| We Are | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jon Batiste |
| Cover: | Jon Batiste - We Are.png |
| Recorded: | 2019–2020 |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 38:01 |
| Label: | Verve |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | Meditations |
| Prev Year: | 2020 |
| Next Title: | World Music Radio |
| Next Year: | 2023 |
We Are (stylized in all caps) is the sixth studio album by Jon Batiste. It was released on Verve Records on March 19, 2021.[1] In April 2022, We Are won Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards; it earned Batiste nine nominations in total, with five wins.[2]
Following the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, We Are reached its peak at number 25 on the US Billboard 200 with 18,000 album equivalent units.[3]
Batiste began working on the album in late 2019, making it in his dressing room over six days in September and finishing it by mid-2020. While largely written and recorded prior to the events of 2020, the album's lyrical and thematic content reflects such events as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and his involvement in 2020, leading Black Lives Matter protests in New York after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.[4]
On June 12, 2020, he released the single "We Are", featuring the band from his New Orleans alma mater, the St. Augustine High School Marching 100.[5]
As part of Record Store Day 2020, Batiste released a limited edition EP titled We Are: Roots & Traditions.[6]
The album also features Mavis Staples, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty.[7]
Speaking to Atwood Magazine, Batiste described We Are as "a representation of genreless music that's just about the story" and "a culmination of my life to this point".
Batiste released a deluxe edition of the album on October 15, 2021.[8]
Grammy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Album of the Year | We Are | [9] | |
| Best R&B Album | ||||
| Record of the Year | "Freedom" | |||
| Best Music Video | ||||
| Best Traditional R&B Performance | "I Need You" | |||
| Best American Roots Performance | "Cry" | |||
| Best American Roots Song | ||||
| Best Contemporary Classical Composition | Batiste: Movement 11 |
| Peak position | |
| Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[10] | 1 |
|---|---|
| Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[11] | 5 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[12] | 92 |
| Position | ||
| Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[13] | 28 |
|---|