Jon Batiste, the most-nominated artist at the 2022 Grammys with 11 nods, took to the stage Sunday night at the Las Vegas awards show to perform his Record of the Year-nominated song “Freedom.”
Batiste appeared in a powder blue suit covered in a cape, but he ditched the vampire look immediately after slaying a piano intro. His backup dancers were kitted out in pastel colors, reminiscent of the Pixar film Soul that Batiste co-composed the score for.
The singer made his way to the crowd at the end — eventually standing on top of Billie Eilish’s table. Following the performance, the same exact song played in a Gap commercial.
Including his nominations in the Album of the Year (We Are) and Record of the Year (“Freedom”) categories, the versatile Batiste is up for 11 Grammys across a number of different genres: In the R&B field (Best Traditional R&B Performance for “I Need You” and Best R&B Album for We Are), in the jazz field (Best Improvised Jazz Solo, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for his soundtrack to the movie Soul), in the Americana field (Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song for “Cry”), and even in the classical field (Best Contemporary Classical Composition for “Batiste: Movement 11”). Batiste is also nominated for Best Music Video for “Freedom.”
With a handful of wins in the pre-Grammy ceremony — including Best Music Video, Best Score Soundtrack and Best American Roots Song — Batiste brought home his first-ever Grammy Awards, as the Late Show bandleader has previously been nominated three times without a victory.