The 57th Annual Grammy Awards have come and gone, and 83 golden gramophones have been handed out to some of the most talented musicians in the world.
Sam Smith took center stage in just about every way, collecting four Grammys and treating the audience at the Staples Center to a stirring rendition of Song/Record of the Year “Stay With Me.” In contrast to his weepy demeanor on that song, Smith was all smiles on Sunday.
“I can now put the term ‘Grammy award-winning artist’ before things I do, which is the most amazing thing,” he told a group of reporters after the show. “What’s beautiful about this record for me is that I didn’t play a character.”
Grammys 2015: The Full List
But in some cases, heading home with hardware doesn’t necessarily make an act a big winner at the Grammys (see Beyoncé, who got snubbed in the Album of the Year category), just as getting shut out doesn’t guarantee that the ceremony was a loss (see Ed Sheeran).
Here’s my take on who emerged victorious in the broadest sense–and who, or what, did not.
WINNERS
Sam Smith. He won four Grammys–and three out of the “Big Four”–meeting and perhaps even exceeding the already-lofty expectations placed on him for the ceremony. Enough said.
Rosanne Cash. Johnny’s daughter hasn’t won since Ronald Reagan was president, as she cheerfully admitted to the reporters assembled in the media room, but this year she went a perfect three-for-three. Only Smith won more Grammys.
Ed Sheeran. Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2014 lost in all three categories for which he was nominated. But Sheeran wowed millions with a live performance in which he essentially did live band karaoke with a dream team of Questlove, John Mayer and Herbie Hancock. Then he duetted with Jeff Lynne, blowing up the internet in the process.
Kanye West. Though he failed to win a single award, West became one the main stories at the Grammys thanks to two performances and a priceless fake-out interruption of Beck. As a result, West earned more Twitter mentions than any other artist last night. If he really wants to go for the biggest win, he should release his new album in the next 24 hours.
LOSERS
Iggy Azalea. The Australian rapper got shut out, failing to win in any of the four categories in which she was nominated. Those could have been big ones: she was up for two of the Big Four as well as Best Rap Album. Azalea has had to deal with accusations of taking advantage of hip-hop; she’ll need another hit in the not-too-distant future to stick around the pop stratosphere.
Beyoncé. Okay, so it’s hard to really cast Beyoncé as a loser of anything, and she did take home two Grammys. But she was nominated for six–same as Sam Smith–and to come away with just a pair, especially after being the favorite to win Album of the Year, is something of a disappointment (even though it’s not her fault).
The Album of the Year category. With all due respect to Beck, this one should have gone to Beyoncé–or Smith, or Pharrell Williams, or Ed Sheeran. All four had individual songs on their albums that got more spins on Spotify than Beck’s entire album. Honoring an LP nobody has heard undermines the importance of one of the Big Four categories, and thereby the Grammys more broadly.
More info available here: http://www.grammy.com/nominees
NO GRAMMYS FOR KATY PERRY
Thirteen was an unlucky number for Katy Perry.
She's been nominated 13 times for Grammys and last night she went
home empty-handed again.
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''FROZEN`` WINS TWO GRAMMYS
..
The music from the movie ``Frozen'' won two
Grammys last night. Songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez says she's had
people tell her the song saved them from suicide and has helped sick
children recover. She also hears from parents who say it's driving
them nuts because their kids have dolls that sing it over and over.
Anderson-Lopez says both kinds of comments give her inspiration to
create even more. She and her husband, Robert Lopez, are writing
music for the Oscars but won't say what they're doing.
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BOB DYLAN SPEAKS!
For a guy who normally lets his music do the
talking for him, Bob Dylan sure did get chatty. Dylan spoke for 40
minutes in accepting his award as the Recording Academy's MusiCares
Person of the Year on Friday in Los Angeles. He recited his own
lyrics, thanked Peter, Paul and Mary for covering ``Blowin' in the
Wind'' and took aim at his detractors. Dylan says from day one,
critics have said he sounds like a frog but they don't say that
about Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen. Musicians who played Dylan's music
in tribute to him include Beck, Alanis Morissette, Willie Nelson,
Jack White, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne and
Sheryl Crow.
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JOURNEY'S NEAL SCHON SUES SAN FRANCISCO
. Journey guitarist Neal Schon says the city
of San Francisco raised its fee on his wedding when it learned it
would be on T-V. City officials say they did indeed but they were
within their rights in doing that. Schon is suing the city because
he agreed to pay the city 58-thousand for use of the Palace of Fine
Arts for his wedding to ``Real Housewives of D.C.'' Michaele Salahi
. in December 2013. He says six days before
the wedding, the city unfairly jacked up the fee to 240-thousand
when it found out the couple was going to broadcast the event as a
pay-per-view T-V show. Schon says he paid it so the wedding would go
on. City Attorney Dennis Herrara's office says the fee was indeed
increased because the wedding evolved from a small secret wedding to
a commercial broadcast and the city's fees were adjusted
accordingly.
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TRAILER GIVES PREVIEW OF AMY WINEHOUSE MOVIE
. A trailer for the upcoming movie about Amy
Winehouse has been released. The film ``Amy'' is due in theatres in
July or September. The movie's makers wanted to release the trailer
around the Grammys, since Winehouse won five awards at the 2008
Grammys.
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JUSTIN BIEBER'S SHOES SOLD FOR CHARITY
. Canadian pop-star Justin Bieber's shoes
have sold at auction for more than most people would pay for a car.
His Nike basketball shoes sold for more than 62-thousand on eBay to
raise money for a food bank in Stratford, Ontario. His grandparents
donated some of his personal items for the auction. Bieber's Toronto
Maple Leafs bed comforter sold for more than six-thousand dollars.
His pillow case sold for more than three-thousand, while his ceiling
light went for about two-grand.
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RIHANNA SWIMS WITH THE SHARKS
.Rihanna is overcoming her fear of sharks for
the sake of fashion. The Tampa Tribune reports Rihanna swam with
three 2.5-metre tiger sharks at The Florida Aquarium in December for
the March cover of Harper's Bazaar. Rihanna says she loved the movie
``Jaws'' but was so scared she'd stay out of the water whenever a
new sequel was released. She says her father used to tease her by
humming the ``Jaws'' theme song.
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TEGAN AND SARA WILL SING OSCAR SONG
. Calgary's Tegan (TEE'-gan) and Sara and The
Lonely Island will reunite for the Oscars. They have signed on to
perform ``Everything is Awesome'' from ``The Lego Movie,'' which is
nominated for best original song. Adam Levine will perform ``Lost
Stars'' from ``Begin Again,'' while Rita Ora will sing ``Grateful''
from ``Beyond The Lights.'' John Legend and Common will perform
``Glory'' from ``Selma.'' Tim McGraw will take Glen Campbell's place
in singing Campbell's song, ``I'm Not Gonna Miss You'' from ``Glen
Campbell: I'll Be Me.'' Campbell is suffering from Alzheimer's
disease. The Oscars will be February 22 in Los Angeles.
