Who The Heck is Beck?: Grammys Recap
The biggest night in music aired recently on Sunday, February 8th. The 57th Annual Grammy Awards had its usual treats – wacky fashions, touching tributes, Taylor Swift’s version of dancing, and Kanye’s rants – in honoring good music!
Starting off the show was the Australian rock band, AC/DC, performing favorites like “Highway to Hell.” LL Cool J, a Grammy winner himself, hosted the event for the fourth consecutive time as only he can. Everyone had their eyes on and fingers crossed for British singer-songwriter Sam Smith, who was nominated for six awards. He won only four, including “Best New Artist” and “Song of the Year” for “Stay With Me.” Very reminiscent of fellow Brit, Adele, it goes to show that being fucked over by a loved one does make for brilliant music as Smith thanks his ex- boyfriend during his acceptance speech.
What’s a night at the Grammy’s without the queen Bey winning something? She managed to snag three out of her six nominations, including “Best R&B Song” for “Drunk in Love,” making that a total of twenty Grammys on her mantle. No shocker. She also closed the three and a half hour show with a gospel number called, “Take My Hand Precious Lord,” for only Beyoncé can gyrate on stage one year and preach, looking like an angel in the other.
Delightful surprises, however, took place on the stage. Former Saturday Night Live member, Kristen Wiig, appeared during Sia’s performance of “Chandelier” donning a blonde wig similar to the singer’s. Talk about random. And a Beatle (Paul McCartney) graced the stage with Kanye West and Rihanna, performing the latter’s latest single “FourFiveSeconds.” Who knew that was even possible? Stevie Wonder was given a beautiful tribute by a host of artists led by Beyoncé, including Ed Sheeran, Usher, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Mind blowing performances were definitely “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and Stevie seemingly approved.
Prince, rocking an afro and dashiki, had one of the best quotes of the night when he said, “Albums still matter. Like books and black lives, albums still matter.” The biggest surprise of the night was Beck taking home the award for “Album of the Year,” an honor most would say belonged to Beyoncé, if not Sam Smith. In an interview shortly after, Kanye West ranted that the award should have been given to Beyoncé. Fortunately for the Oscars, West won’t be present.
