Grammy Awards 2022

This year's leading Grammy nominee Jon Batiste soared past his heavyweight competition to win the coveted Album of the Year award for "We Are" -- a triumph for the jazz and R&B artist with less global name recognition than his pop star peers.

Batiste -- a bandleader and television personality, whose previous prizes include an Oscar for his soundtrack to the Pixar animated movie "Soul" -- surprised Grammy watchers by scoring 11 nominations this year, the most of any artist.

He cleaned up with five awards, the most of any artist this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise appearance at the Grammys Sunday, appearing in a pre-taped video urging support for his country and urging the industry's top artists to "fill the silence with your music."

Zelensky delivered his message ahead of a performance from John Legend, who was joined by Ukrainian singer Mika Newton and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.

The Foo Fighters won all three Grammys they were nominated for Sunday, just over a week after the rock band's drummer Taylor Hawkins died unexpectedly. No one from the band appeared at the Grammys, though a tribute to the 50-year-old Hawkins -- who was found dead in a hotel in Bogota shortly before a planned performance -- is anticipated during the televised gala.

On Sunday, the Foo Fighters won prizes for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. The wins come just days after the group, founded by lead singer and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, canceled all planned tour dates. Preliminary toxicology tests found that Hawkins had drugs including opioids in his system before he died, but Colombian investigators did not specify whether the mix caused his death.

As part of one of the world's most influential and critically lauded alternative rock bands, Hawkins was known for his on-stage charisma and classic rock-inspired beats, which he once said were influenced by legends like Phil Collins and Queen's Roger Taylor. The Foo Fighters celebrated their 25th anniversary last year in a pandemic-delayed tour and had most recently produced "Studio 666," a rock-and-roll horror movie.

Ukraine's Zelensky appears in taped video at the Grammys.

Pop phenom Olivia Rodrigo on Sunday scored the coveted Grammy for Best New Artist, an expected win that caps a year of milestones for the breakout star.

Rodrigo, 19, bested a crowded field including rappers Saweetie and The Kid Laroi to win the prestigious prize.

The artist who came up as an actor on the Disney Channel released her debut single "drivers license" last year to commercial and critical acclaim.

Silk Sonic, the group project of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, pulled an upset Sunday to win the Grammy for Song of the Year for their single "Leave The Door Open." It was the third Grammy of the night for the superduo, who channeled velvety R&B crooners on their throwback hit. They bested a crowded field that included pop queens Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo.

Mars -- a long-time Grammy darling with 11 wins to his name before this year -- shared the coveted prize honoring best songwriting with collaborators including .Paak. Mars and .Paak toured together in 2017, before announcing in 2021 that they had formed a band and produced an album. Silk Sonic debuted at last year's Grammys, performing "Leave The Door Open" along with a tribute to the late legend Little Richard.

Mars and .Paak's project is something of a 1970s revival group that sees the musicians who've separately found solo fame look the part, sporting polished disco garb as they croon.

The Grammys televised gala began in Las Vegas on Sunday with a performance from retro group Silk Sonic and a stream of jokes from host Trevor Noah.

Nominations frontrunner Jon Batiste jumped to an early lead, nabbing four trophies during the pre-telecast ceremony, while pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo scored one and Kanye West received two.

The Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab on Sunday scored her first Grammy, winning a prestigious trophy for her song "Mohabbat" in the Best Global Performance category. The 37-year-old -- who has lived in New York for some 15 years -- has been steadily gaining global attention for her work that fuses ancient Sufi traditions with inflections of folk, jazz and minimalism. She's also up for the coveted Best New Artist prize, which will be presented during the main Grammy telecast later Sunday.

"I am beyond thrilled," the artist told journalists backstage at the pre-gala ceremony, at which the vast majority of awards are handed out. "It feels great... I've been very nervous all day. And we're off to a good start."

Born to Pakistani parents in Saudi Arabia, Aftab spent her teenage years in Lahore before relocating to Boston's prestigious Berklee School of Music to study musical production and engineering. She released her third studio album "Vulture Prince" to critical acclaim, and gained even more attention after former US president Barack Obama included the track "Mohabbat" on his 2021 summer favorites list. Aftab has performed at a number of major New York venues including Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, also opening for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel in 2018. Speaking to AFP in the days leading up to the Grammys, Aftab praised her fellow artists nominated for Best New Artist, a crop that includes favorite Olivia Rodrigo along with rappers Saweetie and The Kid Laroi. "We're all so cool -- the group itself is kind of like a win," she said. 

Music's best and brightest were honored at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.