Jon Batiste took home the Grammy for album of the year for We Are during Sunday night’s 2022 Grammys.
The singer won over fellow nominees’ albums Love for Sale (Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga), Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) (Justin Bieber), Planet Her (Deluxe) (Doja Cat), Happier Than Ever (Billie Eilish), Back of My Mind (H.E.R.), Montero (Lil Nas X), Sour (Olivia Rodrigo), Evermore (Taylor Swift) and Donda (Kanye West).
After hearing his name, a surprised Batiste took the stage, where he reflected on how powerful music can be for many.
“I believe this to my core, there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. … 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,” he said.
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Reflecting a bit on how music has always played a prominent part in his life, Batiste said the craft of music is “more than entertainment” but rather a “spiritual practice” for him.
In addition to thanking his team and shouting out the family members featured on his album, Batiste also praised his fellow nominees. “I actually love and have had an out-of-body experience with your music. I honor you,” he said.
“This is for real artists, real musicians. Let’s just keep going: Be you,” he concluded his speech.
Going into the night, Batiste was the leading nominee with 11 nods, including in the top categories of record of the year and album of the year. Despite dominating this year’s race, Batiste was just shy a nomination to be a Grammy record-holder for most nominations in a single year, which has included Michael Jackson and Babyface, who each scored 12 nods in a single year. Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar received 11 nominations for the 2016 ceremony but only won five awards.
In the nontelevised ceremony earlier in the day, Batiste also won four awards: best music video for “Freedom,” best score soundtrack for visual media for Soul, and best American roots performance and best American roots song for “Cry.”
Backstage in the Grammys press room, Batiste continued to express how grateful he felt for the honor and how Lenny Kravitz presenting the award proved to be a “full-circle moment” for him.
“I really don’t do it for the awards. I really believe that music is something that’s so subjective, but I was having such a good time. We just performed, I was hanging with my family, and when my name came and the ‘We Are’ title was said by Lenny, such a full-circle moment because we played together when I was 16,” he said of the “surreal” moment.
“It was surreal, just mainly because of the moment and after everything that happened in the lead-up to it and then seeing Uncle Lenny up there, it’s just like a whole vibe of like, ‘This is far out. Did that happen just now?’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, well yeah, that’s it. Well, let’s go up.’ So yeah, I really am so grateful.”
Since 2015, Batiste has been the bandleader and musical director for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Colbert congratulated Batiste following his Grammy performance and wins on social media. “Good gracious. The man just lit that room,” Colbert tweeted after Batiste delivered a high-energy performance of “Freedom.” Meanwhile, after Batiste took home the night’s big album of the year honor, the late-night host tweeted, “So proud of and happy for my beautiful friend. @JonBatiste.”
The Grammy Awards aired live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Trevor Noah serving as host.
