OH, LORDE!
Daft Punk walks away from Grammys with five trophies; Macklemore & Ryan Lewis take four in rap categories
TEEN SENSATION SCORES BIG AT GRAMMY AWARDS FOR HIT SONG ‘ROYALS’
LOS ANGELES — The 56th Grammy Awards gala was defined by breakthroughs, with critically beloved French dance duo Daft Punk gilding its transition to the mainstream with a leading five awards — including album and record of the year — while Macklemore & Ryan Lewis made off with the rap categories and teenage songwriting Lorde enjoyed a coronation of her own.
In what was widely considered an impossible race to predict, Daft Punk — the duo of 39-yearolds Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo — walked off with the evening’s top prize for their influential Random Access Memories, a crossover hit that found the masters of elegantly textured electronic music embracing live instrumentation and a retro esthetic, referenced by a Grammys performance alongside soul legend Stevie Wonder.
Given that the duo stays resolutely silent under various helmets, any talking was left to collaborators such as Pharrell Williams (the slick singer on ubiquitous summer smash Get Lucky and himself a four-time Grammy winner on Sunday) and 1970s singing icon Paul Williams.
Given the overall strangeness — and yes, randomness — of this particular Grammys, there was something appropriate about two white-clad space robots silently accepting the biggest award in the music business.
“This is the most insane thing,” Paul Williams said as he and other collaborators gathered onstage following the final award. “Back when I was drinking and using, I used to imagine things that weren’t there and it was frightening. And then I got sober and two robots called and asked me to make an album.”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had a titanic night too, making off with four — including a sweep of the major rap categories and a best new artist win — while participating in the evening’s defining performance set piece.
With the stage dressed as an electric ministry, Macklemore delivered the pair’s gay rights anthem Same Love before Queen Latifah officiated the onstage marriage of 34 real couples, a number that reportedly included Lewis’s own sister.
Oh, and a white-clad Madonna popped up to duet with the song’s original guest vocalist, Mary Lambert.
And in their acceptance speech for best new artist, Macklemore was sure to remind the audience just how unlikely all this was for an independent (albeit radiofriendly) hip-hop act.
“Hoooo. Wow, we’re here on this stage right now,” said an apparently disbelieving Macklemore, standing next to a silent Lewis. “First and foremost, I want to thank our fans, the people that got us on this stage, before there was any media, before there was any buzz about us, before there was a story there were our fans and it spread organically through them, so without them there would be no us. Shout out to anyone repping worldwide.”
New Zealander Lorde, 17, was similarly gobsmacked with each of her two wins, particularly a lofty song of the year honour that arrived for her widely loved breakout single Royals.
In recent years, the Grammys have become increasingly reliant on blind-date collaborations between musical odd couples that, on paper, shouldn’t work and — in practice — usually do, at least as a fleeting curiosity.
Metallica’s sweeping, pulverizing classic One was a snug fit for the theatrically furious piano stylings of Chinese classical superstar Lang Lang, who added a flurry of eerie keys while duelling with frontman James Hetfield. Robin Thicke, never afraid of veering slightly into camp, did so again while trilling lead vocals on soft-rock institution Chicago’s Beginnings, Saturday in the Park and Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? before the band’s famous horn section buoyed his sleazy summer smash Blurred Lines for the close.
A purple-caped Katy Perry emerged out of a semi-opaque crystal ball to sing Darkhorse on a dark forest-themed stage covered with twisty trees and prowling black-clad dancers.
And yet, some of the evening’s most memorable performances opted for stark minimalism.
Beyonce began her showopening performance of Drunk in Love with steam-sopped hair, cavorting suggestively around a chair before a tuxedoed Jay Z bopped onstage and led his partner down the stairs by the hand.
Lorde performed her breakout anthem Royals unadorned, from a small circular stage in the centre of the arena, flanked by a drummer and keyboardist.
And a sparkly but sombre Taylor Swift played All Too Well parked at a grand piano.
Also notable, of course, was the reunion of surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, who joined forces on Queenie Eye with the former seated at a brightly coloured piano at centre stage while Starr gamely slammed away on the drums behind him.
McCartney also won a Grammy for best rock song (an honour he shared with the former members of Nirvana), while Bruno Mars won for best pop vocal album for his Unorthodox Jukebox.
Drake went home emptyhanded despite scoring five nominations. The only victorious Canadians were Michael Buble, winning best traditional pop vocal album for a fourth time, and Montreal-based kids’ songwriter Jennifer Gasoi, while Toronto-raised pianist Chilly Gonzales earned an album of the year trophy for his contributions to Daft Punk’s opus.