While references to the war in Ukraine were fairly subdued at the Oscars, President Zelensky made a special virtual appearance at the 64th annual Grammy Awards. In the powerful message, which was recorded 48 hours before the event from a bunker in Kyiv, he urged musicians to 'tell our story'.
After the video address, John Legend performed his new track 'Free' with dancers wearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Legend was joined by Ukrainian singer Mika Newtown and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, who had fled the country only days earlier.
What did Zelensky say in his speech at the Grammys?
Here is Zelensky's speech in full: 'The war. What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died. And we’ll never see them drawing. Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning in bomb shelters. But alive.
'Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again. The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence. Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.
'We defend our freedom to live, to love, to sound on our land. We are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on your social networks, on TV. Support us in any way you can. Any — but not silence. And then peace will come. To all our cities the war is destroying — Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Volnovakha, Mariupol and others — they are legends already. But I have a dream of them living and free. Free like you on the Grammy stage.'
The emotional moment at the Grammys follows actions by the wider music industry in response to the war. Spotify suspended its service in Russia and closed its office in Moscow, while three major record labels, Sony, Warner Music and Universal Music, along with global entertainment company Live Nation have suspended operations in Russia.
READ MORE: This Is What You Can Do To Help People In Ukraine Right Now