What a night. There was politics, there was dancing, there was crazy highs and surprise guests. A chance at a sequel, a dancing pop star, Jesus shout outs, duets, a new golden boy crowned and so many conversation starters. It was a night that easily topped last years ceremony and their was a definite sense of new beginnings and spirituality in the air. Let’s dive in and see the best and worst moments from last night’s Grammy awards.
BEST: The new Adele.
Sam Smith took home 4 Grammys and further cemented his status as the new Adele. From Song of the Year to Record of the Year, his graciousness came across with each trip to the stage and he capped it off by singing a soulful rendition of “Stay With Me” with Mary J. Blige. Sam got to do what ALL of us have dreamed of doing last night, too. He thanked his ex for breaking his heart and winning him 4 Grammy’s. THE ULTIMATE BURN. You go Sam Smith!
BEST: This is the Voices.
Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani brought the chemistry to their performance of “My Heart is Open”. It was a perfect showcase of their styles and voices. It was a major plus to see their friendship come across when they’d break character to smile.
WORST: Same old, same old (with a grande ponytail of course)
Ariana Grande performed. Did she sing good? Sure. Was it expected? Yup. High ponytail, long dress, eyes closed, big notes, no movement? Check. It was another typical performance that we’ve come to expect.
BEST: Taylor Dancing Swift.
She came. She saw. She Danced. Once again Taylor fangirled like no other and provided the genuine excitement we’ve come to expect from her. She also showed her genuine enthusiasm for her fellow nominees when they were given accolades. I wonder what she thought of Ed Sheeran teaming up former boyfriend and current Katy Perry boyfriend, John Mayer?
BEST: Pharrell delivers a moment.
Call me crazy, but Pharrell’s transformation of “Happy” was everything and more. He wove a deeper subtext to the song by adding hoodies, “hands up, don’t shoot”, Hans Zimmer and Lang Lang. Only Pharrell could have made such a performance and take it into a memorable moment. He capped if off by giving God a shout out, “Thank you God, as you can see, I’m at Your service Lord.” Looks like Hozier took someone to church.
Pharrell also got real awkward when walking off stage after winning a Grammy. The reason it was awkward though… He was wearing shorts.
WORST: I just don’t get it?
Madonna performed. It was a mashup of matadors and Maleficent that was to be expected. In night full of positivity and light, the darkness and desperation for controversy seemed out of place and welcome to DVR fast forwarding.
BEST: John Legend and Common.
What a way to close off the night. It’s no easy feat to follow up Beyoncé, but the boys brought it home with passion and positivity. It was a fitting way to end a night full of social and political commentary. It didn’t hurt that they both sang and rapped with their all to bring the “Glory”.
BEST: “Imma let you finish but… Prince wore the best suit of all time”
Kanye has jokes, guys… or at least we think he does (was it a joke Kanye?). Yeah, Beyoncé should’ve won Album of The Year, so naturally Kanye attempted to storm the stage to pull a T-Swift interruption. He didn’t go through with it, which led us all to believe it was a joke. Just watch Jay-Z and Beyonce’s reactions here:
After this, Beck performed and “who is Beck” started trending because the internet is an awful place. The best part of all of this: Prince.
BEST: Sia and Kristen Wiig… in a wig.
I finally understood Sia and “Chandelier”. After the intial surprise of seeing funny woman Kristen Wiig join Maddie Ziegler in a stirring performance, I understood Sia’s reasoning for the song and the choice of performance. Also, can we talk about the fact that Kristen Wiig can dance? Because girl can dance.
BEST: Katy Perry, Brooke Axtell and President Obama.
It may have seemed on the heavy handed side to some, but from the moment Brooke Axtell shared her story to the last note that Katy sang, I was speechless. It was a beautiful way to tie an inspirational story to Katy’s new single “By the Grace of God”, it was a perfect way to educate America.
And then left shark made an appearance. #NEVERFORGET
UNDECIDED: Kanye, Rhianna & Paul.
It was… interesting. I couldn’t decide if it was genius or just plain crazy. I felt bad for Paul McCartney, he’s better than this and I suspect his microphone was off. That being said, it was nice to see Rihanna showing off her vocal skills and making them the center of attention. Meanwhile, Kim was in the audience all like “I’m trying to enjoy this but my ex step dad is turning into a woman.”
BEST: No Bad Blood Here.
6 years later the bad blood is all gone. Apparently Taylor was able to ‘shake off’ Kanye’s former actions and the two posed for a photo together. However I wouldn’t count on seeing Kanye and Kim at Taylor’s next game night and cookie baking.
BEST: Beyoncé.
Album of the Year snub aside, Beyoncé owned the moments she was son stage like only she can. From shouting out to the BeyHive after winning for ‘Drunk of Love’ to tolerating Kim Kardashian. The whole show was made when she stepped up to sing “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”, showing class and knowing just when to hit the right notes, in others words, FLAWLESS.
What a night, next year’s Grammys will have quite the job to top this years. But with Taylor Swift likely to be a top nominee and chances of more Beyonce, more collaborations and the hint at new stars emerging, it’ll be quite the event.
