Beninese icon, Angelique Kidjo, and South African DJ and producer, Black Coffee have won Grammy awards in their respective categories.
The Beninese singer’s album, ‘Mother Nature’, won Best Global Music Album against heavy competition from the likes of Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’ (Deluxe) and Femi & Made Kuti’s ‘Legacy +’ and Rocky Dawuni’s ‘Voice Of Bunbon’. The win becomes the fourth time Angélique Kidjo has grabbed a Grammy award.
The South African veteran DJ and producer, won Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, beating out the likes of Major Lazer and Marshmello for the award.
Another category of note is Best Global Music Performance, in which Angelique Kidjo and Burna Boy (‘Do Yourself’), Wizkid and Tems (‘Essence’), and Femi Kuti (‘Pà Pá Pà’) were nominated, went to Pakistani musician, Arooj Aftab.
Meanwhile, social media has been buzzing since Wizkid’s widely-acclaimed ‘Made In Lagos’ album and his hit single, ‘Essence’, which featured Tems, didn’t take home any of the two awards he was nominated in. Several people were left in shock as they suggested that Wizkid’s music made a global impact and therefore should have grabbed an award.
Highlights of the Grammy Awards Show
After a two-month delay, the 64th Annual Grammy Awards took place between April 3-4, 2022, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, “without a slap in sight and keeping people’s names out of our mouths”, host Trevor Noah joked.
Jon Batiste, who was nominated for 11 Grammys, was the big winner of the night, picking up five awards, including album of the year for ‘We Are’.
“The creative arts are subjective. It will find the person when they need it the most. Be you!” a moved Batiste said in his acceptance speech, according to reports.
Silk Sonic, a group featuring the collective talents of Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, picked up four awards, including record of the year, while Olivia Rodrigo and Foo Fighters each collected three Grammy Awards.
Being back from a virtual setting, the electrifying in-person performances by Lil Nas X, BTS, Silk Sonic, Lady Gaga, Rodrigo, Batiste, Justin Bieber with Giveon, Daniel Caesar, Billie Eilish, and Finneas, more revived the Grammy awards show.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Makes an Address
In an emotional moment, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the audience with a taped message introducing a performance by John Legend, accompanied by Ukrainian artist Mika Newton and poet Lyuba Ykimichiuk performing ‘Free’.
“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos,” Zelenskyy said. “We are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music”.
The Grammys were initially scheduled to take place on Jan. 31 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. However, due to the omicron surge in late 2021, the event was postponed until spring and moved to the MGM Arena, which has housed the Latin Grammy Awards for six years.
The evening also shined light on women working behind the scenes. Billie Eilish’s production manager, Nicole Massey, did the honors of introducing her performance of ‘Happier Than Ever’. Chris Stapleton’s tour manager, Katie Wilkinson, also brought her on stage. Jeanine McLean-Williams, ‘H.E.R.’ tour manager, welcomed her artist alongside Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis, with Travis Barker, for a hot jam of ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way?’. Finishing it off was wardrobe supervisor, Joan Lee, who did the honors of introducing Carrie Underwood.
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