Silk Sonic and Jon Batiste triumph, Zelensky appears at a classy Grammy Awards

This year's Grammy Awards saw big wins by new artists, a handful of top-notch, well-produced performances and heartfelt tributes to artists who died this year — plus a surprise message from Ukraine's president.

And host Trevor Noah limited himself to a single Will Smith joke.

Here is CBC News' roundup of the highlights Sunday night.

Jon Batiste, Silk Sonic, Olivia Rodrigo clean up 

Trevor Noah kicked off the night with a nod to last week's Oscars debacle between Will Smith and Chris Rock. During his opening monologue, the comedian said, "we're going to be listening to some music, we're going to be dancing, we're going to be singing, we're going to be keeping people's names out of our mouths."

Music, singing, dancing, check. And several names remained quite popular throughout the show.

Silk Sonic, a funk superduo comprising Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, were one of the night's clear winners. The group took home four statues for record of the year, song of the year, best R&B performance and best R&B song. 

This is the first year that Mars and .Paak have competed at the Grammys under the Silk Sonic moniker since announcing their self-titled album in early 2021. After winning record of the year, .Paak took the stage, joking, "We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point. But in the industry we call that a clean sweep!"

Jon Batiste, a multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as bandleader of the group Stay Human and has served as musical director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, had his moment Sunday night. The artist adds five trophies to his collection, including album of the year for We Are and best music video for Freedom.

Olivia Rodrigo took home a healthy three awards this year, holding her own against Grammy heavyweights like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Mars in multiple categories. The 19-year old singer became pop's sweetheart last year with the release of her album Sour and its top single, Driver's License. Rodrigo was crowned best new artist and received trophies for best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance.

Top-notch performances from Lil Nas X, BTS

Some truly inspired performances – all of different scale and style – punctuated the evening of award-giving. From Lil Nas X to BTS, high-octane musical sets were backdropped by intricate set design.

Moody pop diva Billie Eilish performed her song Happier Than Ever, first appearing in a living room-like scene with furniture hanging from the ceiling and water flooding the floors. She then moved to the set's "rooftop," joining her brother and producer Finneas as he shredded on the guitar, rain pouring onto the stage.

Rap provocateur Lil Nas X gave a high-energy medley of songs from his debut studio album Montero, wowing with athletic choreography and a giant bust of his head on stage behind him and a swarm of dancers. He was briefly joined by rapper Jack Harlow to perform their hit song Industry Baby. 

But K-pop group BTS brought the house down with their performance of Butter, which began with members sitting in the audience: V was seen chatting Olivia Rodrigo up, while fan favourite Jung-kook descended from the rafters. They put on a tech-heavy, spy thriller-inspired performance of their song Butter, expertly navigating laser trip wires to deliver a memorable show.

Zelensky pre-tapes message, Ukrainian artists perform

In one sobering moment, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky appeared in a pre-recorded message to the Grammy audience, trying to bolster support for the nation as it endures a war with Russia. The Grammys partnered with Global Citizen for its "Stand Up for Ukraine campaign," dedicating a segment of the show to the country.

"What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," Zelensky said in his speech. "Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can't hear them. But the music will break through anyway." He asked the audience not to be silent, and to "support us in any way you can."

After the message, singer John Legend took the stage for a performance of his new song, Free. He was joined by the Ukrainian poet and refugee Lyuba Yakimchuk, as well as Ukrainian musicians Siuzanna Iglidan and Mika Newton. 

Canadians at the Grammys ceremony

Drake and The Weeknd continued their boycott of the Grammys this year — but Canadians were still well-represented at the awards.

Despite his chilly relationship to the Recording Academy, The Weeknd took home a Grammy during the pre-televised portion of the show. The Toronto singer has rejected the Grammys since his album After Hours was shut out of nominations last year.

Cuban Canadian performer Alex Cuba also picked up his first Grammy for best Latin pop album during the non-televised portion of the show. Montreal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin also picked up his first Grammy for best orchestral performance. 

Justin Bieber attended the ceremony with wife Hailey Baldwin. The Stratford, Ont.-born artist performed his thrice-nominated tune Peaches with fellow Canadian singer Daniel Caesar, who hails from Oshawa, Ont., and the singer Giveon. Belleville, Ont., rocker Avril Lavigne presented the award for Best Pop Duo Performance to Doja Cat and Sza.

Legendary songbird Joni Mitchell was honoured as MusiCares Person of the Year earlier this month, but accepted a Grammy during the pre-show for a new category called Best Historical Album (her album Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) received the award). She also introduced a performance from singer Brandi Carlile alongside her longtime friend, 70s singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt.

Taylor Hawkins, Stephen Sondheim remembered

Rock band Foo Fighters received three bittersweet wins for their songs Making a Fire and Waiting on a War, from the album Medicine at Midnight, which won Best Rock Album. The band's drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died March 25 at age 50. While the long-running group was originally supposed to perform at the Grammys, they cancelled their set upon Hawkins's death.

A tribute to Hawkins (and admiration from artists like Billie Eilish, who wore a T-shirt with Hawkins's face on it during her performance) preceded the in-memoriam segment. Biz Markie, Betty Davis, Charlie Watts, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector and Tom Parker were among those who died this year. 

The in-memoriam was accompanied by a performance of the late Stephen Sondheim's songs. A giant of 20th century musical theatre, several of Sondheim's works — including Somewhere from West Side Story and Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music — were performed by Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Rachel Zegler, all of whom have roots on the stage.