The night began with Louboutin heels and Versace gowns gracing the red carpet outside of the Staples Center, where crowds of famous smiles strolled into the building where some would end up walking away with a gilded gramophone from the 58th annual Grammy Awards.
Often toted as music’s biggest night, the event held Feb. 15 began with America’s sweetheart, Taylor Swift, dressed in a glittery jumpsuit performing the concert version of her latest single “Out of the Woods.”
The night continued with 18 other performances, including a powerful tribute to the late David Bowie by pop artist Lady Gaga, in which she embodied his mannerisms for a six-minute medley of nine of his most popular songs.
The cast of “Hamilton” brought life and joy to the stage with a performance of the opening number of their critically-acclaimed broadway show, and rapper Pitbull closed the night off with an over-the-top performance featuring actress Sofia Vergara dancing onstage.
While the show was heavy in tributes and performances, one of the biggest moments went to Swift for winning Album of the Year for “1989” and becoming the first woman to win the coveted award twice.
The Internet did not seem to entirely support the decision as many people left comments arguing that rapper Kendrick Lamar deserved it for his powerful sophomore album “To Pimp a Butterfly.”
“There was definitely an expectation of which artists should win,” said Amanda Alexander, senior business administration major. “There were really no surprises, but that’s not to say that the people who won didn’t deserve it. I personally loved that Taylor Swift won Album of the Year, but with the big names that received the nomination, sometimes people forget about the quality work that comes with the lesser-known artists.”
Social media was blasted with posts concerning Rihanna canceling her performance and Swift’s acceptance speech allegedly referencing the feud between her and artist Kanye West.
Familiar names graced the nominations as major artists such as Swift and Lamar were present in a majority of the categories, leaving little room for fresh faces.
“Typically at the Grammys, there is a tendency for mainstream artists to lose originality and creativity, masquerading as ‘maturing artistically,’” said Tyler Perry, senior applied theology major. “I also see more underground artists crafting their music with integrity and not allowing the industry to dictate the ebb and flow of inspiration and creativity.”
With Record of the Year going to Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, Song of the Year going to first-time winner Ed Sheeran, and Alabama Shakes sweeping the rock category, the Grammys were run by regular chart-toppers.
“I think that this trend has not been a huge part of the Grammys in the past few years, but this year it really stood out for the more popular categories,” Alexander said.
