, equivalent of the Oscars for American music. The ceremony, moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas due to the pandemic, opened in the early evening with an energetic performance by the group Silk Sonic.
Fine mustache for Bruno Mars, disconcerting bowl wig reminiscent of Mireille Mathieu for Anderson .Paak, the two men at the heart of this retro project returned to the stage a little later to receive the coveted prize for “song of the year”. The Grammy for “Leave the Door Open” was their third of the day after two wins in the R&B category.
They capped Olivia Rodrigo on the post, thus deprived of her chance to repeat the feat of Billie Eilish, darling of the Grammy Awards who had won the prizes in 2020 in the four major categories. Olivia Rodrigo, 19, however triumphed in that of the “revelation of the year”, where she was ultra-favorite. And she was crowned at a ceremony preceding the “best solo pop performance” gala evening for her title “drivers license”, winning against Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Brandi Carlile.
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Volodymyr Zelensky appears in recorded video
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intervened at the ceremony via a recorded speech to ask for support from his country. ” The war. What is the exact opposite of music? The silence of cities in ruins and people killed”, he launched, dressed in his usual khaki T-shirt, before a performance by John Legend, joined on stage by Ukrainian artists, Mika Newton and Liubov Yakymchuk.
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The big favorite of the evening with 11 nominations in total, the talented jazzman Jon Batiste, has already won – during the pre-gala – four Grammys, including that for the music of the animated film Soul which earned him an Oscar last year.
Virtuoso pianist, very popular bandleader thanks to a television show, composer and anti-racist activist, Jon Batiste, 35, went on to win the Grammy Award for album of the year for We Are, well ahead of world stars like Justin Bieber (eight nominations), Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift. A harbinger of his success.
Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga acclaimed
Canadian megastar Justin Bieber, social media darling, is still up for seven categories, along with Grammy darling HER and rising star Doja Cat, at the ceremony hosted by comedian Trevor Noah. With six nominations, the improbable duo formed by pop diva Lady Gaga and crooner Tony Bennett, aged 95 and absent from the evening because he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, could create a surprise with the cover album Love For Sale.
The whimsical Kanye West is also in the running with his album Donda. Two titles from his record have already been awarded Sunday afternoon in the rap category, “Hurricane” and “Jail”, Grammy for “best rap song”.
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In the major category of album of the year, Kanye West will face Evermore of popstar Taylor Swift, who has a bad memory of a previous meeting: “Ye” rudely snatched the microphone from her hands in 2009 when she went on stage to receive an award at the MTV Music Awards.
The noticeable absence of Drake
Among rappers, we noted the absence of Drake, very influential and among the most listened to. He was selected, asked the Academy to withdraw both of his nominations, without providing a reason. His hit album Certified Lover Boy had been royally ignored in the generalist categories during the nominations and the artist has often accused the Grammy Academy of confining him to the category of rappers because he is black.
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On the rock side, the Foo Fighters have won the three awards for which they were in the running, a week after the sudden death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins in Colombia, shortly before a concert. The group of Dave Grohl, the ex-drummer of Nirvana, received the Grammys for best rock album, best rock song and best rock performance.
The explosives Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, who ignited the Grammy stage last year by rubbing against each other, legs spread on a giant bed for a duet on the hit “WAP”, will be for this times of opponents in the “best rap performance” category. BTS, sacred monster of K-pop, will defend its global success Butter, but it is his only nomination for the Grammy Awards, where the South Korean group is struggling to establish itself.
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