I felt for Ed Sheeran. I thought the British troubador’s album X was very good and that it had a good chance of snaring a Grammy trophy or two. Even if it didn’t, I do not think Sheeran or anybody for that matter would feel bad about losing to Beyoncé or Pharrell Williams. But then along came this also British soul balladeer with a voice like melted honey who made an album while nursing a broken heart and has now run away with four Grammy trophies from right under Sheeran’s snoot.
That is right. First time nominee Sam Smith was the guy with the most to celebrate about at the 57th Grammy Awards held last Sunday at the Staples Center in L.A. Smith was named Best New Artist, while his album In The Lonely Hour won for Pop Vocal Album and his single Stay With Me (Dark Child Version) got the plum prizes of Best Recording and Song of the Year. Beyoncé and Pharrell came next with three wins each, followed by the also British alternative rocker Beck who won two trophies.
Now while Smith must indeed feel like celebrating, the air at this year’s Grammy Awards was certainly not so. Probably in-keeping with the mood evoked by the winners, note that both Smith’s Stay With Me and Beck’s Morning Phase are introspective meditations, the show was serious, somber, sad and predominantly in mourning black. Neither the high energy set by opening rockers AC/DC or the sexy and powerful singing of Annie Lennox were able to lift the spirits of those watching the show. I know I will always remember the 2015 Grammys as the time when they chose to beat their breasts to seek atonement for their sins.
To be fair though, the 57th Grammys also featured some of the best singing ever heard in the annual show. This is what happens when performers choose to ditch booming accompaniments in favor of laid-back arrangements. Doing this at the Grammys enabled the likes of Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry and most notably, Usher to show off excellent vocals in moving ballads. Because of this, something I never imagined would happen was there on the screen. Rihanna in a modest black pantsuit singing FourFiveSeconds with West and Sir Paul McCartney.
There were also those who went for the other extreme with an orchestra and even a huge choir like Pharrell with his very different take on Happy, Beyoncé’s majestic Take My Hand Precious Lord and John Legend with his Oscar-nominated Glory. It was really almost all too much of a sad thing that I thank heaven that Madonna was there with a new single Living For Love for us to gawk at, that a fantastic combination in Smith and Mary J. Blige affirmed the victory of Stay With Me and the singing duo of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga dancing Cheek To Cheek showed us what great timeless music is.
Here is the list of the Grammy 2015 winners:
Record of the Year: Sam Smith, Stay With Me (Dark Child Version).
Song of the Year: Stay With Me (Dark Child Version).
Album of the Year: Beck, Morning Phase.
Best New Artist: Sam Smith.
Pop Vocal Album: Sam Smith, In The Lonely Hour.
Pop, Duo and Group Vocal Performance: Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, Say Something.
Pop Solo Performance: Pharrell Williams, Happy.
Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Cheek To Cheek.
Rock Song: Paramore, Ain’t It Fun.
Rock Album: Beck, Morning Phase.
Rock Vocal Performance: Jack White, Lazaretto.
Metal Vocal Performance: Tenacious D, The Last In Line.
R&B Performance: Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, Drunk In Love.
R&B Song: Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, Drunk In Love.
Urban Contemporary Album: Pharrell Williams, GIRL.
R&B Album: Toni Braxton and Babyface, Love Marriage and Divorce.
Rap Performance: Kendrick Lamar; Lecrae, All I Need Is You.
Rap/Song Collaboration: Eminem featuring Rihanna, The Monster.
Rap Song: Kendrick Lamar, I.
Rap Album: Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
Reggae Album: Ziggy Marley, Fly Rasta.
Compilation Album for Visual Media: Frozen.
Song Written for Visual Media: Let It Go from Frozen.
Score for Visual Media: The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Musical Theater Album: Beautiful – The Carol King.
Music Video: Pharrell Williams, Happy.
Music Film: Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fisher and Judith Hill, 20 Feet From Stardom.
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awardees: Bee Gees, George Harrison, French composer Pierre Boulez, blues guitarist Buddy Guy and Tejano accordion artist Flaco Jimenez.