meta-scriptJon Batiste's 'We Are' Wins GRAMMY For Album Of The Year | 2022 GRAMMYs | GRAMMY.com
Jon Batiste's 'We Are' Wins GRAMMY For Album Of The Year | 2022 GRAMMYs
Jon Batiste

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Jon Batiste's 'We Are' Wins GRAMMY For Album Of The Year | 2022 GRAMMYs

Jon Batiste's 'WE ARE' wins the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year at the 2022 GRAMMYs

GRAMMYs/Apr 4, 2022 - 03:35 am

Jon Batiste's WE ARE wins Album Of The Year at the 2022 GRAMMYs. The coveted award marks the singer's fifth win of the 2022 GRAMMYs.

Walking up to the stage practically in disbelief, Batiste delivered perhaps one of the most moving speeches of the night upon accepting his award. "I believe this to my core — there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor," he said. "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."

Batiste thanked everyone who was involved in the making of WE ARE, including his grandfather and his nephews. Beating out Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga's Love For Sale, Justin Bieber's Justice, Doja Cat's Planet Her, Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever, H.E.R.'s Back Of My Mind, Lil Nas X's Montero, Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR, Taylor Swift's evermore, and Kanye West's Donda for the award, Batiste acknowledged that he’s had "out of body experiences" with all of them.

"This is for real artists, real musicians. Let's just keep going," he added, before adding one more inspiring message to close things out. "Be you, that's it."

Before winning Album Of The Year, Batiste took home gramophones for Best Music Video ("Freedom"), Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song (both for WE ARE track "Cry"), and Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Soul). He was the most-nominated artist of the night with 11.

Check out the complete list of winners and nominees at the 2022 GRAMMYs.

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2024 Oscars: Watch Jon Batiste Perform A Poignant Rendition Of "It Never Went Away" From The Documentary Film 'American Symphony'
Jon Batiste performs 'It Never Went Away' from 'American Symphony' onstage during the 2024 Oscars

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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2024 Oscars: Watch Jon Batiste Perform A Poignant Rendition Of "It Never Went Away" From The Documentary Film 'American Symphony'

At the 2024 Academy Awards, five-time GRAMMY winner Jon Batiste performed a soul-nourishing version of "It Never Went Away" from ‘American Symphony,’ the acclaimed documentary film about his and wife Suleika Jaouad’s personal and creative lives.

GRAMMYs/Mar 11, 2024 - 01:18 am

At the 2024 Oscars on March 10, five-time GRAMMY winner and 20-time nominee Jon Batiste took the stage for a scintillating version of his co-write with Dan Wilson, "It Never Went Away."

For said performance, the multimedia phenom kept the proceedings spare and probing, letting his iridescent piano and singular pipes do the heavy lifting. Watch it above.

"It never went away/Every time I see your face," Batiste sang, in a commensurately understated, off-white stage outfit and backdrop. "The feeling's just the same/ It's never goin' away."

"It Never Went Away" was featured in the acclaimed 2023 documentary American Symphony, about his and his wife author Suleika Jaouad's personal and creative development — under the spectre of cancer and an impending debut at Carnegie Hall, of the symphony of the same name.

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

"It was very complicated from a producing point of view to navigate the puzzle of Jon's insane life, and then trying to find our way into the hospital, and then back out again, and back in again," American Symphony director Matthew Heineman said last year at a live interview covered by GRAMMY.com.

In the same conversation Heineman aptly described the overall process as reflecting "the symphony of life that we witnessed over the past year."

Keep checking this space for more updates on the 2024 Oscars — including GRAMMY winners and nominees who are featured during the big night!

Inside American Symphony: 5 Revelations About The Jon Batiste Documentary

2024 Oscars Red Carpet: Music Icons & Artists Shine Including Billie Eilish, Mark Ronson, Danielle Brooks & More
Billie Eilish attends the 2024 Oscars on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.

Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images

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2024 Oscars Red Carpet: Music Icons & Artists Shine Including Billie Eilish, Mark Ronson, Danielle Brooks & More

Visit the intersection of music and movies with a spotlight on the musical talents dazzling the red carpet at the Oscars. Billie Eilish, Danielle Brooks, and more show the creativity and style these multi-talented stars bring to Hollywood's biggest night.

