How Bonnie Raitt Beat Out Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Other Biggies to Win Song of the Year at the Grammys 2023

At this year’s Grammys, American blues singer and guitarist Bonnie Raitt bagged the award for Song of the Year for her peaceful and calming track “Just Like That.”  

At our Grammys 2023 roundtable discussion, we noticed that although the Song of the Year category had some of the biggest names in music today such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Adele, Kendrick Lamar and others, a common denominator for all those nominations was that there were literally teams of songwriters behind each one of those tracks.  

The only nomination that had a sole writer and performer credited to it was Raitt’s “Just Like That.” In today’s age of so many people working on a single track, it is quite heart-warming to see that the award went to an artist who did it on her own.  

Raitt even took home the award for Best American Roots Song for “Just Like That” and also won the Best Americana Performance for “Made Up My Mind.” Both tracks are off the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted musician’s 2022 album Just Like That, her first in six years. Raitt is also credited to have self-produced the LP.  

In her acceptance speech for Song of the Year, Raitt said, “This is just an unreal moment. Thank you for honoring me, the only academy that surrounded me with so much support and appreciates the art of songwriting as I do. I was so inspired for this song by the incredible story of the love and the grace and the generosity of someone that donates their beloved organs to help another person live.” 

The singer added, “The story was so simple and so beautiful for these times. And people have been responding to the song partly because of how much I love and we all love [late American singer-songwriter] John Prine. And that was the inspiration for the music for this song, telling the story from the inside. I don’t write a lot of songs but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one and of what this means for me and for the rest of the songwriters, and I would not be up here tonight if it wasn’t for the art of the great soul digging, hardworking people who put these songs and ideas to music. So, I thank my team for helping me get this record out and thank you so much. I’m just totally humbled. I really appreciate it. Thank you.” 

Raitt’s win should be an example for songwriters and musicians out there that all you need to write a song is a voice and an instrument. There’s no need for 10 or 15 people to get behind a single track. Write from within, one’s heart and soul, and that is sure to resonate with tons of people. So, congratulations, Bonnie Raitt, on this achievement and big win, and keep inspiring us all.