From Zelensky’s cameo to a shocking win for disgraced comedian Louis CK, the night was definitely a departure from the norm.
Where to start with last night’s Grammys? From President Zelensky’s cameo to a shocking win for disgraced comedian Louis CK, the night was definitely a departure from the norm. There was still triumph for some, with teen sensation Olivia Rodrigo and Jon Batiste walking away with major wins. More on an extraordinary evening, plus a full list of winners, below.
Trevor Noah sets the scene
Host Trevor Noah set a relaxed scene, casting the Grammys as “one big concert” where awards just happen to be given out. Addressing the elephant in the room a week after an explosive Oscars ceremony, he added: “We’re gonna be listening to some music, we’re gonna be dancing, we’re gonna be singing, we’re gonna be keeping people’s names out of our mouths.”
Jon Batiste and Olivia Rodrigo win big
Jon Batiste’s We Are won album of the year, while 19-year-old Olivia Rodrigo won best new artist, best pop album, and best solo performance. Batiste was the night’s biggest winner with a total of five awards — including recognition for his work on the soundtrack to the Pixar film, Soul.
Silk Sonic, AKA Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, also had cause to celebrate, winning both record and song of the year. “We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point,” Anderson .Paak joked on-stage. “Drinks is on Silk Sonic tonight!”
Batiste closed the evening’s performances with a celebration of music. “I believe this to my core: there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor,” he said. “The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most.”
President Zelensky’s cameo
In a pre-filmed video message played in the middle of the evening, a scratchy-throated President Zelensky drew a poignant contrast between the horror his country is facing, and the focus of the night’s festivities. “The war. What is more opposite to music?” he asked. “The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars.
“The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence,” he continued. “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.”
The Ukrainian president praised his fellow citizens, saying: “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,” before urging his audience to declare their support for Ukraine. “I have a dream of them living,” he said of the Ukrainian people. “And free. Free like you on the Grammy stage.”
Zelensky’s video was followed by John Legend performing Free, accompanied by Ukrainian musicians Mika Newton and Siuzanna Iglidan, and Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.
Louis CK’s controversial win
Disgraced comedian Louis CK took home the award for best comedy album, sparking a wide backlash and renewed claims that “cancel culture” amounts to an empty threat — particularly when it comes to rich white men.
The 54-year-old admitted to a series of allegations of sexual misconduct made against him by five women in 2017, saying that he had used his power over women “irresponsibly”.
CK addressed the accusations — which centered on him masturbating in front of the women, some of whom had worked with him, without their consent — in the now award-winning special Sincerely Louis CK.
Full List of winners
Album of the year
Jon Batiste – We Are – WINNER
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – Love for Sale
Justin Bieber – Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)
Doja Cat – Planet Her (Deluxe)
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
HER – Back of My Mind
Lil Nas X – Montero
Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
Taylor Swift – Evermore
Kanye West – Donda
Record of the year
ABBA – I Still Have Faith in You
Jon Batiste – Freedom
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – I Get a Kick Out of You
Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Cesar and Giveon – Peaches
Brandi Carlile – Right on Time
Doja Cat featuring SZA – Kiss Me More
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open – WINNER
Best pop/duo group performance
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – I Get a Kick Out of You
Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco – Lonely
BTS – Butter
Coldplay – Higher Power
Doja Cat featuring SZA – Kiss Me More – WINNER
Best pop vocal album
Justin Bieber – Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)
Doja Cat – Planet Her (Deluxe)
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Ariana Grande – Positions
Olivia Rodrigo – Sour – WINNER
Best R&B album