GRAMMYs/Mar 10, 2024 - 08:49 pm

Tonight, the red carpet becomes a runway that blends the art of fashion with the magic of cinema and sound. 

The intersection of music and film has never been more luminous than at this year's Oscars, where numerous GRAMMY-winning artists including Billie Eilish, Jon Batiste, and Bradley Cooper are not just attending but are nominated for their contributions to the silver screen. 

From enchanting melodies that tugged at our heartstrings to groundbreaking scores that redefined movie moments, these artists have already left an indelible mark on the music industry. Tonight, they grace the Oscars red carpet, showcasing not only their unparalleled talent but also their unique fashion sensibilities. 

Take a closer look at these multifaceted talents and their journey from the GRAMMYs to the 2024 Oscars.

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

Billie Eilish

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "What Was I Made For?" from Barbie

Billie Eilish, the alt-pop sensation with nine GRAMMY wins, brings her unique style to the Oscars wearing a tweed schoolgirl look from Chanel. At this year's Academy Awards, Eilish is nominated for the hauntingly beautiful "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture *Barbie*], the same track that won two GRAMMYs, for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media, at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Billie Eilish

*Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images*

Finneas O'Connell

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "What Was I Made For?" with Billie Eilish

Finneas O'Connell, the mind behind many of sister Billie Eilish’s hits and a 10-time GRAMMY winner in his own right, appears tonight in an ensemble that's as sleek as his production style. Nominated for the poignant "What Was I Made For?," he exudes confidence and creativity, showcasing the depth of his artistic vision.

FINNEAS on the 2024 Oscars red carpet

*Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images*

Jon Batiste

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "It Never Went Away" from American Symphony

Jon Batiste, a vision of grace on the red carpet in a monochromatic burgundy suit, brings the same passion to his music that won him five GRAMMYs and 19 nominations, including his Album Of The Year win for 2021's We Are

Tonight, he's recognized for his soul-stirring "It Never Went Away", a testament to his versatility and depth as an artist. He won his first Oscar in 2021 for Best Original Score with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor for their work together on Pixar's Soul.

Jon Batiste

*Photo:* Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Mark Ronson

**Nominated for: Best Original Song, "I'm Just Ken" [From The Motion Picture Barbie]

Mark Ronson, the GRAMMY-winning producer known for hits like "Uptown Funk" and his work on Amy Winehouse's seminal Back to Black, brings well-suited sophistication to the red carpet. As an eight time GRAMMY winner, Ronson won his first Oscar award for Best Original Song in 2021 for "Shallow" for A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Mark Ronson on the 2024 Oscars red carpet

***Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images***

Ludwig Göransson

Nominated for: Best Original Score, Oppenheimer

Ludwig Göransson, took home the Oscar for Best Original Score with a win for Oppenheimer. Known for his innovative soundscapes, Göransson's attire tonight — a satin-lapel tuxedo with wide pants and Cartier jewels — is a harmonious blend of classic and contemporary, much like his music.

Ludwig Gorranson

*Photo: John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images*

Bradley Cooper

Nominated for: Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Maestro


Bradley Cooper, presents a masterclass in red carpet fashion in a double-breasted tie-less tux with turquoise buttons and boot cut suit pants. A two-time GRAMMY winner for A Star Is Born in 2019, Cooper's transformation into Leonard Bernstein in Maestro is both a critical and stylistic triumph. Tonight, his attire is as meticulously curated as his performance, with a nod to the classical elegance befitting one of the most legendary conductors of all-time.

Bradley Cooper

***Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images***

Danielle Brooks

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress, The Color Purple

Danielle Brooks dazzles in a black corseted gown with silver embellishments, a diamond necklace, and silver toned jewelry that speaks to her vibrant and powerful portrayal of Sofia in The Color Purple. A GRAMMY winner in 2017 for Best Musical Theater Album for her work in the Broadway revival, Brooks now shines on Oscars Sunday in an ensemble that is a tribute to Sofia's strength, resilience, and grace.

Danielle Brooks

*Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images*

Diane Warren

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "The Fire Inside" from Flamin' Hot

Diane Warren, whose pen has graced many an iconic ballad, steps onto the red carpet in a "Flamin' Hot" look that echoes her lyrical genius. Nominated once again for her songwriting prowess, Warren's attire tonight is a nod to the fiery Becky G track she's nominated for tonight. 

