Social media is abuzz with highlights from the 58th Grammy Awards last night, the spotlight so far shining on Taylor Swift’s poor outfit choice and her new Willy Wonka hairstyle, Demi Lovato’s killer rendition of Lionel Richie’s Hello and popular winner Kendrick Lamar. The Grammys were presented by the National Academy of Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles.
Some of the top nominees this year include rapper Kendrick Lamar with a whopping 11 nominations, country star Taylor Swift with 7 nominations, and The Weeknd with 7 nominations. Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift also earned a treble nomination for album, song, and record of the year categories.
Taylor Swift was the first to take on the stage, and everyone seemed quite relieved that she changed into a black, sequinned jumpsuit for this one. Five-time Grammy host and hip-hop artist LL Cool J gave a beautiful summary of what music is all about, just after Taylor Swift’s performance of Out of the Woods with Jack Antonoff. “With all that divides us today, our shared love of music unites us, all of us,” he said.
While Carrie Underwood and Sam Hunt’s duet was slammed by fans on social media, Kendrick Lamar’s performance of Alright received a standing ovation. Adele on the other hand, faced some unfortunate sound problems while belting out All I Ask, but not as unfortunate as Rihanna who had to cancel her performance altogether due to a vocal chord infection.
70s music legend Stevie Wonder paid a beautiful tribute to Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire with his new friends Pentatonix. Another equally moving tribute was by The Eagles and Jackson Browne honoring the late Glenn Frey. Songstress Lady Gaga delivered a set David Bowie hits to pay homage to the British icon.
Kendrick Lamar was the first winner of the night, picking up the Grammy for Best Rap Album. He dedicated the award to hip-hop, and to other incredible rappers before him. Ed Sheeran bagged the Grammy for Song of the Year, albeit facing intense competition from Kendrick Lamar’s Alright and Taylor Swift’s Blank Space. Sheeran’s winning song, Thinking Out Loud, which reached No 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 and No 1 in the UK, also helped him nab the award for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Taylor Swift picked up three Grammys, Best Music Video for Bad Blood and both Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989. Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars and team picked up Record of the Year for the song that rocked 2015, you guessed it, Uptown Funk. The duo also picked up another Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, beating Maroon 5 and Florence & the Machine, amongst others.
The night ended with Pitbull performing El Taxi with actress Sofia Vergara. Yes, we know, it doesn’t make any sense. But it was still great!
For complete list of winners, check out this list by US Magazine!
