In case you missed it, the 56th annual Grammy Awards featured a night of strange collaborative performances and several surprising winners.

Beyoncé kicked off the night with her song “Drunk in Love” from her latest self-titled album accompanied by her husband Jay-Z – a solid performance to say the least.

New Zealand’s new sensation Lorde followed up the opener with “Royals” [Song of the Year & Best Pop Solo Performance].  Apart from her unique sound, she was incredibly difficult to watch.  At times, it seemed as though she was having minor convulsions on stage.  In the long run, it will be interesting to see her growth as an artist; after all, she is only 17 years old.

One act that surprised me was Keith Urban’s “Cop Car”.  Even though I’m a heavy hater of country music, he earned my respect after battling blues rocker Gary Clark Jr. on guitar.

Shortly after, Imagine Dragons played their smash hit “Radioactive” featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar – a very unorthodox pairing to say the least.  Kendrick was able to successfully complement the electronic rock sound with a verse from his nominated album’s title track “m.A.A.d. City” and even a freestyle outro.  However, some fans saw this pairing as an insult to the genre, especially after Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ The Heist won Rap Album of the Year.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ Grammy success was feared by many rap lovers.  The independent group’s hasty rise to fame has unfortunately overshadowed their actual music – giving them the reputation as ‘sell-out’ artists.  Even Macklemore recognized the injustice of his win by texting Kendrick an apology.  When nominated artists are acknowledging fault in Grammy decisions, something has to be wrong.

On the other hand, a large chunk of the show included a tribute to The Beatles.  Paul McCartney, reunited with Ringo Starr, joined Dave Grohl [lead singer of the Foo Fighters] to celebrate a legendary song legacy.  The one thing that I love about the Grammys is how it brings together different generations of musicians to perform.

Pharrell, Stevie Wonder, Nile Rodgers, and Daft Punk’s performance had some pitch problems early on but eventually built up a great groove.  Daft Punk’s wins for Record, Album, and Electronica Album of the year shocked a lot of pop music fans.  Although “Get Lucky” seemed well deserving for a winning Record, Random Access Memories was not impressive as a whole, especially for Daft Punk’s standards.  Having listened to the entire album, I can honestly say that there are only 3 or 4 quality songs.  Disclosure’s debut Settle should definitively have earned Best Electronica Album.
I enjoyed the closing performance by Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age until it was cut off by show credits half way through their set.  This insult sent waves of frustration through the Alternative Rock community over social media.

In the end, “the Grammys is nothing but famous people celebrating fame” (Profe Felty).  Although the show had its ups and downs, artists’ commercial and popular success should never dictate your own musical tastes.