Photo Courtesy of Dmileson, Wikipedia
Many first-time winners hoisted their awards aloft at the 58th Grammy Awards, presented Monday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The annual celebration of the music industry’s top performing acts centers on the most popular and celebrated music of the year.
Taylor Swift, whose songs dominated the airwaves this past year, won three awards last night, making her the first woman in the history of the Grammys to win two album of the year awards.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar made a clean sweep of the rap category with his album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” which narrowly lost the album of the year award to Swift’s “1989” album.
Other musicians who received recognition included Ed Sheeran for pop solo performance and song of the year (Thinking Out Loud), Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars for record of the year and pop duo performance for “Uptown Funk” and collaborators Skrillex, Diplo and Justin Bieber for dance recording, giving Bieber his first Grammy award.
Lady Gaga paid tribute to the late David Bowie by covering several of his classic songs and dressing like the icon.
Junior Cara Housel felt Gaga’s performance was one of the more memorable parts of the Grammys: “Lady Gaga’s performance was definitely memorable. Not only was there the hair and clothes, but she paid tribute to a legend,” she said.
Bowie, who was known for eccentric and wild costumes, evidently lives on not only through his music, but also through active musicians like Gaga.
Riding high on the success of her album “25,” famed British vocalist Adele’s much-anticipated performance was mildly derailed by technical difficulties that included microphone issues and audio production inconsistencies.
Sophomore Ben Bland was disappointed by the performance, saying, “I waited all night for Adele to come on stage. Had my popcorn and everything, and was ready to be moved, and instead I got a mic malfunction from the most expensive night in music. Just a shame.”
Perhaps the most memorable performance of the night can be attributed to Lamar. With a huge onstage bonfire and tribal dancers, Lamar inspired with renditions of his songs “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright.”
The night was highlighted by mainstays in the music industry, and also featured some new nominees who are sure to become regulars at the event for years to come.
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