‘We laughed, we cried, we yawned’ watching the Grammys

By: Katie Christoff – Asst. A&E Editor

On Sunday, Jan 26., the biggest names in music from the past year came together for a little awards show we call the Grammy Awards. Or, as I like to think of it, Super Bowl Sunday for the women of America. New artists cleaned up, our favorites reminded us why they’ve been on top for so long (I’m looking at you, Beyoncé!) and some pretty incredible and unexpected collaborations wowed audiences. Without any further ado, here is a recap of some of the most notable moments from the 2014 Grammys. All four hours of them.

BEYONCÉ AND JAY-Z ARE PRETTY MUCH THE AMERICAN WILL AND KATE
We worship them and treat them like royalty, so why not? The power couple opened the Grammys with a performance of “Drunk in Love” from Queen Bey’s latest album and set impossibly high standards for the rest of the night. Jay-Z continued to please during his acceptance speech for Best Rap/Song Collaboration, which he won for “Holy Grail” with Justin Timberlake. Blue Ivy’s famous father joked “Blue, daddy’s got a gold sippy cup for you!” while accepting his Grammy, sending the audience and the twitter-verse into thunderous laughter and applause. And that was only the beginning of the collaborations.

KILLER COLLABORATIONS
Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons undoubtedly take the cake in this category, after mashing up their songs “m.A.A.d City” and “Radioactive,” respectively. It was such a hit that it’s already a single on iTunes. But it didn’t stop there: Robin Thicke performed his hit “Blurred Lines” with rockers Chicago, Sara Bareilles performed “Brave” alongside Carole King, and Daft Punk teamed up with Stevie Wonder for their second live performance ever. This gave all of the performances a refreshing twist without immediately reverting to obscenity to catch our attention. (VMA’s, anyone?)

WHATEVER WAS ON PHARRELL WILLIAM’S HEAD
The award-winning producer and singer (Producer of the Year) wore a hat that many likened to fast food chain Arby’s logo. Tweeters made endless jokes about what he could be hiding underneath that hat, but maybe it only received so much attention because he was onstage accepting awards for his role in Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” so frequently. Almost instantly it had its own Twitter account (@Pharrellhat – because I know you’re going to check it out now).

LORDE IS BECOMING A “ROYAL”
The 17-year-old Kiwi with the birth name Ella Yelich O’Connor seemingly came out of nowhere this year, yet her hit single “Royals” immediately ruled the airwaves. The teen queen, who openly criticizes pop culture in her music, won two Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Her performance of “Royals” received mixed reviews, with some criticizing her odd dance moves and black paint-dipped fingers. As an openly biased fan, I will tell you that Lorde completely rocked it and her Grammy awards were extremely well deserved.

MACKLEMORE AND RYAN LEWIS CLEANED UP
The rap duo has taken the music industry by storm in the past year, and the Grammys certainly gave them credit for it, presenting them with four awards: Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance (“Thrift Shop” feat. Wanz), Best Rap Song (“Thrift Shop” feat. Wanz) and Best Rap Album (“The Heist”). Critics believe the duo stole titles Kendrick Lamar was more deserving of, but there’s no doubt that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were also deserving of some recognition for their contribution to music this year. And speaking of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis….

THERE WAS A WEDDING!
Every awards show has one jaw dropping, mind-blowing moment that stands out among all the others. This year, that happened when Queen Latifah came onstage and married 34 couples, both gay and straight, during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ performance of “Same Love” featuring Mary Lambert. Oh, and if that didn’t blow your mind enough, Madonna appeared onstage immediately after the nuptials in a cowboy outfit. This performance made staying tuned in for all four hours of Grammy coverage completely worth it.

So there you have it, the highlights of the 2014 Grammys. We laughed (mostly at Pharrell’s hat), we cried (don’t lie, I’m sure you shed a tear during that wedding ceremony) and we yawned (after four hours, it was inevitable). But ultimately, we were not disappointed.