As usual, the Grammys liked all of that popular music that nobody admits they like
The Grammys are the biggest night of the year for music, at least as far as people tweeting about how much they don’t like popular music goes, so it’s a good idea to get caught up on all of the exciting things that happened during the show. Otherwise, you won’t have anything to not tweet about tomorrow, when the people who like to watch The Grammys are coming down from their post-Grammys high. “Do you know who won the award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album?” they’ll ask, and you’ll say that you don’t because you’re so cool, but actually you do know who won because you read articles like this. It was Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, by the way, and they definitely deserved it.
There were other awards given out than just Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, though, and each one was just as exciting as it was. Tom Petty fan Sam Smith took home Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song Of The Year, and Record Of The Year. Tony Bennett and the increasingly relevant Lady Gaga took home Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Cheek To Cheek, St. Vincent won Best Alternative Rock Album, Eminem won Best Rap Album, and hardcore rocker Beck won both Best Rock Album and Album Of The Year.
The full list of winners is below, but before you start arguing about who won and who should’ve won, just remember that music is such a varied and subjective medium that it’s practically impossible to actually determine what songs were “the best.” However, Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” is now, objectively, the best.
Record of the Year: Sam Smith – “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)“
Song of the Year: Sam Smith – “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)“
Album of the Year: Beck – Morning Phase
Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: A Great Big World With Christina Aguilera – “Say Something”
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – Cheek To Cheek
Best Pop Solo Performance: Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Best Pop Vocal Album: Sam Smith – In The Lonely Hour
Best Rock Performance: Jack White – “Lazaretto”
Best Rock Album: Beck – Morning Phase
Best Rock Song: Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
Best Alternative Rock Album: St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Best Metal Performance: Tenacious D – “The Last In Line”
Best Rap Performance: Kendrick Lamar – “I“
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Eminem Featuring Rihanna – “The Monster”
Best Rap Song: Kendrick Lamar – “I”
Best Rap Album: Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP2
Best R&B Performance: Beyoncé Featuring Jay Z – “Drunk In Love”
Best Traditional R&B Performance: “Jesus Children”- Robert Glasper Experiment Featuring Lalah Hathaway & Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Best R&B Song: Beyoncé Featuring Jay Z – “Drunk In Love”
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Pharrell Williams – Girl
Best R&B Album: Toni Braxton & Babyface – Love, Marriage & Divorce
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer – Bass & Mandolin
Best Dance/Electronic Album: Aphex Twin – Syro
Best Dance Recording: Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Frozen
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Song Written for Visual Media: “Let It Go” from Frozen
Best Country Album: Miranda Lambert – Platinum
Best Country Solo Performance: Carrie Underwood – “Something In The Water”
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: The Band Perry – “Gentle On My Mind”
Best Country Song: “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
Best Bluegrass Album: The Earls Of Leicester – The Earls Of Leicester
Best American Roots Performance: Rosanne Cash – “A Feather’s Not A Bird”
Best American Roots Song: Rosanne Cash – “A Feather’s Not A Bird”
Best Americana Album: Rosanne Cash – The River & The Thread
Best Folk Album: Old Crow Medicine Show – Remedy
Best Music Video: Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Best Music Film: 20 Feet From Stardom
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Max Martin
Best Instrumental Composition: John Williams – “The Book Thief”
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: Pentatonix – “Daft Punk”
Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals: Billy Childs – “New York Tendaberry”
Best Recording Package: Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-27)
Best Album Notes: John Coltrane – Offering: Live At Temple University
Best Historical Album: Hank Williams – The Garden Spot Programs, 1950
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Beck – Morning Phase
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: John Legend – “All Of Me (Tiesto’s Birthday Treatment Remix)“
Best Surround Sound Album: Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Best Regional Roots Music Album: Jo-El Sonnier – The Legacy
Best Reggae Album: Ziggy Marley – Fly Rasta
Best World Music Album: Angelique Kidjo – Eve
Best Children’s Album: Neela Vaswani – I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World
Best Musical Theatre Album: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Best Blues Album: Johnny Winter – Step Back
Best Spoken Word Album: Joan Rivers – Diary Of A Mad Diva
Best Comedy Album: “Weird Al” Yankovic – Mandatory Fun
Best New Age Album: Ricky Kej & Wouter Kellerman – Winds Of Samsara
Best Improved Jazz Solo: Chick Corea – “Fingerprints”
Best Jazz Vocal Album: Dianne Reeves – Beautiful Life
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Chick Corea Trio – Trilogy
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band – Life In The Bubble
Best Latin Jazz Album: Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – The Offense Of The Drum