The 57th Annual Grammy Awards honored talented artists from a variety of genres on Sunday Feb. 8. Here are the winners in some of the major categories:
Album of the Year: Beck, Morning Phase
Beck stirred a lot of controversy at the Grammys by winning both in this category and Best Rock Album while competing against albums from prominent artists Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Pharrell Williams. I won’t lie—I hadn’t heard much about Beck before the Grammys. Still, his genre is vastly different from those of his competitors, and this may have helped him stand out from the other nominees. Kanye West was so shocked that Beyoncé didn’t win, however, that he almost pulled a repeat of his stunt with Taylor Swift during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. West followed Beck onstage and nearly stole the mic, but then thought better of it. On the plus side, this incident made for a great GIF.
Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Smith snagged this category, competing against Bastille, Iggy Azalea, Brandy Clark and Haim. There’s no denying Smith’s vocal talents and hard work have paid off big time this year, especially considering this was only the first of many wins for the young pop star.
Best R&B Performance: Beyoncé featuring Jay Z, “Drunk in Love”
No surprises here. Beyoncé and Jay Z’s “Drunk in Love” won against Christ Brown ft. Usher & Rick Ross, Jennifer Hudson ft. R. Kelly, Ledisi and Usher. Who can really compete against this power couple? Even though many were surprised Beyoncé lost against Beck for Album of the Year, she still went home with three awards.
Best Pop Solo Performance: Pharrell Williams, “Happy”
Although there’s no doubting that Williams’ winning song “Happy” has been overplayed, it is a catchy one and it demonstrates the artist’s vocal prowess well. “Happy” beat out John Legend’s “All of Me,” Sia’s “Chandelier,” Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off.”
Song of the Year: Sam Smith, “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)”
Smith was clearly the star of the night, winning a total of four Grammys. He competed against Sia’s “Chandelier,” Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” and Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” to win Song of the Year. He also won Best Pop Vocal Album for In the Lonely Hour and Record of the Year for “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version).” Many people, myself included, wondered if it was really necessary to play so many snippets of “Stay With Me” throughout the Grammys.