Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Just Like That’ Takes Song of the Year in Surprise Grammys Win

And just like that, Bonnie Raitt has another Grammy to her name. In an upset win, the icon won the 2023 Grammy award for song of the year for “Just Like That” on Sunday (Feb. 5).

Receiving the award from first lady Jill Biden, Raitt called this win “an unreal moment.” And indeed, it sort of was, with Raitt’s bittersweet ballad about a heart transplant beating out mega-hits including Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” and Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version).” 

“Thank you for honoring me to all the Academy that surrounds me with so much support and appreciates the art of songwriting as I do,” Raitt said in her acceptance speech. “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’s organs to help another person live.”

Raitt then evoked late songwriting legend and friend John Prine, adding that “this story was so simple and so beautiful for these times, and people have been responding to the song partly because how much I love and we all love John Prine, and that was the inspiration for the music for this song, and telling a story from the inside. I don’t write a lot of songs, but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one.”

“I”m just totally humbled,” Raitt concluded.

The award mark’s Raitt’s eleventh Grammy win. She first won in 1990, picking up four awards for her now classic LP, Nick Of Time.