Warren has received 15 GRAMMY nominations through her career and a win for "Because You Loved Me" (Celine Dion, from Up, Close and Personal) which took home Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television in 1997. 

Diane Warren

*Photo:* Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande stepped onto the red carpet just days after the release of her album Eternal Sunshine in a custom Glinda-pink Giambattista Valli gown. Grande presented awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score with Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo at the 2024 Oscars.

Ariana Grande

*Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Erivo graced the red carpet in an emerald green Louis Vuitton look with voluminous leather ruffles. Erivo presented awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score with Wicked co-star, Ariana Grande at the 2024 Oscars. 

Cynthia Erivo

*Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images*

Hailey Steinfeld

Nominated: Best Animated Feature, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Hailey Steinfeld showed up to the 2024 Oscars ready to put on a show. The actress and singer wore a couture Elie Saab gown from the Spring/Summer 2024 collection in light blue with butterfly cape sleeves and a pleated skirt, accentuated by metallic appliqués adorning the bodice and wrists of the sleeves.

Hailey Steinfeld

*Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/GettyImages *

Tia Carrere

Tia Carrere attends the 2024 Oscars red carpet. Carrere is a two-time GRAMMY winner for Best Hawaiian Music Album.

Tia Carrere

***Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images***

Slash

Slash, the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses assisted Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson with a performance of 'I'm Just Ken' at the 2024 Oscars. 

Slash
2024 Oscar Nominees Who Have Won A GRAMMY: Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese & More
Billie Eilish at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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2024 Oscar Nominees Who Have Won A GRAMMY: Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese & More

From Bradley Cooper to Diane Warren, 12 nominees at the 2024 Oscars have a golden gramophone to their name. Ahead of the Oscars ceremony on March 10, check out the GRAMMY history of this year's nominees.

GRAMMYs/Mar 6, 2024 - 04:33 pm

Music's Biggest Night and the film industry's biggest night are a little more intertwined than one might think.

The GRAMMYs have four Categories that tie in with the Hollywood machine, from Best Song Written For Visual Media to Best Music Film. And the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording award has offered thespians such as John Gielgud, Viola Davis, and Mike Nichols a route to EGOT glory.

The Academy Awards, meanwhile, gives both composers and songwriters their dues in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories, respectively. And the latter's nominees will often be performed to help break up all the drama at the podium, no matter how un-Oscar-like the track may be. Who can forget the fever dream that was The Lego Movie's "Everything Is Awesome," for example?

The 2024 Oscars bring both ceremonies even closer together, with 12 nominees walking in as previous GRAMMY winners. Half of them were even victorious at the 2024 GRAMMYs, including Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, and Mark Ronson, who all took home golden gramophones for their Barbie contributions (and are all up for the same film at this year's Oscars).

Ahead of the March 10 ceremony, take a look at the GRAMMY stories of 2024 Oscar nominees — from celebrated composers to iconic directors to a few of this year's performers.

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste has had quite the GRAMMY run as of late, picking up 19 nominations in just the last three years alone; he scored five wins for 2021's We Are in 2022, including the prestigious Album Of The Year. The jazz maestro, formerly the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has also enjoyed Oscars glory in the same time frame.

Firstly, in 2021, he shared the Best Original Score Oscar with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor for their work on Pixar animation Soul. And this year, he's nominated in the Best Original Song category for "It Never Went Away," a track featured in his own powerful documentary biopic, American Symphony.

Danielle Brooks 

Two years into her memorable run as prisoner Taystee in "Orange Is the New Black," Danielle Brooks proved her talents extended far beyond the walls of the Litchfield penitentiary with an acclaimed turn in the 2015 Broadway revival of The Color Purple. After the Juilliard graduate picked up a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2016, she became a GRAMMY winner in 2017, when the cast won Best Musical Theater Album.

The all-singing, all-dancing film adaptation of the Alice Walker novel earned Brooks her first Academy Award nod, too. For she once again stole the show in its Hollywood transfer as the strong-minded Sofia, a character first played on the big screen by Oprah Winfrey.

