Performances by Sam Smith, Sia and Beyonce rock the Grammys

 

Dana Hogan

At this year’s Grammys, Sam Smith stole the show, both in awards and, debatably, performance. It was no surprise that the  singer of “Stay With Me” whose powerful voice and profound lyrics captured the attention of both listeners and critics alike, took home the most awards of the night. Smith won Song of the Year and Record of the Year for his breakout song “Stay with Me,” as well as two of the night’s other big awards, Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album. Not only did the artist take home some of the biggest awards of the night, but his worthiness was demonstrated through his impressive and emotional performance performance with Mary J. Blige. 

This performance, however, was just one of the 23 acts that took place in the Staples Center on Sunday evening. One major surprise among these many performances was comedian and actress Kristen Wiig’s appearance in Sia’s “Chandelier,” which also featured Maddie Ziegler of “Dance Moms.” Ziegler seems to be a “mini-me” of Sia, from dancing in the music videos “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart” and accompanying her on the red carpet.  While Ziegler’s appearance in Sia’s performance was no surprise, Wiig was definitely an unexpected guest. 

Other notable performances of the night included Kanye West’s solo rendition of “Only One,” as well as a collaboration with Rihanna and Paul McCartney singing “Four Five Seconds.” Katy Perry (sans her now infamous sharks) wowed the audience, as did Miranda Lambert, Ed Sheerhan and AC/DC, just to name a few of the many other exciting performances from the show. 

One of the more highly anticipated and well received performances of the night was from, of course, Beyonce. Queen Bey did not, however, take home Album of the Year, a title many thought she would surely snag. Instead, Beck surprisingly took home the coveted award with his album “Morning Phase,” which also earned him the award for Best Rock Album.

Other sought after awards were Best Pop Solo Performance, which went to Pharrell Williams for “Happy,” Best Country Album, which went to Miranda Lambert for “Platinum” and Best R&B Song, which went to Beyonce, featuring Jay Z, for “Drunk In Love.” 

Despite all of the entertainment provided by the elaborate performances and the anticipated awards, the night would not have been complete without some antics from Kanye. 

Upon the announcement of Beck’s “Morning Phase” winning Album of the Year, Kanye began marching up onto the stage, a nod to his 2009 VMA stunt during which he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to assert that Beyonce had the best video of all time. While the crowd at first stared in awe and worried shock, they quickly relaxed and laughed the incident off as Kanye returned to his seat. 

Kanye was not so amused, as he noted in a post-show interview, “Beck needs to respect artistry, he should have given his award to Beyoncé,” and that, while he did not say anything during the show, “you all knew what it meant when ‘Ye stepped on that stage.” Clearly, it was a night full of song, surprises and glamour that kept everyone entertained.