Zelensky at Grammys 2022: “Fill the silence of war with music”

«Help us, but not with silence. Fill the silence of death with your music “. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky intervened, surprisingly, during the night of the 2022 Grammys, on stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. A message from him was expected at the Oscars, but it came a week later. Zelensky on video, speaking in English, addressed artists and the world of music: «The war? What could be more opposite to music? ”He asked. «The silence of cities in ruins and of deceased people. Our little ones draw rockets falling on us and not shooting stars, ”he continued,“ More than 400 children have been seriously injured and more than 150 have been killed. And we will never see them draw again. Parents are happy to wake up every morning, albeit under shelling, but still alive. Our loved ones do not know if they will see each other again and will still be together. War does not give us the possibility to decide who survives and who remains in eternal silence. Our musicians wear bulletproof vests instead of tuxedos. They sing for the wounded. In hospitals. Even for those who can’t hear them. But music manages to break through anyway ».

It’s still: «We defend our freedom to live, to love and also to play. On our land we are fighting Russia which has brought a horrible silence with its bombs. The sad silence of death. Fill this silence with your music. Fill it up now. Tell our stories. Tell everyone the truth about this war, do it on social networks, on television, everywhere. Please support us in any way possible. In all ways, but not with silence. Then there will also be peace in all the cities destroyed by this war ».

After Zelensky’s message, he took the stage John Legend, who sang “Rain down freedom until we’re all free “. Accompanying him, two Ukrainian artists, Mika Newton and Suzanna Iglidan, and the poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. All wearing the colors of the national flag.