Chinese musician wins world music Grammy
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 13, 2017
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Wu Tong pose with Best World Music Album GRAMMY trophy for "Sing Me Home" in the press room during The 59th GRAMMY Awards at the Staples Center on Feb. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. [Photo/ VCG] |
Wu Tong, member of The Silk Road Ensemble, won Best World Music Album for their project headed by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the annual Grammy Awards, while Adele swept five awards Sunday night in Los Angeles, California.
Wu Tong, a player of the sheng and a vocalist, was once the lead vocalist of Chinese rock band Lun Hui. But later he turned to folk music and joined Yo-Yo Ma's nonprofit Silkroad project, which was founded in 1998. Since 2000, The Silk Road Ensemble has welcomed more than 70 performers and composers from nearly 25 nations.
"'Sing Me Home' won Best World Music Album at Grammys. This is the sixth album from The Silk Road Ensemble," Wu wrote on his Weibo microblog to celebrate after they won the award. "Ever since the band was founded, we have always been looking forward to eliminating the gap between peoples and cultures, and hoped for mutual respect and understanding among different races and beliefs. This is the real connotation for a Best World Music work. Thanks for recognition, Grammys! "
"Sing Me Home," which included performances by Ma the Silk Road Ensemble, is the musical companion to the documentary film "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble," which was also nominated for Best Music Film award at the Grammys but lost to "The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years."
Produced by Kevin Killen and ensemble member Johnny Gandelsman, the album explores the "ever-changing idea of home". The music includes original and traditional arrangements by the global artists that are part of the ensemble. Composers of each song explored the concept of the "music of home" using their unique experiences from China, the Balkans, Galicia, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, the United States and more.
The Grammy night was dominated by Adele, who opened the award ceremony with one of the most anticipated performances of the night, singing "Hello" on stage alone. She also sang George Michael's "Fastlove" to honor the singer, who died in December. Though technical issues marred the performance at first, Adele restarted the song and received a standing ovation.
She won give awards including three of the top awards - Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year - for her album "25" and song "Hello." But Adele paid tribute to Beyonce who lost awards to her, gushing with tears, "I can't possilby accept this award. My life is Beyonce and the 'Lemonade' album, Beyonce was so monumental and so well thought-out and beautiful and soul-baring... the way you made me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel is empowering."
Beyonce responded with a nod and tears. She won two awards from nine nominations, including best urban contemporary album for "Lemonade."
"My intention for the film and album is to create a body of work that would give voice to our pain, our struggles, our doubts, and our history, to confront issues that make us uncomfortable," Beyonce said.
The singer also had a fabulous performance, dressing like a golden godess was preganant with twins. Meanwhile, Beyonce's younger sister Solange, won her first Grammy for best R&B performance.
David Bowie posthumously won five awards, including best rock song and best rock album awards for "Blackstar." Prior to the ceremony, the singer had never earned a Grammy for his music, only for a video.
Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of "Saturday Night Fever," Demi Lovato, Andra Day, Tori Kelly and Little Big Town took to the stage to pay tribute to the Bee Gees with a medley of songs, while Bruno Mars, dressed in Prince's signature purple suit, rounded out the homages with his rendition of the singer's "Let's Go Crazy."
The Grammys also got political with both direct references to President Donald Trump and indirect mentions of the country's general political climate. Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, called for unity through music.
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