Monday marked the reoccurrence of what many call the biggest night in music — the 58th-annual Grammy Awards, revealing the best of all things music in 2015.
In case you missed it, here are the highlights of what certainly was a highly eventful night.
The show opened with an appearance by Taylor Swift, who performed “Out of the Woods” from her hit album 1989. Though the show’s production showed effort, the performance was somewhat awkward, stiff and lackluster. Perhaps with the addition of some more detailed choreography, the show would have been up to par, but sadly, this aspect was severely overlooked, and Swift suffered because of it.
Illustration: Jake Thrasher
After a brief introduction from the night’s host, two-time Grammy award winner LL Cool J, the recipient of the Best Rap Album award was announced.
Against some of the toughest competition in the history of the category, Kendrick Lamar, with his album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” came out on top to take the award.
Lamar’s album has become a standard within the hip-hop community. His aspiration for deeper meaning and lyrical aerobatics in all his verses more than earned him the recognition he received Monday night.
Following this presentation, Carrie Underwood and Sam Hunt a performed “Take Your Time.” You can’t go wrong with the combination of these two incredibly talented vocalists, who easily captivated the audience with their musicality and powerful light show.
The Weeknd gave his performance of two hit songs, “Can’t Feel My Face” and “In the Night.” After seeing the live performance of these two radio hits for the first time, it is more than clear that the use of computer-enhanced vocals are a key part of the pre-recorded tracks. The Weeknd’s voice certainly does not live up to what listeners hear on the album. This was only worsened by the lack of attention put into the production of the show. While there was an attempt to incorporate somewhat of a lighting scheme and melodic theme, ultimately, it was all in vain.
The Best Country Album award went to Chris Stapleton for his project, “Traveller.” The win says a lot about the country genre, as Stapleton’s project represents more of an old school, soulful approach.
After Lionel Richie received the MusiCares Person of the Year award, artists including Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan, John Legend, Tyrese Gibson and Meghan Trainor performed a moving and energetic tribute to him. The performance was a fun, seamless mix of Richie’s biggest hits. Eventually, the man himself made an appearance for a surprise performance of “All Night Long.”
Next, Little Big Town took the stage to perform their Song of the Year nominee “Girl Crush.” With their uniform costume design and an interesting circular stage set up, the band certainly did justice to this highly controversial piece from their most recent album “Pain Killer.”
Following a short tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire by Pentatonix and Stevie Wonder, the Song of the Year award was given to Ed Sheeran for his hit song “Thinking Out Loud.” Although it is not too much of a surprise Sheeran took the award, this year had some tough competition for the category, making it a big win indeed.
The next big performance of the night was that of Kendrick Lamar, which was absolutely superb. Through the use of superior choreography and a breathtaking performance from all participants in the exhibition, Lamar once again proved himself to be one the greats.
The award for Best Rock Performance went to the Alabama Shakes for “Don’t Wanna Fight.” This really came as no surprise to those still following modern rock. The band has basically dominated the genre since the release of their latest album, Sound and Color.
To follow up this announcement, arguably one of the biggest names in music right now, Adele, took the stage to perform “All I Ask” from her most recent smash album “25.” The show, though simple, was special in its own way. Through the use of warm lighting and focus on Adele’s iconic voice, the moment was beautiful.
Justin Bieber, Skrillex and Diplo followed Adele’s powerhouse performance with something quite different. With the aid of electric instruments and a powerful live band, they played hits “Where Are Ü Now?” and “Love Yourself.” Bieber continues to work towards successfully redefining who he is as an artist.
Meghan Trainor received the Best New Artist award for her highly successful work in 2015. Her first album, Title, made quite a splash this past year, dominating airtime for months at a time.
Alabama Shakes eventually made their way to the stage for a powerful performance of “Don’t Wanna Fight.” The Georgia band did not disappoint, delivering that familiar raw musical talent present on all their records.
As the night wound down, Taylor Swift received the Album of the Year award for 1989. As many have remarked, 2015 has been the year of Taylor, and anybody who has turned on the radio should know this award comes at no surprise.
The show wasted no time, and went straight into the Record of the Year award, which was given to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars for the 80s-throwback funk record “Uptown Funk.”
Pitbull closed out the night with a lively and energetic performance.
It was an exciting night in Los Angeles as music’s biggest stars presented, performed and, in some cases, shared social commentary the stage to present and perform, but now the hype is gone, and the event is over. Predictions for next year are already rolling in, and before we know it, we will be in the throes of Grammy season again.
