Bonnie Raitt’s Shocking 2023 Grammy Awards Win Brings Deja Vu
Bonnie Raitt has a theory about her shocking win at the 2023 Grammy Awards. It's not a great theory, but it's about the best she can do, given the competition.
The genre-defying legend won the Grammy for Song of the Year for her song "Just Like That," a song she says was inspired by the late John Prine. It was her third Grammy win of the night and definitely the one she least expected. Songs by Adele, Harry Styles and Lizzo were also up for the award.
"Somehow, everybody canceled each other out or something," she said after the show.
Raitt says she is the artist who's benefited most from winning Grammy Awards in her career. During separate backstage conversations, she oozed gratitude and surprise.
Of the meme-worthy moment where her name was announced and she sat stunned for several seconds before standing, she says she was having something of a flashback.
"It was like one of those dream states," Raitt shares. "It is kind of a deja vu of when that happened with Nick of Time."
At the 1990 Grammys, Raitt's Nick of Time album put her on the map when it beat strong albums by Don Henley, Tom Petty and more for Album of the Year. No one expected that win and nobody expected this one.
"And Dr. Biden gave me my damn award. Get the hell out of dodge," she squealed during media availability after her win.
"Just Like That" is the title track of Raitt's 2022 album. She wrote the song — a rarity — for people who've suffered loss during the pandemic.
"And then we lost John Prine (in April 2020) and I just wanted to write a song about what it feels like to tell the good news stories," she says. "It’s a heart-wrenching story, but a heartwarming story about grace and redemption. God knows we need some stories like that right now."