Grammys 2022: Pop artists split big wins as Nashville celebrates smaller victories

The Grammy Awards returned in full force on Sunday, landing in Las Vegas for the first time ever after a socially distanced ceremony in 2021, and a postponement and change of venue earlier this year.

The competition was unusually thick at this year’s show, led by several acts that would seem like obvious frontrunners on their own. And somehow, in Vegas of all places, the Recording Academy was able to spread the wealth.

Though he was the night's top nominee, jazz-pop artist and "Late Show" bandleader Jon Batiste was clearly stunned to win the award for Album of the Year. He also turned out to be the perfect musical champion to put a bow on the evening.

"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."

Grammys 2022: Brothers Osborne make emotional speech for 'Younger Me' win

Grammys 2022 winners: A full list of winners from the 64th annual awards show

It was also a victorious night for one of pop's newest superstars, Olivia Rodrigo, as well as Silk Sonic, the R&B duo comprised of Grammy darlings Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak.

“In the industry, we call that a clean sweep," a beaming .Paak said as they accepted their fourth and final win for Record of the Year.

But the night was mostly a bust for Nashville artists, at least in terms of prominent wins. Song of the Year contender “A Beautiful Noise” – written in part by five Nashville women – lost out to Silk Sonic, while Best New Artist went to Rodrigo over country hitmaker Jimmie Allen.

The Americana categories – often a lock for Nashville names – had other plans this year, with Jon Batiste and Los Lobos winning instead of seemingly unstoppable talents like Allison Russell, Yola and Billy Strings.

Still, Music City almost always finds ways to shine on "Music's Biggest Night." This year, it came through five powerhouse performances on the Grammys telecast, and a few smaller wins that shone a light on country music's expanding horizons.

Brothers Osborne's breakthrough win

After nine nominations, country duo Brothers Osborne won their first-ever Grammy Award on Sunday, when "Younger Me" was named Best Country/Duo Group Performance.

The song plays as a letter to the younger self of lead vocalist T.J. Osborne, who came out as gay last year. At that moment, he became the first openly gay artist to be currently signed to a major country label.

"I never thought that I would be able to do music professionally because of my sexuality," Osborne said in his acceptance speech. "And I certainly never thought it would be here on the stage accepting a Grammy, after having done something I felt like was going to be life-changing, and potentially in a very negative way."

"And here I am tonight, not only accepting this Grammy award with my brother, who I love so much, but I'm here with a man that I love and who loves me back. I don't know what I did be so lucky. Thank you."

That win came during the Grammy's pre-telecast ceremony, but the duo also got to light primetime ablaze with a show-closing performance of the full-throttle "Dead Man's Curve."

Performance: Brothers Osborne close the Grammy Awards show with 'Dead Man's Curve'

Grammys: Billy Strings brings bluegrass to music's biggest night

Chris Stapleton adds to his trophy case

Three more deserved — if admittedly unsurprising — wins came Chris Stapleton's way on Sunday. The acclaimed country star swept his categories (Best Country Album, Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance), bringing his Grammy total to eight.

As he spotted several fathers of performers sitting nearby, Stapleton had family and fatherhood on his mind while accepting Best Country Album on the telecast.

"I'm a dad of five, and today is my twins' birthday. They're four years old...So I'm thinking a lot about sacrifices, I think, because I missed out on some of their birthday today. And everybody in this room has made some kind of a sacrifice to be up here doing this. And I don't know what it is for everybody. I know that it hurts sometimes, but hopefully we're all doing it so that we make the world a better place."

Brandi Carlile is 'Right on Time'

The Nashville-tied singer-songwriter didn't add to her six-Grammy collection on Sunday. Instead, she turned in a brilliant performance of her nominated, made-on-Music-Row ballad "Right On Time" — which nearly reached the same fantastic heights as her breakthrough moment with “The Joke” at 2019’s show.

'The Slap' can't be ignored

Just one week after one of the most infamous live television moments ever, there was no way the Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscars incident wouldn't be acknowledged. Host Trevor Noah kept it short: "We’re gonna be keeping people’s names out of our mouths," he quipped.

Presenter Questlove — who had to make his Oscars acceptance speech immediately following "The Slap" — joked, "I trust that you people will stay 500 feet away from me."

But if we're awarding points for creativity, the best gag came from stand-up and Nashville native Nate Bargatze, who was a first-time nominee for Best Comedy Album. Presenting during the pre-telecast, he walked on stage wearing a massive black helmet.

"They said comedians have to wear these now at award shows during the joke parts," he said. "It doesn't even cover your face! I think it just focuses where you would hit me."

Billy Strings makes an impression in a minute flat

He got roughly 60 seconds total of TV time on two sides of the commercial break, but bluegrass phenom Billy Strings and band made a powerful impression with their rooftop performance of "Hide and Seek."

Strings won his first Grammy in 2021 for Best Bluegrass Album, but this year the award went to genre giant Béla Fleck.

A night of no shows

Maybe it was moving out of Los Angeles, or postponing the show to a month when tours are in full swing, but there sure seemed to be a significant number of absent winners this year.

It became painfully clear as Jimmie Allen presented a dozen awards with almost no acceptance speeches. Instead, he began hilariously claiming the trophies for himself ("I got six!")

Remembering Nashville greats

With an introduction mourning the recent death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and a medley of songs by late Broadway legend Steven Sondheim, the "In Memoriam" segment acknowledged the passing of several artists and industry figures with ties to Nashville and country music.

That group included Tom T. Hall, Don Everly, Connie Bradley, Stonewall Jackson, Ralph Emery, Nanci Griffith, Ron Tutt, Dallas Frazier, BJ Thomas and Bobbie Nelson.

CeCe Winans celebrates wins from home

The Nashville gospel great swept her three categories with wins for album "Believe For It" and two separate album tracks. That brings her Grammy total to 15. She wasn't in attendance on Sunday, but posted a video message with "Believe For It" producer/songwriter Kyle Lee.

"To God be the glory," she said. "We are so humbled by this...and you know what? Let's keep building the kingdom."

Carrie Underwood wins in gospel, tells her 'Ghost Story'

Now an eight-time Grammy winner, the country superstar found a new category to conquer on Sunday. Her first gospel effort, "My Savior," was named Best Roots Gospel Album.

On the Grammys telecast, however, she was previewing her next album with a performance of new single "Ghost Story" — employing a choir, string section and seemingly an arsenal of wind and fog machines to bring her latest breakup anthem to life.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Grammys Awards 2022 recap: Nashville celebrates smaller victories