Although Sam Smith and Beck dominated the 57th annual Grammy Awards, it was Pharrel Williams that killed the show with a phenomenal performance of his hit song “Happy”. Pharrell performed his inescapable Girl single “Happy” on the Grammys with newfound drama, since classical pianist Lang Lang, who played with Metallica at last year’s Grammys, and film composer Hans Zimmer joined him. Dressed like a bellhop in white gloves, blue shorts with yellow shoes, Pharrell led a cinematic intro to the tune that gave way to a typically blissful version of the song with breaks for piano sonatas and gospel breakdowns. In a dramatic twist, the dancers wore hoodies and raised their hands in the “hands up, don’t shoot” motion, showing support for Michael Brown’s protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
Williams was nominated in several categories this year, including his collaborations with Beyonce and Ed Sheeran against himself in Album of the Year, and, as a solo artist, was nominated in four categories: Album of the Year for Girl, Best Pop Solo Performance for “Happy,” Best Urban Contemporary Album for Girl and Best Music Video for “Happy.” He’d already won trophies for the latter three awards by the time he performed; Album of the Year had not yet been announced.
“I won’t keep this awkward and long because I was so prepared for everybody else that is so talented in that category to walk away with that award,” the singer and producer said in his acceptance speech for Best Pop Solo Performance earlier in the evening. After thanking the Academy, and again saying how super awkward he felt, he offered to moonwalk his way off the stage.
‘Happy’ was originally released by Pharrell on the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2 in 2013, and created the world’s first 24-hour music video to accompany it. He later revealed to Howard Stern that he had originally written it with CeeLo Green in mind and that that singer had actually recorded it. Williams said that CeeLo sounded amazing but that “the powers that be” vetoed its release.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”23″ gal_title=”Grammy Award 2015″]
Here is the full winner’s list:
Record of the Year
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)”
Steve Fitzmaurice, Rodney Jerkins & Jimmy Napes, producers; Steve Fitzmaurice, Jimmy Napes & Steve Price, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer Label: Capitol Records; Publishers: Sony/ATV Songs LLC obo Naughty Worlds Ltd./Universal-Polygram Int. Tunes, Inc. obo Salli Isaak Songs, Ltd./Universal Polygram Int. Tunes, Inc. obo Method Paperwork
Song of the Year
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)”
James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith, songwriters
Album of the Year
Beck – Morning Phase
Beck Hansen, producer; Tom Elmhirst, David Greenbaum, Florian Lagatta, Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, Robbie Nelson, Darrell Thorp, Cassidy Turbin & Joe Visciano, engineers/mixers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
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”
Hayley Williams & Taylor York, songwriters
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”
K. Duckworth & C. Smith, songwriters
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”
Shawn Carter, Rasool Diaz, Noel Fisher, Jerome Harmon, Beyoncé Knowles, Timothy Mosely, Andre Eric Proctor & Brian Soko, songwriters
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
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Tom MacDougall & Chris Montan, compilation producers
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat, composer
Best Song Written for Visual Media
“Let It Go” from Frozen
Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters (Idina Menzel)
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”
Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond, songwriters (Glen Campbell)
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
Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer & Judith Hill
Morgan Neville, video director; Gil Friesen & Caitrin Rogers, video producers
We Are From LA, video director; Kathleen Heffernan, Solal Micenmacher, Jett Steiger, video producers
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Max Martin
“Bang Bang” (Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj)
“Break Free” (Ariana Grande Featuring Zedd)
“Dark Horse” (Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J)
“Problem” (Ariana Grande Featuring Iggy Azalea)
“Shake It Off” (Taylor Swift)
“Unconditionally” (Katy Perry)
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
Jeff Ament, Don Pendleton, Joe Spix & Jerome Turner, art directors
Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Susan Archie, Dean Blackwood & Jack White, art directors
The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-27)
Best Album Notes
Ashley Kahn
John Coltrane – Offering: Live At Temple University
Best Historical Album
Colin Escott & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer
Hank Williams – The Garden Spot Programs, 1950
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Beck – Morning Phase
Tom Elmhirst, David Greenbaum, Florian Lagatta, Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, Robbie Nelson, Darrell Thorp, Cassidy Turbin & Joe Visciano, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
Tijs Michiel Verwest, remixer
John Legend – “All Of Me (Tiesto’s Birthday Treatment Remix)”
Best Surround Sound Album
Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Elliot Scheiner, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer; Beyoncé Knowles, surround producer
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 (Malala Yousafzai)
Best Musical Theatre Album
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Jessie Mueller, principal soloist; Jason Howland, Steve Sidwell & Billy Jay Stein, producers (Carole King, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast)
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
