Tonight at the 2022 Grammy Awards, Jon Batiste won Album of the Year for his latest LP We Are. Batiste beat out Kanye West (now legally known as Ye), Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, and Doja Cat for the accolade. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, H.E.R., and Justin Bieber were also in the running for the award.
Batiste, who looked stunned upon hearing his name called by Lenny Kravitz, gave a speech thanking his fellow nominees and speaking about how inspiring he’s found all of their music. “I truly 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. It’s like a song or an album is made, and it almost has a radar to find the person when they need it the most.”
Earlier in the evening, Batiste took home four Grammys: Best Music Video (for “Freedom”), Best American Roots Performance (for “Cry”), and Best American Roots Song (for “Cry”), as well as Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (for Soul, which he wrote alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Earlier in the night, he delivered a bright and colorful performance of “Freedom.”
Batiste was the most-nominated artist during this year’s Grammys, snagging nods in 11 categories. Aside from the categories he won, he was up for Record of the Year (“Freedom”), Best Traditional R&B Performance (“I Need You”), Best R&B Album (We Are), Best Improvised Jazz Solo (“Bigger Than Us”), Best Jazz Instrumental Album (Jazz Selections: Music From and Inspired by Soul), and Best Contemporary Classical Composition (“Batiste: Movement 11’”).
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