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.
