On Feb. 10th, millions of viewers tuned in to CBS at 8 p.m. to watch the 55th Grammy Awards. The live award ceremony ran until 11:30 p.m., and celebrities from across the entertainment industry showed up to walk the red carpet outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The award show was hosted by LL Cool J and featured a wide variety of actors and musicians presenting awards to the industry’s finest. Notable presenters included Neil Patrick Harris, Johnny Depp, Ellen DeGeneres, Beyoncé, Adele and Prince, who made a surprise appearance to present Record of the Year. The actual award categories underwent a massive restructuring and downsizing for the 2012 Grammy Awards, and in 2013 we can now begin to see the lasting impact these changes will have.
Gotye and Kimbra took home Record of the Year for “Somebody I Used to Know,” Mumford and Sons’ “Babel” received Album of the Year, Fun. won Best New Artist as well as Song of the Year for “We Are Young.” Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys took home four Grammy’s, the most of the night. Pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen was notably snubbed for her hit “Call Me Maybe,” which was nominated in two categories. Justin Bieber was delightfully ignored completely by the Grammy’s, and the 18-year-old pop singer attempted to compete with the award show with a simultaneous webcast, though the live stream never successfully materialized.
The CBS live broadcast had a much stronger emphasis on the musical acts performing on stage rather than presenting performers with awards. Due to the scales being tipped in favor of the performances rather than the awards, only one single award in the rap/hip-hop/contemporary categories was presented during the live telecast. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration was awarded to Kanye West, Jay-Z and Frank Ocean for “No Church in the Wild.” The majority of the last third of the ceremony was devoted to paying tribute and honoring music greats who have passed away. Tributes to Bob Marley, Adam Yauch, Dave Brubeck, Levon Helm and Patti Page were all performed.
One of the night’s best performances came from Mumford and Sons who performed their hit “I Will Wait.” Sir Elton John was joined on stage by Ed Sheeran to perform Sheeran’s “The A Team,” while Maroon 5 and Alicia Keys collaborated on a mash-up with their songs “Daylight” and “Girl on Fire,” respectively. Billed throughout the night as “Grammy Moments,” the highly anticipated collaborations and live performances were the clear focus of the evening’s broadcast.
Among the weaker performances of the night were, unfortunately, Taylor Swift and Frank Ocean. Swift, who opened up the ceremony, took time out of her performance to pretend to dial an ex-boyfriend. After famously making headlines after a scripted row with Kanye West at the 2009 Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift has had a tumultuous relationship with the music industry. Lauded by fans for her studio albums and radio friendly hit singles, Swift has frequently found herself under fire for repetitive, boy-hungry lyrics and alleged lack of depth to her music. Swift’s performance wasn’t particularly impressive, and her phony phone call will certainly give her critics additional ammo. Ocean, who was one of a few artists who were nominated for a total of six awards and took home two, performed “Forrest Gump,” but despite a highly hyped appearance and an engaging visual backdrop, his performance wasn’t up to snuff. It was a disappointing Grammy debut for the singer, who was nominated for Best New Artist and who has more than proven his vocal talent in performances on Saturday Night Live and other venues.