Bradley Cooper  

Bradley Cooper spent six years practicing conducting just six minutes of music for his portrayal of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein in acclaimed biopic Maestro. And the multi-talent's admirable commitment paid off when he received Academy Award nods for Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Actor.

Cooper was also nominated in the latter two categories, along with Best Adapted Screenplay, five years ago for another musical, A Star Is Born, and earned two GRAMMYs for the same project. In 2019, he shared Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Lady Gaga for "Shallow," the spellbinding ballad which also picked up a Record Of The Year nod. A year later, the same film triumphed in Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Billie Eilish  

Like Batiste, Billie Eilish has made an impressive GRAMMYs run in a short span of time. The alt-pop phenomenon has already picked up nine awards from 25 nominations (and she's only just turned 22!). And at her first GRAMMYs just four years ago, Eilish already cemented herself in GRAMMY history: not only did she become just the second artist to claim Best New Artist and Record, Song, and Album Of the Year, but she became the youngest artist to do so at 18 years old.

Eilish added to her GRAMMY legacy with two more wins at the 2024 ceremony, for "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture *Barbie*], which won the star her second golden gramophones for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media; her James Bond theme, "No Time To Die," won the latter in 2021.

"What Was I Made For?" —  played during the poignant scene where Margot Robbie's titular character meets her creator — has also enamored Oscar voters. In fact, it's the predicted favorite to clinch Best Original Song, which "No Time to Die" helped Eilish claim in 2022.

Ludwig Göransson

Ludwig Göransson is predicted to win his second Best Original Score Oscar this year thanks to his suitably intense arrangements for Oppenheimer; his first win came in 2019 for Black Panther. The Swedish composer has already won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for the same projects at the GRAMMYs.

But it's in the realm of socially conscious hip-hop where Göransson has been a GRAMMYs awards trailblazer. Childish Gambino's "This Is America," a powerful state of the nation address which he co-produced, picked up both Song and Record Of The Year at the 2019 ceremony — marking the first time a rap track had won either accolade. Göransson's fruitful partnership with Gambino has also seen him receive nods for Album Of The Year and Best R&B Song.

Finneas O'Connell 

Finneas O'Connell might have eight fewer GRAMMY nominations than his sister (Billie Eilish), but he does have one more win under his belt. Indeed, having masterminded Eilish's blockbuster breakthrough, 2019's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and hit the studio with artists such as Tate McRae, Camila Cabello, and Selena Gomez, the Californian picked up Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical at the 2020 ceremony. (Alongside the nine golden gramophones he's shared with his younger sibling — and primary collaborator — that takes his overall tally up to 10.)

As a co-writer on Eilish's James Bond theme "No Time to Die," Finneas and his sis will have two Oscars a piece should their co-written song, "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], win Best Original Song as predicted.

Mark Ronson 

Mark Ronson first caught GRAMMYs attention for his behind-the-scenes efforts, winning Best Pop Vocal Album, Record Of The Year, and Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical in 2008 for his work on Amy Winehouse's seminal Back to Black. But eight years later, he scooped two GRAMMYs for his very own throwback, the Bruno Mars-featuring "Uptown Funk," and in 2019, picked up Best Dance Recording as part of the supergroup Silk City alongside Diplo and Dua Lipa.

Ronson and Lipa were once again nominated together at the 2024 GRAMMYs for their global chart-topper, "Dance the Night" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], which didn't receive a Best Original Song Academy Award nod. The DJ-turned-hitmaker still notched an Oscar nomination, though, thanks to a different Barbie number he co-wrote: the Ryan Gosling-sung "I'm Just Ken."

Martin Scorsese 

Here's a staggering fact: Martin Scorsese, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers in Hollywood history, has as many GRAMMYs to his celebrated name as he does Oscars: one.

The auteur received his GRAMMY in 2006, when his Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home, won in the Best Long Form Music Video Category. (He had been nominated the previous two years, in the same Category in 2005 for his PBS series Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey, and in the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media Category in 2004 for Gangs Of New York.)

His sole Best Director victory at the Academy Awards came not for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas, but for his 2006 remake of The Departed in what many interpreted as a career win. He earned his tenth nomination in the coveted category at the 2024 Oscars, for Killers of the Flower Moon.

