Olivia Rodrigo, the teenage singer of heartbreak ballad "drivers license," has been crowned best new artist at a Grammy awards ceremony that featured a surprise appeal for support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Olivia Rodrigo accepts Best Pop Vocal Album for Sour during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Photo: Emma McIntyre / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
The 19-year-old Rodrigo, who performed her signature hit while seated on the hood of a white Mercedes on the Grammys stage, triumphed over Saweetie, Glass Animals and others to win the new artist accolade at the televised ceremony in Las Vegas.
"This is my biggest dream come true. Thank you so much!" she said as she held her trophy.
Midway through the ceremony, Zelensky appeared via video and discussed the impact of Russia's invasion of his country.
"What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," Zelensky, wearing a green t-shirt, said in a hoarse voice.
"Fill the silence with your music," he added. "Support us in any way you can. Any, but not silence."
Rodrigo was nominated for the top four Grammys: best new artist and song, record and album of the year.
But she lost out on at least one of those categories when song of the year went to Silk Sonic's 1970s-inspired R&B song "Leave the Door Open." The group, the duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak, performed the hit on stage to open the awards show and returned minutes later to accept their trophy.
"Because of you guys, me and Andy are going to be singing this song forever," Mars said.
The highest honours in music were postponed from January during a spike in Covid-19 cases and moved from Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Thousands of spectators packed the venue, a contrast to last year's scaled-down outdoor event.
Host Trevor Noah urged the audience to think of the evening as "a concert where we are handing out awards."
"We are going to be keeping people's names out of our mouths," Noah added, a jab about Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock at last Sunday's Oscars.
Smith, who later won the Oscar for best actor, has since apologised and resigned from the Hollywood film academy.
At the Grammys however, a multi-genre artist Jon Batiste who went into the day with a leading 11 nominations landed four early awards. They included best music video for "Freedom," a vibrantly coloured tribute to New Orleans, and best American roots performance for "Cry."
"I am so grateful for the gifts God has given me and the ability to share that for the love of humankind," Batiste said during an untelevised segment before the broadcast.
An album recording the Los Angeles Philharmonic of Mahler's Symphony No 8, which included a solo by New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill won Best Choral Performance
Winners were chosen by some 11,000 voting members of the Recording Academy.
- Reuters
