The Grammys open with Silk Sonic energetic performance in 2022

When it comes to setting the mood at an awards event, Silk Sonic is the man to call. In honor of the 53rd Grammy Awards, it was Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars who opened the show today (April 3), establishing the stage for a telecast that will also feature J Balvin, Lil Nas X, BTS, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., and more.

The highly anticipated joint effort from both Paak and Mars, An Evening with Silk Sonic, came out in November. The album featured nine tracks, as well as contributions from Thundercat, D’Mile and Bootsy Collins, who served as its narrator. The album also received universal acclaim (particularly for the singles “Leave The Door Open” and “Smokin Out The Window”), An Evening with Silk Sonic also received excellent reviews (it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 thanks to 104,000 album equivalents sold in its first week). Before the year 2022 arrived, the project also hit the billion-stream mark.

Since .Paak’s fourth studio album Ventura was released nearly three years ago, a collection of 11 songs include collaborations with Sonyae Elise, André 3000, Lalah Hathaway, Smokey Robinson, Jazmine Sullivan, Brandy, and the late Nate Dogg. While this was taking place, Mars released his third studio album, 24K Magic, later that same year.

As reported by Ebro Darden for Apple Music, .Paak discussed his experiences collaborating with Mars on the above-mentioned release:

“It was important to me. It was just like being in the studio with them, taking it all in, living in the moment. I’ve already done a few collabs with everyone. Do you know what the cheat code is? Friends told me to link up with this fellow to get the cheat code. If you can get Bruno on your side, it will be awesome.”