Grammy Awards – A night of musical recognition

Brian Maurer, Staff Writer

It’s the music industry’s biggest night, the celebration of artists who made an impact with their music.

It’s the Grammy Awards.

The Feb. 15 Grammy Award event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this year was full of surprises and accomplishments.

It was full of great performances as well.

The show kicked off with a performance from Taylor Swift, performing her track ‘Out of the Woods’ from her 2014 hit album “1989.”

The album was the highest selling album of 2014, and was already nominated for many awards.

Alabama Shakes members show off their Grammys.
Alabama Shakes members show off their Grammys.

Soon after, the awards were finally given out. Kendrick Lamar, being nominated for 11 Grammys and already winning two before the ceremony started, won the award for the “Best Rap Album” category.

A few more performances were shown, such as Carrie Underwood’s duet with country singer Sam Hunt, performing their song ‘Take Your Time,’ as well as a tribute performance for Lionel Richie.

The tribute consisted of singers such as Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan, John Legend, and Tyrese.

Later into show, Kendrick Lamar hit the stage. Coming out with chains, he performed his song ‘Blacker the Berry,’ his hit single ‘Alright,’ and finished his performance off with ‘Untitled 3.’

Kendrick’s performance was said to be controversial even before the show started but was well received by many music critics and fans around the world.

Towards the end of the show Lady Gaga hit the stage to perform her tribute to David Bowie. The performance consisted of a lot of lighting effects and visuals, but was successful overall.

Musical icon Angelique Kidjo picked up a Grammy for her music.
Musical icon Angelique Kidjo picked up a Grammy for her music.

Other notable performance consisted of artists and bands like Big Little Town performing their song, ‘Girl Crush’ and Alabama Shakes performing ‘Don’t Want to Fight.’

Both Alabama Shakes and Little Big Town took home Grammy awards.

The Eagles also paid tribute to their leading band member, Glenn Frey.

Coming to the closing of the show, Chris Stapleton and Bonnie Raitt performed a tribute to BB King. Performances from Hollywood Vampires and Justin Bieber came as well. Awards for “Album of the Year” and “Record of the Year” were presented last. Taylor Swift won the award for “Album of the Year” for her album “1989″ and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars won the award for Record of the Year for their song ‘Uptown Funk.’

The show closed with a performance from Pitbull, Robin Thick, and Travis Barker.