Grammys 2022 highlights: BTS x Olivia Rodrigo moment, Russia-Ukraine war, and the biggest winners of the night

The music industry’s biggest names gathered at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for the 64^th Grammy Awards.

After a three-month postponement following the Omicron surge, the prestigious night took place on Monday, April 4 (Philippine time). 

Here are some of the highlights of the biggest night in the music industry.

Host Trevor Noah opened the 2022 Grammys with a reference to a trending topic that was birthed at the 94^th Academy Awards.

“We’re going to be keeping people’s names out of our mouths,” Noah said in what appears to be an allusion to the viral Oscars 2022 slapping drama where Will Smith told comedian Chris Rock to keep the name of his wife Jada out of his "f---king mouth" after the latter made a joke about her appaearance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for support for his country amid the Russian invasion, which has “devastated several Ukrainian cities,” “caused a humanitarian crisis, and fueled insecurity around the world,” according to The New York Times.

Zelensky made a surprise appearance at the awards ceremony via a taped video, where he said, “What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people.” 

Zelensky later added, “On our land, we are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music, fill it today to tell our story.” 

His speech was followed by a live performance of the song "Free" by John Legend alongside Ukrainian singer Mika Newton, musician Siuzanna Iglidan, and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. 

The Foo Fighters reigned supreme in three categories, including Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance. It was a remarkable feat as it came after the untimely death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, who was also honored at the affair. 

This wouldn’t be complete without BTS’ trending moment with Fil-Am star Olivia Rodrigo before their third Grammy performance. The iconic group entertained the audience with their hit song "Butter." 

They were nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the same song, but lost to Doja Cat’s performance of Kiss Me More with SZA.

Jon Batiste, Silk Sonic, and Olivia Rodrigo took home the biggest awards of the night. Batiste bagged Album of the Year for We Are, while Rodrigo won her first Grammy for Best New Artist. Silk Sonic clinched two, namely Record of the Year and Song of the Year for 2021 hit Leave the Door Open.