Grammys 2022: Jon Batiste wins 5 awards, calls music a 'spiritual practice'
Apr 04, 2022
Las Vegas (Nevada) [US], April 4 : Singer-songwriter Jon Batiste, who was the front-runner at the 2022 Grammys, amassing 11 nominations, took home five trophies.
The Louisiana-bred composer walked away with the biggest award of the night -- Album of the Year -- at the 64th Grammy Awards, winning the trophy for his eighth studio album, 'We Are'.
Batiste is the first Black artist to win the Album of the Year Grammy in 14 years. In 2008, jazz-pianist Herbie Hancock won the honour for 'River: The Joni Letters', reported The Hollywood Reporter.
"Wow. I believe this to my core: There is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor," he said while accepting his award.
"The creative arts are subjective, and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most," he added.
"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. I'd like to thank God. I just put my head down and I work on the craft every day. I love music. I've been playing since I was a little boy," the hitmaker said.
Calling music a spiritual practice, he added, "It's more than entertainment for me. It's a spiritual practice, and there's so many people that went into making this album."
Giving a shout out to his fellow nominees, the singer said, "Every single artist that was nominated in this category I actually love and have had experiences -- out-of-body experiences -- with your music. I honor you, and this is for real artists, real musicians, let's just keep going. Be you."
Earlier during the ceremony, Batiste won four other awards. His song 'Cry' earned him honours for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots song, while 'Freedom' nabbed the top spot in Best Music Video.
His work on the Pixar movie 'Soul' won in a tie for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, sharing the category with Carlos Rafael Rivera for 'The Queen's Gambit'. Batiste had also won the Oscar last week for his original score for 'Soul'.
Batiste performed 'Freedom' shortly before winning his fifth Grammy.
The 2022 Grammys, which kicked off on Sunday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, is being hosted by Trevor Noah for the second year in a row.
