By NICOLE HORTON& JOSEPH VITALE
CULTURE EDITOR & MANAGING EDITOR
The 56th Grammys were yet another attempt for the music business to reconcile its increasingly polarizing figures, genres and directions. Winners ranged from a New Zealand newcomer to inaudible “robots.” Performers featured members of the greatest band ever to rising stars.
While some of the nominees pushed agendas of marriage equality, some sang the same old songs that glorified fame, sex and money. These juxtapositions, constantly in flux with one another, lasted for about four hours of airtime. A total of 10 Grammys were presented on air.
Just like last year, the endlessly tacky LL Cool J attempted to embody an inspirational music guru, referring to “[the] power of music to free us, to move us, to surprise us,” and later adding “the force of music is universal.” Finally, he acknowledged what we have all been thinking: “There are millions of people who probably don’t know that I made music too.”
Filling the space between the awards were some two dozen performances. One of the year’s breakout artists was chart-topping Lorde, whose modest performance of “Royals,” featured dark tones accompanied by a beautiful a capella arrangement before going into the chorus. To her surprise, Lorde nabbed Best Solo Pop Performance and Song of the Year for “Royals,” the song that propelled her to the top of the charts.
Daft Punk took home some of the biggest awards of the year, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. (Courtesy of Wikimedia)
Another highlight was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s rendition of the sensational “Same Love.” During the performance, Queen Latifah and Madonna presided over the marriage of 33 couples of various races, genders and sexual orientations.
Beyoncé and Jay Z, who both released albums this past year, opened the show with a sensual performance of Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love.” The intimacy between the married couple was far more appropriate than that of, say, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke’s performance at the Video Music Awards. Speaking of Robin Thicke, his performance with Chicago was entertaining and far less controversial. Since Madonna brought a pimp cane, he left his striped suit at home.
Katy Perry, accompanied by Juicy J, a crystal ball and some flames, brought “Roar” to life, although it did not garner any awards. She also performed her recent hit “Dark Horse,” complete with a vampire chic theme, a haunted trail and dancers forming a seemingly mechanical, yet artsy horse. Pink gave an emotional performance of her hit “Try,” along with a duet of “Just Give Me a Reason” with Nate Ruess. However, her acrobatic routine was similar to her 2010 Grammys performance, and it would have been nice to see a fresh spectacle.
Some other performances featured Beatle greats Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, who performed together for the first time in five years. Willie Nelson, Daft Punk, Taylor Swift, Carole King and Metallica were among other live acts who brought together old and new sounds, creating unique on-stage collaborations. Some were more successful than others, although none rivaled Kendrick Lamar’s collaboration with Imagine Dragons, which resulted in an intense, electrifying mash up of Lamar’s “M.A.D.D. City” and Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive.”
The biggest winners of the night were Daft Punk, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Lorde.
Daft Punk grabbed Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Dance/Electronic Album, Record of the Year and Album of the Year for Random Access Memories. The duo’s summer hit “Get Lucky” propelled them into the forefront of the genre’s softer side, although their gratitude towards their fans could only be verbally expressed through one of their many collaborators, Pharrell. The 40-year-old producer and musician awkwardly surmised what the duo would want to say. “Of course they want to thank their families,” he said. The masks the two continue to don, while often defended as science-fiction-inspired, remained obnoxious and gimmicky as ever.
The award for Album of the Year may be considered a surprise feat for Daft Punk in a category with numerous snubs, including Bruno Mars, who was awarded Best Pop Vocal Album, and Justin Timberlake, who had a dynamic return to music this past year. Other than the summer hit single “Get Lucky,” the album did not spawn any other singles or receive much buzz. Meanwhile, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist and Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City received more attention as a whole.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance along with Best New Artist, with the duo’s album The Heist. The album’s radio singles “Thrift Shop,” “Same Love” and “Can’t Hold Us,” have taken them to the top of pop-rap, embracing uplifting messages that draw on hip-hop-inspired beats and hooks.
With rap heavyweights Kanye West and Drake going up against critically acclaimed newcomers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Kendrick Lamar, Best Rap Album was one of the toughest competitions. This says a lot about how far the genre of rap has come, since this category is a somewhat recent addition, added in 1989. However, a rap album has yet to receive the distinction of Album of the Year, which shows that the genre is still seeking further critical validation.
Fans and critics were buzzing that country newcomer Kasey Musgraves deserved to win the award for Best Country Album, but many thought that as usual, Taylor Swift would win in her typically shocked fashion. However, Musgraves would go on to best Swift for the award. It is refreshing to hear about another young female in country music.
For both Grammys fans and the social media world, there were countless noteworthy moments, aside from the awards and performances, which prompted debate and humorous commentary. The prominence of hats at this year’s Grammys, beginning with LL Cool J’s go-to black page boy hat, mirrored that of a British royal wedding. Pharrell’s humongous top hat generated a massive Twitter response, along with its own Twitter account of over 12,000 followers. Madonna also sported a white cowgirl inspired hat for her feature in Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love.”
As usual, you could see Taylor Swift rocking out to numerous performances, especially Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragon’s duet; she and her guest were the only ones standing in their section.
Hopefully viewers had just as much fun as she did watching the 56th Grammy Awards.
