Joey Alexander didn’t win a trophy, but he did receive a standing ovation during Monday night’s Grammy Awards.
In a room filled with music industry heavyweights, the 12-year-old wowed the crowd to their feet when he played an original composition on the piano. He also performed earlier during the Grammy Premiere Ceremony.
The self-taught Indonesian jazz pianist is one of the youngest performers to ever be nominated for a Grammy. If he had won either of the categories in which he was nominated (best instrumental jazz album and best improvised jazz solo), he would have become the youngest ever to win in the jazz category.
“My dad played a little bit of piano and guitar, but not that professionally,” Alexander told NPR about falling in love with the piano. “I saw him play and [felt] like, ‘I want to play. I want to try this instrument.'”
Taylor Swift, Adele, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd also performed when LL Cool J hosted the Grammy Awards from the Los Angeles Staples Center on Monday night (at 5 p.m. PT on CBS).
Watch Alexander perform “Giant Steps” from his debut album My Favorite Things below.
