58th Grammy Awards thrills with rousing performances


On Monday night, CBS broadcasted the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, music’s biggest night that honors the year’s best performances. The award show was held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles and hosted by rapper and NCIS star LL Cool J, who has now hosted the ceremony five times.

In recent years, the Grammys have had an overhaul of categories for their awards, especially those they choose to broadcast live. However, Monday’s telecast showcased  more live performances and fewer award presentations and speeches. The majority of the awards focused on the best albums in each of the major genres, as well as Song of the Year and  Record of the Year, respectively.

The highlights of the night included several performances by some of the biggest names in music today. Audiences across the world were treated to Taylor Swift opening of the show, following The Weeknd’s ballad version of “In the Night” and Kendrick Lamar’s powerful arrangement of tracks from his acclaimed album, To Pimp a Butterfly. The cast of the Broadway hit Hamilton brought the crowd to their feet with a medley of songs from the musical, which merges early American history and hip-hop.

Transitioning into the memoriam of late musical heroes, Lady Gaga paid tribute to rock legend David Bowie with covers of his songs, while Jackson Browne and The Eagles remembered Glenn Frey, a core member of the band. Chris Stapleton, winner of Best Country Album, took the stage with Gary Clark Jr. and Bonnie Raitt to perform late-blues legend B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone.”

Additionally, Adele’s  highly anticipated performance was distorted due to technical issues, but the English singer displayed great poise and composure throughout her set. Other performers throughout the evening included Stevie Wonder, Alabama Shakes, Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Demi Lovato and Carrie Underwood. On CBS’s online portal, viewers were able to take a look behind the scenes and see live interviews of award recipients and performers backstage.

Perhaps the strongest reactions of this year’s show were attributed to Kendrick Lamar’s performance, who enthralled viewers with a high energy rendition of “Blacker the Berry,” “Alright,” and “Untitled 3,” with depictions of a chain gang and protest with unique camerawork incorperated on stage. However, a considerable amount of dissent was felt over the Grammy’s decision to award Taylor Swift the award for Album of the Year for 1989, as Lamar swept the awards in the rap categories for his album. Different reasonings for Lamar’s loss range from race to commercialism, as the album scored a composite 96 percent on Metacritic, as compared to 76 percent for Swift’s release.

Nonetheless, both performers conducted themselves with class, as Swift hugged Lamar before receiving her award. Swift is the first woman in history to win Album of the Year twice, and used this feat as inspiration for the next generation in her speech. Swift’s statement also took the higher road in another ordeal, with a subtle reference at the inflammatory Kanye West lyrics in his latest release, The Life of Pablo, where a misogynistic remark digs up old feuds from the 2009 VMA incident. Without mentioning the rapper by name, Swift decried West’s lyrics and encouraged young women to “focus on the work” and not let people “undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.”

The Grammys presented the most awards to first-time winners this year; likewise, it will be interesting to see if this will be the beginning of many great careers from these newer artists.