The Grammys are a huge night for music fans. While we tend to shake our head and wonder how some of these artists won (ie. "Album of the Year"), it's entertaining to watch the live performances and keep fingers crossed for our favorite artists. fun. won big last night, sweeping up the "Song of the Year" award for "We Are Young" and beating out Frank Ocean for "Best New Artist."
This year's Grammy awards show was a little lacking in the scandal department, but we're still too mesmerized by Justin Timberlake to care. Check out our recap of the 2013 Grammy Awards after the jump.
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-fun.'s "We Are Young" Wins Grammy Award for "Song of the Year
Taylor Swift takes a jab at her ex: We get it, Taylor. You're never ever getting back together with One Direction's Harry Styles, but the opening performance at the Grammys is not the time or the place to drive the point home. In spite of initially lacking class, she was pretty entertaining to watch throughout the night as she seemed stoked to every band.
Elton John, for better or worse: Ed Sheeran wrote a boring song that teenage girls love, and Sir Elton somehow made it even more boring in the duo's rendition of "The A Team." We can't fault John for that, as his contribution to the Levon Helm tribute totally made up for it.
Big Singles: Adele won the Grammy for "Best Pop Solo Performance" for "Set Fire to the Rain." While it's nice to see Adele triumph over generic songs by Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, and Katy Perry, we can't help but wonder why she's still winning awards for 21.Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne swept up three Grammys. We can't really complain about "No Church in the Wild" overtaking "Wild Ones" for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration." Gotye and Kimbra's overplayed "Somebody That I Used To Know" took Record of the Year, beating out more deserving tracks like "Thinkin Bout You" and "We Are Young," but it was almost worth it to see a sassy, soft spoken Prince gush about Gotye. Almost.
Weird commercials: While it's good to emphasize the importance of prostate exams, your lady will be pretty pissed if your gift to her is a trip to the doctor. (The ad is lying, she really does want diamonds.) It was pretty funny to see Taco Bell's spoof of fun.'s "We Are Young" after the group got rained on during "Carry On."
What do these people have to do with country? Bonnie Raitt and John Mayer make a strange duo. Congrats to Raitt for winning her 10th Grammy, but Mayer just looked like awkward, douchey arm candy. Keith Urban and Kaley Cuoco were worthy of a few head scratches as the duo presented the award for "Best Pop Vocal."
Cringe-worthy couples: These folks could take a nod from Taylor Swift--John Mayer and Katy Perry were coupled up and Chris Brown and Rihanna were spotted getting cozy, ick. Years later, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban still look pretty uncomfortable together. I wonder how much Kanye West loathes Wiz Khalifa now that he's paired with Amber Rose.
"Who is that Miguel guy, anyway?" It's a good time for neo-soul, as Miguel collaborated with Wiz Khalifa for a stunning performance of "Adorn." Kelly Clarkson was right, "that was the sexiest damn thing" we have ever seen as well.
Justin Timberlake: Did you see how excited Ellen Degeneres and Beyonce were to introduce JT's comeback? It was completely warranted as the singer performed his sultry new song "Suit & Tie" with a little help from Jay-Z and a backing big band. Timberlake's retro appeal was a little excessive, as the video faded into a sepia tone, but overall it was a classy affair.
How is "urban contemporary" different from R&B? Frank Ocean gets his first big win in this year's brand new category. It seems like a fancy way to describe R&B, but R&B had its own category--The Robert Glasper Experiment beat out musicians like R. Kelly and Tyrese. Ocean, Chris Brown and Miguel probably could have been placed in the same category, but we're glad to see the humble singer take a win, even if Tyler the Creator looked surprisingly calm and normal.
The confusing "Best Rock Performance" category: Someone really should inform the academy that Coldplay and Mumford & Sons are not rock bands.
Kelly Clarkson isn't that bad after all: I'd be perfectly content if I never heard "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" ever again. It's easy to write her off as a bubblegum pop act, but she nailed it during her tributes to Patti Page and Carole King.
The collaborations: Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band made The Black Keys' hit "Lonely Boy" (Which won the Grammy for "Best Rock Performance") even more bluesy and awesome. We were never expecting Sting, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, and the Marley kids to play a song together, but the group did Bob Marley some justice by performing "Could You Be Loved?" Jack White had one of the most memorable performances of the evening thanks to talented musicians and a cool peacock jacket.
The Levon Helm tribute was pretty glorious--Elton John and Mavis Staple stole the thunder in this cool collaboration with T. Bone Burnett, Zac Brown, Mumford and Sons, and Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes).
LL Cool J finally stopped blabbering on about Twitter and explaining musicians' country of origin by joining Z-Trip, Chuck D, Tom Morello, and Travis Barker for "Whaddup." The supergroup spliced in a chorus of Beastie Boys' "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" as the song awkwardly faded into the show's end credits.
The invasion of indie folk:Just as folks were baffled about the likes of "Arcade Fries" and "Bonny Bear" winning awards, I can't help but scratch my head as indie folk appears to be overtaking the "alternative" genre. In a world where Taylor Swift is stoked on "Ho Hey" and Mumford and Sons take "Album of the Year," Three Doors Down may have been inched out once and for all.
Shut up already, Katy Perry: Dissing Bon Iver and plugging your eyelash line wasn't funny.
The outfits: Kelly Rowland and Carly Rae Jepsen both looked stunning, but Carrie Underwood dominated with her lit up ballgrown.
Frank Ocean...yay? He had stunning visuals during his performance of "Forrest Gump," but his vocals weren't quite up to par. Fortunately, the singer still went home with a Grammy.
You were robbed! Kelly Clarkson beat out Florence + the Machine and fun. for "Best Pop Vocal Album," ouch. Babel took "Album of the Year," really? Channel Orange was arguably the most deserving, so now we're stuck with Mumford and Sons being overplayed even more.
It wasn't televised, but the "Best Alternative Music Album" category had some pretty great submissions. Fiona Apple, M83 and Tom Waits could have easily taken the award, but instead it went to Gotye.