Snoh Aalegra – Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies
Jon Batiste – We Are
Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
HER – Back of My Mind
Jazmine Sullivan – Heaux Tales – WINNER
Best rap performance
Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties – WINNER
Cardi B – Up
J. Cole featuring 21 Savage and Morray – My Life
Megan Thee Stallion – Thot Shit
Best new artist
Arooj Aftab
Jimmie Allen
Baby Keem
Finneas
Glass Animals
Japanese Breakfast
The Kid Laroi
Arlo Parks
Olivia Rodrigo – WINNER
Saweetie
Song of the year
Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile – A Beautiful Noise
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
HER – Fight for You
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Doja Cat featuring SZA – Kiss Me More
Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open – WINNER
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Cesar and Giveon – Peaches
Brandi Carlile – Right on Time
Best country album
Brothers Osborne – Skeletons
Mickey Guyton – Remember Her Name
Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall and Jack Ingram – The Marfa Tapes
Sturgill Simpson – The Ballad of Dood & Juanita
Chris Stapleton – Starting Over – WINNER
Best pop solo performance
Justin Bieber – Anyone
Brandi Carlile – Right on Time
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Ariana Grande – Positions
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License – WINNER
Best dance/electronic recording
Afrojack and David Guetta – Hero
Ólafur Arnalds Featuring Bonobo – Loom
James Blake – Before
Bonobo and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Heartbreak
Caribou – You Can Do It
Rüfüs Du Sol – Alive – WINNER
Tiësto – The Business
Best dance/electronic album
Black Coffee – Subconsciously – WINNER
Illenium – Fallen Embers
Major Lazer – Music Is the Weapon (Reloaded)
Marshmello – Shockwave
Sylvan Esso – Free Love
Ten City – Judgement
Best country duo/group performance
Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood – If I Didn’t Love You
Brothers Osborne – Younger Me – WINNER
Dan + Shay – Glad You Exist
Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris – Chasing After You
Elle King and Miranda Lambert – Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)
Best rock performance
AC/DC – Shot in the Dark
Black Pumas – Know You Better (Live From Capitol Studio A)
Chris Cornell – Nothing Compares 2 U
Deftones – Ohms
Foo Fighters – Making a Fire – WINNER
Best metal performance
Deftones – Genesis
Dream Theater – The Alien – WINNER
Gojira – Amazonia
Mastodon – Pushing the Tides
Rob Zombie – The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)
Best rock song
Weezer – All My Favorite Songs
Kings of Leon – The Bandit
Mammoth WVH – Distance
Paul McCartney – Find My Way
Foo Fighters – Waiting on a War – WINNER
Best rock album
AC/DC – Power Up
Black Pumas – Capitol Cuts – Live From Studio A
Chris Cornell – No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1
Foo Fighters – Medicine at Midnight – WINNER
Paul McCartney – McCartney III
Best alternative music album
Fleet Foxes – Shore
Halsey – If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
St Vincent – Daddy’s Home – WINNER
Best R&B performance
Snoh Aalegra – Lost You
Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Cesar and Giveon – Peaches
HER – Damage
Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open – WINNER (TIE)
Jazmine Sullivan – Pick Up Your Feelings – WINNER (TIE)
Best traditional R&B performance
Jon Batiste – I Need You
BJ the Chicago Kid, PJ Morton and Kenyon Dixon featuring Charlie Bereal – Bring It on Home to Me
Leon Bridges and Robert Glasper – Born Again
HER – Fight for You – WINNER
Lucky Daye featuring Yebba – How Much Can a Heart Take
Best R&B song
HER – Damage
SZA – Good Days
Giveon – Heartbreak Anniversary
Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open – WINNER
Jazmine Sullivan – Pick Up Your Feelings
Best rap album
J Cole – The Off-Season
Nas – King’s Disease II
Tyler, the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost – WINNER
Kanye West – Donda
Best rap song
DMX featuring Jay-Z and Nas – Bath Salts
Saweetie featuring Doja Cat – Best Friend
Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties
Kanye West featuring Jay-Z – Jail – WINNER
J Cole featuring 21 Savage & Morray – My Life
Best melodic rap performance
J Cole featuring Lil Baby – Pride Is the Devil
Doja Cat – Need to Know
Lil Nas X featuring Jack Harlow – Industry Baby
Tyler, the Creator featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Ty Dolla $ign – WusYaName
