Saturday, December 7, 2024

Charts: Jon Batiste Award Winning Album, Single Zoom Up to Top of iTunes Before Grammys Are Even Over

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Before the Grammys began at 8pm, Jon Batiste’s album, “We Are” and its single, “Freedom,” were not even on the charts.

But a plug on “CBS Sunday Morning” today — and quite a story about his wife’s illness — plus his performance on the Grammy show have sent his sales soaring. Earlier in the afternoon, “Freedom” won Best Music Video.

Before it was even announced that “We Are” was album of the year, the collection had already zoomed to number 2 on iTunes. The single went to number 3.

We won’t really know how well they’ve done before 1am Eastern when iTunes updates again.

But the Grammy effect and “Sunday Morning” combined to push Batiste to the top. He looked stunned when he won. The betting money was Olivia Rodrigo. I thought Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett would take the top prize.

On Sunday Morning, Batiste revealed to the world that he recently secretly married his wife, who he’s been with for 8 years. They also talked about her ongoing battle with cancer. It was very moving.

Yet, Batiste is a sensation. He’s the band leader on CBS’s Colbert talk show– I’m surprised “Sunday Morning” didn’t run that piece about him and his wife weeks ago when people were voting.

And then his performance on the Grammys was off the hook. I guess he won’t be staying much longer on Colbert. He’s got a big career now.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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