WASHINGTON — It was a night to honor the craft of music’s most talented artists. But it was also a night to celebrate the “music that moved the masses,” as Beyonce foreshadowed before opening the final envelope at the 58th annual Grammy Awards on Monday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
So with that mainstream mantra, the top prize of Record of the Year fittingly went to “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, beating out “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd, “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran, “Really Love” by D’Angelo and The Vanguard and “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift.
“I see George Clinton over there, a man who has done more for the word ‘funk’ than we could ever hope to dream of in our entire life. So I want to thank James Brown, George Clinton, Jam and Lewis, Prince, The Meters, Earth, Wind and Fire,” Ronson said in his acceptance speech.
“Thank you guys so much, this is dedicated to the fans. We wouldn’t be up here if it wasn’t for the people dancing to this song. Thank you guys so much!” Mars added with a giant smile.
Moments earlier, Swift made history as the first woman ever to win Album of the Year twice, first with “Fearless” in 2010 and now with “1989,” which spawned hits like “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood” on its way to defeating Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” the Alabama Shakes’ “Sound & Color,” The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness” and Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller.”
“There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. And that will be the greatest feeling in the world,” Swift said in a subtle retort to Kanye West’s recent claims that he “made her famous.”
Not only was it “swift justice” against Kanye, it was an upset for pundits who thought Lamar’s “Butterfly” might make him the first rapper to win Album of the Year since Outkast in 2004. Others thought “Alright” would make him the first rapper ever to win Song of the Year, but the songwriting prize instead went to Sheeran for his romantic gem “Thinking Out Loud,” which defeated Swift’s “Blank Space,” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth’s “See You Again.”
While Lamar lost out on making history, he still racked up a leading 11 nominations and five wins, including Best Rap Album for “To Pimp a Butterfly” and Best Rap Song for the Pharrell-produced “Alright.” He also ignited the stage — and social media — with his fiery live performance, coming out in handcuffs against a cell-block backdrop, before busting out of chains in the neon glow of a black light, followed by the burning bonfire of a street riot and the rapid flash of a strobe light that ended with Lamar silhouetted against the outline of Africa embroidered with his hometown “Compton.”
If Lamar’s performance was the pyrotechnic showstopper, the best stripped-down performance belonged to Little Big Town for the heartbreaking ballad “Girl Crush,” which won two Grammys for Best Country Song and Best Country Group Performance. Country colleague Chris Stapleton also won two statues with Best Country Album for “Traveller” and Best Country Solo for the title track.
In the rock ranks, Alabama Shakes dominated with three Grammys, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Don’t Wanna Fight” and Best Alternative Album for “Sound & Color.”
On the soulful side, The Weeknd won Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Beauty Behind the Madness” and Best R&B Performance for “Earned It,” despite an introduction by Ariana Grande that he had “earned it,” a pun that brought crickets from the crowd. While The Weeknd performed “Can’t Feel My Face” in a suave bow tie and tux, his “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack peer Elle Goulding performed her hit “Love Me Like You Do” in a clever pop mash-up with Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”
Another club favorite, Justin Bieber, performed “Love Yourself” after winning his first Grammy for Best Dance Recording with “Where Are Ü Now,” sharing the prize with Skrillex and Diplo. That’s right, if you’re keeping track, Bieber now has something in common with former President Jimmy Carter, who won a Grammy in the spoken word category Monday for his recent audio biography.
Speaking of historic American figures, the Broadway cast of “Hamilton” performed live in a first for the Grammys, preempting what’s sure to be a massive Tony Awards for the blockbuster musical.
While fans of “Hamilton” were thrilled, fans of Rihanna were disappointed after the star canceled her Grammy performance due to reported bronchitis. Adele fans were also disappointed by apparent sound problems during her performance of “All I Ask.” Have no fear; retribution may be near. Her “25” album has sold 8 million units in the U.S. and figures to do major damage at the 2017 Grammys.
Old-school fans also got their share of love in the broadcast. Run DMC received the Grammy Life Achievement Award, while various stars paid tribute to Lionel Richie. John Legend sang “Easy,” Demi Lovato belted “Hello,” Luke Bryan performed “Penny Lover,” Meghan Trainor performed “You Are” and Tyrese performed “Brick House” before Richie himself took the stage to sing “All Night Long.”
The show also featured touching tributes to those we lost this year. Lady Gaga “faced the strange” in a stirring tribute to David Bowie; Stevie Wonder & Pentatonik paid their respects to Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire; Jackson Browne joined the surviving members of The Eagles to honor Glenn Frey; Chris Stapleton, Bonnie Raitt & Gary Clark Jr. saluted blues legend B.B. King; Dave Grohl introduced The Hollywood Vampires of Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Joe Perry for a tribute to Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister; and footage of Natalie Cole closed out a touching “In Memoriam.”
Still, in the end, it was a night to celebrate the stars of today, as the show closed out with an anti-climatic performance by Pitbull and Robin Thicke, who cut Mars’ acceptance speech short. Here’s an idea: Why not have the show’s final winner stay on stage and perform after winning the top prize?
Surely, the crowd would have rather danced the night away to “Uptown Funk.”
Forget those who want to claim the jam is overplayed on the radio.
Guaranteed we’ll still be dancing to it decades from now.
Don’t believe me? Just watch.