Kanye West featuring the Weeknd and Lil Baby – Hurricane – WINNER
Best country song
Maren Morris – Better Than We Found It
Kacey Musgraves – Camera Roll
Chris Stapleton – Cold – WINNER
Thomas Rhett – Country Again
Walker Hayes – Fancy Like
Mickey Guyton – Remember Her Name
Best country solo performance
Luke Combs – Forever After All
Mickey Guyton – Remember Her Name
Jason Isbell – All I Do Is Drive
Kacey Musgraves – Camera Roll
Chris Stapleton – You Should Probably Leave – WINNER
Best Latin pop album
Pablo Alborán – Vértigo
Paula Arenas – Mis Amores
Ricardo Arjona – Hecho a la Antigua
Camilo – Mis Manos
Alex Cuba – Mendó – WINNER
Selena Gomez – Revelación
Best música urbana album
Rauw Alejandro – Afrodisíaco
Bad Bunny – El Último Tour del Mundo – WINNER
J Balvin – Jose
Karol G – KG0516
Kali Uchis – Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios)
Best Latin rock or alternative album
Bomba Estéreo – Deja
Diamante Eléctrico – Mira Lo Que Me Hiciste Hacer (Deluxe Edition)
Juanes – Origen – WINNER
Nathy Peluso – Calambre
C. Tangana – El Madrileño
Zoé – Sonidos de Karmática Resonancia
Best tropical Latin album
Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado & Orquesta – Salswing! – WINNER
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico – En Cuarantena
Aymée Nuviola – Sin Salsa No Hay Paraíso
Gilberto Santa Rosa – Colegas
Tony Succar – Live in Peru
Best American roots performance
Jon Batiste – Cry – WINNER
Billy Strings – Love and Regret
The Blind Boys of Alabama and Béla Fleck – I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile – Same Devil
Allison Russell – Nightflyer
Best American roots song
Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi – Avalon
Valerie June featuring Carla Thomas – Call Me a Fool
Jon Batiste – Cry – WINNER
Yola – Diamond Studded Shoes
Allison Russell – Nightflyer
Linda Chorney featuring Becca Byram, EJ Ouellette and Trevor Sewell – Bored
Best Americana album
Jackson Browne – Downhill From Everywhere
John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band – Leftover Feelings
Los Lobos – Native Sons – WINNER
Allison Russell – Outside Child
Yola – Stand for Myself
Best contemporary blues album
The Black Keys featuring Eric Deaton and Kenny Brown – Delta Kream
Joe Bonamassa – Royal Tea
Shemekia Copeland – Uncivil War
Steve Cropper – Fire It Up
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – 662 – WINNER
Best traditional blues album
Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite – 100 Years of Blues
Blues Traveler – Traveler’s Blues
Cedric Burnside – I Be Trying – WINNER
Guy Davis – Be Ready When I Call You
Kim Wilson – Take Me Back
Best bluegrass album
Billy Strings – Renewal
Béla Fleck – My Bluegrass Heart – WINNER
The Infamous Stringdusters – A Tribute to Bill Monroe
Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions)
Rhonda Vincent – Music Is What I See
Best folk album
Mary Chapin Carpenter – One Night Lonely (Live)
Tyler Childers – Long Violent History
Madison Cunningham – Wednesday (Extended Edition)
Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi – They’re Calling Me Home – WINNER
Sarah Jarosz – Blue Heron Suite
Best reggae album
Etana – Pamoja
Gramps Morgan – Positive Vibration
Sean Paul – Live N Livin
Jesse Royal – Royal
Soja – Beauty in the Silence – WINNER
Spice – 10
Best jazz vocal album
The Baylor Project – Generations
Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter – SuperBlue
Nnenna Freelon – Time Traveler
Gretchen Parlato – Flor
Esperanza Spalding – Songwrights Apothecary Lab – WINNER
Best jazz instrumental album
Jon Batiste – Jazz Selections: Music From and Inspired by Soul
Terence Blanchard Featuring The E Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet – Absence
Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo Rubalcaba – Skyline – WINNER
Chick Corea, John Patitucci and Dave Weckl – Akoustic Band Live
Pat Metheny – Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
Best Latin jazz album
Eliane Elias With Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés – Mirror Mirror – WINNER
Carlos Henriquez – The South Bronx Story
Arturo O’Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – Virtual Birdland
Dafnis Prieto Sextet – Transparency
Miguel Zenón and Luis Perdomo – El Arte del Bolero
Best new age album
Will Ackerman, Jeff Oster and Tom Eaton – Brothers
Stewart Copeland and Ricky Kej – Divine Tides – WINNER
Wouter Kellerman and David Arkenstone – Pangaea
Opium Moon – Night + Day
Laura Sullivan – Pieces of Forever
Best global music album
Rocky Dawuni – Voice of Bunbon Vol. 1.
