By Nicolette DiMura
Staff Writer
A-list stars such as Beyoncé, Jay Z, Ed Sheeran, Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, John Legend and others walked the red carpet for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. on Sunday Feb. 8.
The show opened with an introduction from its host, LL Cool J and a performance from the legendary band, AC/DC. The Australian hard rockers played the title track from their album, “Rock or Bust.” After, they played “Highway to Hell.”
Sam Smith was the name of the night, winning four awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, New Artist, and Pop Vocal Album. Mary J. Blige, along with several backup singers and a small orchestra, joined Smith on stage for a rousing performance of Smith’s hit song “Stay With Me.”
Ariana Grande made her debut with the tender ballad “Just A Little Bit Of Your Heat,” co-written by One Direction’s Harry Styles. Grande’s appeared in a full-length, black gown.
“I’m a huge fan of hers and I loved it.” Adrianna Gnagnarelli, a freshman strategic communications major said. “I thought she looked and sounded awesome,”
With Taylor Swift now a pop artist, country music’s No. 1 blonde is Miranda Lambert. Lambert sang a cover of Audra Mae’s “Little Red Wagon.”
Pharrell Williams won three awards: Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Music Video, and Best Urban Contemporary. He performed yet another version of his smash hit “Happy,” a song he has performed multiple times since its release a year and a half ago.
One of the world’s most expressive and controversial artists, Kayne West, performed “Only One,” circling around the stage as he sang about his late mother.
West jokingly jumped on stage during Beck’s Album of the Year speech, mocking the infamous incident with Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards when she won Best Female Video instead of Beyoncé.
West later joined Rihanna and Paul McCartney for a stripped down version of “FourFiveSeconds,” their newest single off Rihanna’s eighth album.
Ed Sheeran, brought emotion to the stage as he performed “Thinking Out Loud,” with the legendary Herbie Hancock from Questlove on the piano and John Mayer on the guitar.
“I thought his performance was really classy because that’s just the type of person he,” said Sarah Gebhardt, a freshman journalism and mass communication major. “It was a good balance between the song playing and the acting. Overall, it was really good compared to some performances.”
Hozier and Annie Lennox performed “Take Me to Church” and “I Put a Spell on You.” The unique duo brought the audience to their feet in a standing ovation. Hoizer’s first-ever Grammy nomination was for Song of the Year with “Take Me to Church.”
Lady GaGa and Tony Bennett threw back some 1920’s glamor with their striking performance of “Cheek to Cheek.” Later in the night, the duo landed a Grammy for Traditional Pop Vocal Album for the admired song off their newest album, “Cheek to Cheek.”
Beyoncé and Jay Z won Best R&B performance. The “Drunk in Love” singer helped close the show with the gospel song, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” from the Oscar- winning movie, Selma.
