WA artists took center stage at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards

On a night when Taylor Swift took home Album of the Year for a record fourth time in her career, this time for 2022’s “Midnights,” Washington artists took center stage at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards.

Brandi Carlile won best Americana performance for her duet with Brandy Clark for “Dear Insecurity.” This was Carlile’s ninth Grammy Award win. She’s been nominated 27 times by the Grammys throughout her career.

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Despite the Grammy win, Carlile’s best moment of the night came alongside music legend Joni Mitchell, who made her first appearance at the Grammys at the age of 80.

“Whether we know it or not any one of us out here who ever dreamed of becoming a truly self-revealing singer-songwriter did it standing on the shoulders of one, Joni Mitchell,” Carlile said as she introduced Mitchell at the Grammys.

The two sang “Both Sides Now” alongside Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, crescendoing in a standing ovation. Mitchell, a nine-time Grammy Award winner, had never performed at the Grammys before.

“At 80 years old, Joni Mitchell came out and I didn’t realize this was the first time she was performing at the Grammys,” Ursula Reutin, co-host of The Gee and Ursula Show, said. “Made me teary-eyed. She did it with Carlile, who’s one of my favorites, and Dave (Ross), you and I could appreciate this because, right now, this whole passage of time is at the forefront of my mind.”

“Well, that’s my college years, I mean, I’ve got Joni Mitchell albums,” Dave Ross, co-host of Seattle’s Morning News, replied.

“There you go, and here she is at 80 after some pretty serious health battles,” Ursula said. “So she’s back on stage with her cane and it did feel like almost going to church because you saw Beyoncé and you saw Meryl Streep and everybody was just still and teary-eyed. She is the voice for everyone.”

Other local artists who won were Bellevue-based violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, who won Best Global Music Album for “This Moment,” and Seattle quartet Säje took home their first Grammy for best arrangement — instrument and vocals — for their song, “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.”

More Grammy highlights

Billy Joel used the night to perform “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first new song in 17 years, while Tracy Chapman made a rare appearance performing “Fast Car” with Luke Combs. Combs’ cover of the 1988 song led to a huge recent resurgence of the song, causing Chapman to return to the stage to perform a duet with him. It was Chapman’s first performance since 2020.

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“I got chills when I heard Tracy Chapman made an appearance,” Colleen O’Brien, co-host of Seattle’s Morning News, said. “She’s so quiet, and you can see her tearing up a little bit while she sang.”

“I was bawling,” Ursula added.

But the night was defined by Taylor Swift. Her fourth Grammy for Best Album broke her tie with Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder for the most all-time in that respective category. She used the moment to announce a new album, set to be released April 19.

“It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department,'” Swift said during her acceptance speech. “I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage.”

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Other highlights from the night included Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell winning Song of the Year for “What Was I Made For?” on the Barbie soundtrack. Miley Cyrus took home her first Grammy of her career for her smash hit “Flowers.”

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.