Diane Warren 

Diane Warren is responsible for some of the all-time great movie power ballads: see the late '90s holy trinity of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live," and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing." However, the prolific songwriter has never won an Oscar outright (she was awarded an honorary one in 2022). She has another shot at the 2024 Oscars thanks to Becky G's "The Fire Inside" from the Cheetos-inspired Flamin' Hot, which earned Warren her 15th Best Original Song nomination.

The songwriting dynamo has received the same number of nods at the GRAMMYs, and celebrated a win in 1997, when "Because You Loved Me" (from 1996's Up, Close and Personal) took home Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.

John Williams 

Where to start with John Williams? The veteran composer received his 54th Academy Award nod this year, with his work on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny recognized in Best Original Score. He remains second only to Walt Disney for the most Oscar nominations ever, he's the only individual to be recognized across seven decades in a row (his first came back in 1968 for Valley of the Dolls), and he became the oldest nominee ever in 2023 — a record which he topped again this year at 91.

And Williams has been even more successful at the GRAMMYS, picking up a remarkable 26 golden gramophones from 76 nominations. His latest came only last month when "Helena's Theme," the piece of music composed for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character in Dial of Destiny, was crowned Best Instrumental Composition.

Dan Wilson 

Dan Wilson picked up the first of his six GRAMMY nominations with his own band Semisonic's anthemic "Closing Time." But following the alt-rock trio's initial split in 2001, all of his other nods have been for his work as an in-demand songwriter. Wilson has won two of the General Field GRAMMYs, first for Song Of The Year for Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" in 2006 and Album Of The Year for his work on Adele's 21 in 2012.

And he added a third GRAMMY to his trophy haul this year, as his co-written Chris Stapleton track "White Horse" won Best Country Song. Thanks to his contribution to the aforementioned Batiste ballad, the hitmaker can also now call himself an Oscar nominee, too.

Andrew Wyatt 

Ronson co-produced and co-wrote "I'm Just Ken" [From The Motion Picture Barbie] with longtime collaborator Andrew Wyatt. The pair won the 2019 Best Original Song Oscar for their co-write on A Star Is Born cut "Shallow," and also picked up Best Song Written for Visual Media with the same tearjerker (alongside Cooper) at the GRAMMYs.

Wyatt, who first found fame as one-third of electronic trio Miike Snow before launching a solo career, has also enjoyed a taste of GRAMMY recognition elsewhere. The New Yorker's first nod came in 2012 when Bruno Mars' "Grenade," the emotive heartbreak anthem that counted him as one of six songwriters, was nominated for Song Of The Year.

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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Doja Cat & SZA Tearfully Accept Their First GRAMMYs For "Kiss Me More"
(L-R) Doja Cat and SZA at the 2022 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Doja Cat & SZA Tearfully Accept Their First GRAMMYs For "Kiss Me More"

Relive the moment the pair's hit "Kiss Me More" took home Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which marked the first GRAMMY win of their careers.

GRAMMYs/Mar 1, 2024 - 06:11 pm

As Doja Cat put it herself, the 2022 GRAMMYs were a "big deal" for her and SZA.

Doja Cat walked in with eight nominations, while SZA entered the ceremony with five. Three of those respective nods were for their 2021 smash "Kiss Me More," which ultimately helped the superstars win their first GRAMMYs.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the night SZA and Doja Cat accepted the golden gramophone for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — a milestone moment that Doja Cat almost missed.

"Listen. I have never taken such a fast piss in my whole life," Doja Cat quipped after beelining to the stage. "Thank you to everybody — my family, my team. I wouldn't be here without you, and I wouldn't be here without my fans."

Before passing the mic to SZA, Doja also gave a message of appreciation to the "Kill Bill" singer: "You are everything to me. You are incredible. You are the epitome of talent. You're a lyricist. You're everything."

SZA began listing her praises for her mother, God, her supporters, and, of course, Doja Cat. "I love you! Thank you, Doja. I'm glad you made it back in time!" she teased.

"I like to downplay a lot of s— but this is a big deal," Doja tearfully concluded. "Thank you, everybody."

Press play on the video above to hear Doja Cat and SZA's complete acceptance speech for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 2022 GRAMMY Awards, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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