Grammys 2015: Biggest snubs and surprises
There was a lot to process in the nearly four-hour affair that was the 2014 Grammy Awards. The night brought some surprising duo performances, some even more surprising upsets and some not-so-surprising wins for Sam Smith.
Here were the evening's most unexpected moments:
LL Cool J's foregoes the opening monologue
The first surprise of the evening came before any awards were given, as LL Cool J opted to skip the opening monologue and instead get the show on the road. The self-aware host may have missed out on some good jokes about the Tom Petty/Sam Smith incident or U2's "free" album, but he instead recognized that the Grammy show is about the music and gave us more of what we wanted.
Music vets steal the show
The adage "Age and experience beats youth" certainly proved true Sunday night, as many of the show's highlights were from music vets returning to the Grammy stage. Electric Light Orchestra offered a nostalgia trip with "Evil Woman" and "Mr. Blue Sky" along with Ed Sheeran, while Annie Lennox brought down the house with "I Put a Spell On You" along with Hozier. And we'd be remiss not to mention AC/DC, who opened the show with "Highway To Hell" and Stevie Wonder, who had a brief moment of brilliance on harmonica with Usher.
Beck wins album of the year
Most people were expecting either Grammy darling Sam Smith or Beyonce to come away with this award, especially because Smith even admitted he'd give the award to Bey if he won. But instead, alt mainstay Beck pulled an "Arcade Fire" and took home the prize for his 12th studio album, "Morning Phase." Because Smith and Beyonce both won multiple awards themselves, everyone -- except maybe Kanye -- seems OK with it.
Taylor Swift goes home Grammy-less
There's a "Blank Space" on Taylor Swift's mantel this morning where she may have expected a Grammy would go. The 25-year-old singer went home Grammy-less Sunday night, though she was nominated in multiple categories for "Shake It Off." The silver lining: Swift's 2014 best-selling album "1989" missed the cutoff for album of the year consideration; we can expect redemption in 2015.
Katy Perry's Grammy curse lives on
Though she may have rocked the Super Bowl, Katy Perry just can't seem to impress Grammy voters. The pop star is now 0-15 for Grammy awards after losing out on all categories she was nominated in for 2014's "Prism." We still love you, Katy.
Performances heavily outweighed presentations
This year's Grammys was all about the music. In fact, only 10 awards were presented over the entire broadcast, while there were a whopping 23 performances. The best part of the Grammys is the performances, don't get us wrong, but between Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine's unremarkable ballad and Ariana Grande's even more unremarkable ballad, it was too much of a good thing. It would've been nice to see some of the artists on the peripherals get a chance to speak, like St. Vincent for her best alternative album win or Eminem for best rap album.
Tell us: What Grammys moments surprised you most?