Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak, the duo otherwise known as Silk Sonic, won Record of the Year at the 2022 Grammys for their ballad “Leave the Door Open”.
Taking to the stage, Mars was filmed lighting up a cigarette while Paak accepted the award. “In the industry, we call that a clean sweep,” Paak said. Silk Sonic won every award they were nominated for at this year’s Grammys, with four gongs for “Leave the Door Open”.
People on social media were quick to react to the singer smoking on stage, which is highly unusual at an awards show.
“Lmao! Bruno Mars lit up a cigarette live on the #GRAMMYs stage after winning Record of the Year. I can’t even deal,” journalist Miranda J wrote.
“Cigarettes are bad for you but Bruno Mars can I bum a smoke off you,” Hemal Jhaveri wrote.
Another begged the question: “Bruno Mars just lit a cigarette on the Grammys stage in the middle of accepting an award, can we talk about that instead of Will Smith now?”
Mars and Paak triumphed over Olivia Rodrigo’s breakout smash “Drivers License”, Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever”, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s rendition of “I Get a Kick Out of You” and six other contenders for Record of the Year.
Mars now ties with Paul Simon as the artist with the second most Record of the Year wins, behind mixing engineer Tom Coyne who has four.
Follow live updates from the Grammy Awards here. See the updated list of winners in full here.
