On February 10, the 55th Annual Grammy Awards crowned not only just the favorites in the music industry this year, but a more diverse group of artists than usual. Last year, Adele took home six Grammy’s, while this year, Fun., Mumford & Sons, the Black Keys, and Gotye were all awarded at least two Grammy’s each.
Starting off “music’s biggest night,” second-time host LL Cool J introduced Taylor Swift for a predictably-pitchy mess of a performance of “We Are Never Getting Back Together.” Perhaps in the most controversial moment of the night, Swift seemingly mocked ex-boyfriend Harry Styles during the speaking part in the song, using his English accent in place of her usual voice. Soon after, the first Grammy’s of the night were awarded.
For the general categories, it was pleasing to see that Record of the Year went to Gotye for “Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra).” Debatably the biggest category of the night, the Grammy for Album of the Year was given to Mumford & Sons for Babel. In another huge category—Song of the Year—Fun. was the predictable winner with “We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe).” The newfound New York band also won Best New Artist—obviously.
In Pop, Best Pop Solo Performance went to Adele for “Set Fire to the Rain”(Live). It seems safe to say that compared to her six Grammy’s last year, Adele was taking a little bit of a break this year with only one Grammy win and nomination. Being the only artist ever to win Best Pop Vocal Album twice, Kelly Clarkson was victorious with Stronger, about seven years after the Idol’s win with Breakaway. Also, if there were a Grammy category for Best Acceptance Speech, Clarkson definitely would have won that, too. Gotye received his second Grammy of the night for “Somebody That I Used to Know” as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
The Black Keys swept the Rock categories clean, winning Grammy’s for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song (both for “Lonely Boy”). The Ohio duo also took home the Grammy for Best Rock Album with their seventh studio album, El Camino.
For R&B and Rap, not many of the acceptances were televised. However, Best R&B Performance went to Usher for “Climax” and Best Rap Performance was given to Jay-Z and Kanye West for their collaborative “N****s in Paris,” which also won Best Rap Song. Another one of Jay-Z and Kanye’s prize-winning joint efforts included “No Church In The Wild,” which beat out the competition of the night to win Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Nominated for Song of the Year, Miguel’s “Adorn” finally triumphed, winning Best R&B Song. Frank Ocean—a newcomer in the music industry, and Drake—a hip-hop pro, scored Best Urban Contemporary Album with Channel Orange, and Best Rap Album with Take Care, respectively.
Carrie Underwood dominated the Country awards of the night winning the Grammy’s for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song, both for “Blown Away.” However, Zac Brown Band snagged the win for Best Country Album for Uncaged.
As for the performances that took place on “music’s biggest night,” the best included artists from several genres. Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley sang Lambert’s “Over You” and Bentley’s “Home” together; the duet was graciously mastered by both of the Country stars. Justin Timberlake promoted his new single “Suit & Tie,” adding a black and white retro vibe to the Grammy stage, and later joined Jay-Z for “Pusher Love Girl.” Rihanna also made a long-awaited reappearance with her own new track, “Stay (feat. Mikky Ekko),” sounding and looking as beautiful as ever. As a tribute to Patti Page and Carole King, Kelly Clarkson sang a medley of “Tennessee Waltz” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Clarkson’s soprano range showed as she brought us back to her days on American Idol when she sang “Natural Woman” once again. Finally, Carrie Undwerood stole the show when she sang her own medley consisting of “Blown Away” and “Two Black Cadillacs.” The flawless performance Underwood gave as her dress was lit up by special light effects made everyone watching wonder if a performance could be any more perfect.
Overall, the night of the 55th Annual Grammy Awards was an unforgettable one. There wasn’t just that usual winner who wins every Grammy for every category they are nominated in, but there was an array of fresh faces and new musical groups who won the most prestigious music award any artist could dream of winning.