Daniel Ho & Friends – East West Players Presents: Daniel Ho & Friends Live in Concert
Angélique Kidjo – Mother Nature – WINNER
Femi Kuti, Made Kuti – Legacy +
Wizkid – Made in Lagos: Deluxe Edition
Best global music performance
Arooj Aftab – Mohabbat – WINNER
Angélique Kidjo and Burna Boy – Do Yourself
Femi Kuti – Pà Pá Pà
Yo-Yo Ma and Angélique Kidjo – Blewu
Wizkid featuring Tems – Essence
Best regional Mexican music album
Aida Cuevas – Antología de la Musica Ranchera, Vol. 2
Vicente Fernández – A Mis 80’s – WINNER
Mon Laferte – Seis
Natalia Lafourcade – Un Canto por México, Vol. II
Christian Nodal – Ayayay! (Súper Deluxe)
Best gospel album
Jekalyn Carr – Changing Your Story
Tasha Cobbs Leonard – Royalty: Live at the Ryman
Maverick City Music – Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition
Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music – Jonny X Mali: Live in LA
CeCe Winans – Believe for It – WINNER
Best roots gospel album
Harry Connick, Jr – Alone With My Faith
Gaither Vocal Band – That’s Gospel, Brother
Ernie Haase and Signature Sound – Keeping On
The Isaacs – Songs for the Times
Carrie Underwood – My Savior – WINNER
Best gospel performance/song
Dante Bowe featuring Steffany Gretzinger and Chandler Moore – Voice of God
Dante Bowe – Joyful
Anthony Brown, Group Therapy – Help
CeCe Winans – Never Lost – WINNER
Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music – Wait on You
Best contemporary Christian album
Natalie Grant – No Stranger
Israel & New Breed – Feels Like Home Vol. 2
Kari Jobe – The Blessing (Live)
Tauren Wells – Citizen of Heaven (Live)
Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music – Old Church Basement – WINNER
Best contemporary Christian music performance/song
Kirk Franklin and Lil Baby – We Win
HER and Tauren Wells – Hold Us Together (Hope Mix)
Chandler Moore and KJ Scriven – Man of Your Word
CeCe Winans – Believe for It – WINNER
Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music featuring Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine – Jireh
Producer of the year, non-classical
Jack Antonoff – WINNER
Rogét Chahayed
Mike Elizondo
Hit-Boy
Ricky Reed
Best comedy album
Lavell Crawford – The Comedy Vaccine
Chelsea Handler – Evolution
Louis CK – Sincerely Louis CK – WINNER
Lewis Black – Thanks for Risking Your Life
Nate Bargatze – The Greatest Average American
Kevin Hart – Zero F***s Given
Best spoken word album
LeVar Burton – Aftermath
Don Cheadle – Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation From John Lewis – WINNER
J. Ivy – Catching Dreams: Live at Fort Knox Chicago
Dave Chappelle and Amir Sulaiman – 8:46
Barack Obama – A Promised Land
Best music film
Bo Burnham – Inside
David Byrne – David Byrne’s American Utopia
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever (A Love Letter to Los Angeles)
Jimi Hendrix – Music, Money, Madness…Jimi Hendrix in Maui
Various Artists – Summer of Soul – WINNER
Best song written for visual media
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez Featuring Kathryn Hahn, Eric Bradley, Greg Whipple, Jasper Randall and Gerald White – Agatha All Along
Bo Burnham – All Eyes on Me – WINNER
P!nk – All I Know So Far
HER – Fight for You
Jennifer Hudson – Here I Am
Leslie Odom, Jr. – Speak Now
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media
Various Artists – Cruella
Various Artists – Dear Evan Hansen
Various Artists – In the Heights
Various Artists – One Night in Miami…
Jennifer Hudson – Respect
Various Artists – Schmigadoon! Episode 1
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday – WINNER
Best score soundtrack for visual media
Kris Bowers – Bridgerton
Hans Zimmer – Dune
Ludwig Göransson – The Mandalorian: Season 2 – Vol. 2 (Chapters 13-16)
Carlos Rafael Rivera – The Queen’s Gambit – WINNER (TIE)
Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Soul – WINNER (TIE)
