LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 03: (L-R) Mika Newton, John Legend, and Siuzanna Iglidan perform onstage during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk performs in support of Ukraine at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 03: (L-R) Mika Newton and John Legend perform onstage during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Three Ukrainian performers wearing the blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag joined U.S. artist John Legend during the 64th Grammy Awards on April 3 in Las Vegas.
Ukrainian American musician Siuzanna Iglidan and singer Mika Newton — whose sister is serving in the Ukrainian army — accompanied Legend on a newly released song that includes the lyric, “Rain down freedom until we are all free.”
Iglidan played the bandura, a stringed folk instrument central to Ukraine’s cultural heritage and national identity.
Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk joined at the end, finishing with a poem that asked for protection for Ukraine and her family. Yakimchuk escaped Ukraine less than a week before her Grammy appearance.The Grammy Awards showcase outstanding achievement in the music industry and are presented annually by the Recording Academy.