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Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the musicians and the audience at the 64th Grammy Awards.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was perhaps the one Grammy artists and viewers least expected to see during Sunday’s ceremony at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
But in the middle of the award ceremony, and through a prerecorded message that was broadcast on the giant screens of the venue, he addressed the musicians to ask them to support Ukraine “in any way possible” before the Russian invasion.
The intervention was presented by the master of ceremonies of the event, Trevor Noah.
“One of the things that has always made music so powerful is the way it responds to the times,” Noah began.
“Even in the darkest of times, music has the power to lift your spirits and give you hope for a brighter tomorrow. And there is no one who needs that hope more now than the people of Ukraine.”
In his message, Zelensky began by saying: “War, what is more opposed to music? The silence of destroyed cities and murdered people”.
“Our children draw falling missiles, not shooting stars. More than 400 children have been injured and 153 have died. And we will never see them draw,” he continued.
“Our parents are happy to wake up every morning in bomb shelters but alive. Our loved ones don’t know if we’ll ever be together once more. War doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence.”
“Our musicians wear bulletproof vests instead of tuxedos, they sing to the wounded in hospitals. Even those who can’t hear them, but the music will break through anyway,” he continued.
“Fill the silence!”
“We defend our freedom to live, to love, to dream. In our land, we are fighting Russia, which brings a horrible silence with its bombs. The silence of death,” he added.
And he concluded with a call: “Fill the silence with your music! Fill it out today, telling our story. Tell the truth regarding this war on your social networks, on television. Support us in any way you can; anyone, but not with silence”.
“And then peace will come. To all our cities that the war is destroying: Chernigov, Kharkiv, Volnovakha, Mariupol and others. They are already legends, but I have a dream that they will live. And that they will be free. Free like you on the stage of the Grammys”.
image source, Getty Images
Mika Newton, John Legend and Siuzanna Iglidan during their performance.
The intervention of the Ukrainian president was followed by the performance of the pianist John Legend, who played and sang a new song titled Free (“Free”).
The American was joined on stage by Ukrainian artists Mika Newton and Suzanna Iglidan. While, su compatriota Lyuba Yakimchukwho recently fled the country, was reading a poem.
“Let it rain freedom until we are all free,” Legend sang, accompanied by a gospel choir, while images of the victims of the conflict that began on February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, were broadcast on the screens.
At the end of the song, the details were offered to a charity organization that helps Ukrainian refugees for those who wanted to collaborate.
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