Jon Batiste claimed that music is a "spiritual practice" as he collected Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Jon Batiste wins Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammy Awards
The 35-year-old musician - who collected the coveted award for his eighth album 'We Are' - noted during his acceptance speech at the MGM Grand Garden Arena event in Las Vegas on Sunday (04.03.22) that there is "no best musician" and that music reaches people "when they need it the most."
He said: "I really believe this to my core. There is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and reach people at a point in their lives when they need it the most. It's like a song or an album is made and has a radar to find a person when they need it the most."
Jon - who received a standing ovation earlier in the evening when he performed his song '‘Freedom’ - was up against fellow stars Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish H.E.R, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber and despite beating them to the coveted title, honoured his fellow nominees and claimed to have had an "out of body experience" over their music.
He added: "I just thank God that I put my head down and I work on the craft every day. I love music, I've been playing since I was a little boy. It's more than entertainment for me, it's a spiritual practice. There's so many people who were involved in making this album. Every single artist that was nominated in this category, I love. I have had out-of-body experiences about your music. I honour you. This is for real artists, musicians. Let's just keep going. I love you baby, even if I don't know you!"
It was the the fifth award of the night for the 'I Need You' hitmaker who had previously nabbed the Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song for his song 'Cry', as well as Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
for 'Soul' and Best Music Video for 'Freedom.'
Jon had also been nominated for Record of the Year but lost out to Silk Sonic with 'Leave the Door Open.'
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