Taylor Swift made history by becoming the first woman to win multiple Album of the Year Awards as the country pop titan’s 1989 took home the honor of the night.
Kendrick Lamar Brings Visual Poetry To The Grammy Stage
But, despite her feat, the night belong to a trio of performances: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly medley, Lady Gaga’s stellar David Bowid Tribute and Lin-Manuel Miranda and crew’s “Hamilton” routine.
Lamar was particularly electrifying; he mixed his Grammy-winning standout “Alright” with “The Blacker The Berry” and dropped in a new verse from an untitled number. The performance was stirring and visually striking as the Compton rapper took to the stage in chains and ended things with a huge map of Africa behind him. Earlier in the evening, he scored a win for Best Rap Song and thanked hip-hop while shouting out Snoop Dogg and Nas, two greats who (inexplicably) have no Grammy trophies. He even earned props from The White House after his win. K.Dot went on to sweep the rap categories earning four wins.
Only a handful of trophies were given out during the live broadcast. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars notched a win for Record of the Year with “Uptown Funk” and Meghan Trainor was emotional after taking home Best New Artist honors.
Lady Gaga Honors David Bowie In 10-Song Tribute
Largely, the night was about performances and tributes. Lady Gaga would be this month’s MVP if it weren’t for Beyoncé. The pop superstar followed up her Super Bowl vocal acrobatics with a deep-dive into David Bowie’s catalog. Decked out in Ziggy Stardust attire, Gaga belted out favorites like “Fame” and “Let’s Dance” to much fan fare and a cheering smile from Nile Rodgers, who joined her onstage to play guitar.
Miguel honored Michael Jackson and Steve Wonder joined Pentatonix to pay tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White.
The “Hamilton” cast gave the TV crowd a glimpse of what’s been drawing rave reviews (and sold-out audiences). The collective was introduced by Stephen Colbert and then wowed the country with dazzling rhymes and swift moves. They later scored more air time when they won a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
Big nights were also had by Jack Ü, D’Angelo, Mark Ronson and Alabama Shakes, all of whom were multiple winners.
Check out the winners list below.