Houdini 103 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 1. Beyonce Beyonce didn't WIN album of the year for her self-titled triumph, but she easily won the 2015 Grammys for her performance of the Thomas A. Dorsey gospel classic "Take My Hand, Precious Lord." Her voice was restrained but strong at the beginning, adding a little bit of soul to the track of loss and hope. At the end, her voice was raised to the heavens, but selectively. While other singers might show off their range and ability to nail high notes, Beyonce only projected her voice to the roof when it was absolutely necessary. A true pro. 2. Sam Smith & Mary J. Blige When Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" dropped, it was hard to imagine how to improve upon the instant classic. Enter Mary J. Blige. Her strong, emotionally scarred voice pairs perfectly with his wounded, naïve voice. If these two weren't already in the heavens, it would have been a star-making moment. 3. Sia Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids vet (and forthcoming Ghostbusters star) Kristen Wiig was the celebrity on hand to act out Sia's "Chandelier." Sia's video vets Maddie Ziegler and Shia LaBeouf were also there, the former to dance and the latter to read some poetry (or whatever). Their set was astounding, and Wiig's dancing was surprisingly on point. You gotta give it up for Sia -- she comes up with a unique twist on the "Chandelier" live performance every time. Sorry, Gaga, this is the real Pop Art. 4. Rihanna, Paul McCartney & Kanye West Watching Paul McCartney sing feet away from Rihanna -- and then watching Kanye sing-rap while Macca jovially strummed his guitar -- was every bit as crazy and beautiful as we'd hoped for. "FourFiveSeconds" ironically takes time to grow on you, but the presence of three disparate pop stars on stage with each other was one of the most deliriously awesome Grammy highlights. 5. Brandy Clark & Dwight Yoakam The promising country newcomer and the legendary country singer joined forces for her 12 Stories composition "Hold My Hand," a gentle, affecting number that quietly captured everyone's heart in the midst of much bigger performances. 6. Hozier & Annie Lennox Annie Lennox GIFTED newcomer Hozier by lending her incredible bluesy contralto to his breakthrough hit "Take Me to Church." Her air harmonica moment was as little lol-worthy, but when she started scatting toward the end, it was sublime. Standing o. 7. Katy Perry When she brought "By the Grace of God" to the Grammys, she turned the focus from personal heartbreak to survivors of domestic violence nationwide. She took the stage after an introduction from President Obama (urging people to go to ItsOnUs.org) and a domestic violence survivor, who delivered an empowering speech that was easily the Grammys' most heartbreaking moment. Musically, Perry's vocals were 100 percent on point -- it's nice to remember there's an incredible vocal talent behind her candy-coated image. 8. Beck & Chris Martin Fresh off his shocker win for album of the year, Beck took the stage with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to PLAY the Morning Phase highlight "Heart Is a Drum." For those wondering how Beck beat Beyonce, this elegant, introspective acoustic song was a nice reminder that regardless who you were rooting for, Beck is more than worthy of a little limelight. 9. Usher & Stevie Wonder Usher paid homage to Stevie Wonder with a gorgeous run-through of his Songs in the Key of Life classic "If It's Magic." Wonder himself popped in to PLAYharmonica, and while the star power was appreciated, Usher had the whole thing on lockdown. All around classy performance of a classic. 10. Madonna Bringing her Givenchy-masked minotaurs to the Grammy stage for her '90s house-imbued SINGLE "Living for Love," Madonna was a major highlight. She looked killer in her Wild West burlesque outfit and sounded fantastic -- and any performance that ends with Madonna ascending into the heavens get an A grade. 11. Juanes Good on the Grammys for nodding to the growing segment of the American public that loves Latin music (which isn't exclusively made up of Latinos, either) with a Spanish-language performance. Also, good on Juanes for bringing a legit live band to the Grammys for his performance of "Juntos" -- and letting them SHARE his spotlight instead of relegating them to the background like most other Grammy performers. 12. Ed Sheeran With John Mayer, Herbie Hancock & Questlove Even if you're not a Sheerio, you gotta give props to Ed Sheeran at this year's Grammys. His bluesy "Thinking Out Loud" got an incredible legit live performance THANKS to an all-star backing band: John Mayer, Herbie Hancock and Questlove. 13. Miranda Lambert The country queen turned in a kick-ass version of "Little Red Wagon" that mixed twang and rock riffs in equal measure. This was just a straight-up knockout performance. Lambert GETS BONUS points for delivering the first bleeped-out moment of the Grammys. 14. John Legend & Common The Golden Globe-winning duo performed their affecting Selma song "Glory" as the closing number. While Beyonce is a hard act to follow, their passionate delivery of a 21st century anthem was nevertheless marvelous. 15. Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga The Irving Berlin-penned "Cheek to Cheek" is the title track to their duets album, which won the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album this year. It's been a while since a straight-up jazz performance hit the Grammys, and it was a welcome change of pace. 16. Jeff Lynne's ELO & Ed Sheeran After Jeff Lynne's ELO delivered "Evil Woman," Ed Sheeran joined ELO for the immortal "Mr. Blue Sky. With Lynne and Sheeran trading vocals on the transcendent epic, it was a throwback Grammy moment that truly worked. 17. Kanye West Turning the Grammys into a very intimate affair, Kanye performed his tribute to his late mother within the space of a slender column of light. It was surprisingly quiet and reflective for 'Ye and the Grammys, but a nice reprieve from an otherwise in-your-face evening. 18. Ariana Grande Ariana Grande was one of the few performers to score a solo spot at the Grammys. Backed by string section and a set that looked like Superman's Fortress of Solitude, she delivered a vocal showcase performance of "Just a Little Bit of Your Heart." When it was over, she clasped her face with shaking fingers, seeming genuinely nervous and ecstatic. 19. AC/DC Australian hard rock legends AC/DC were one of the handful of artists repping the AA/RP at this year's Grammys. The schoolboy uniform enthusiasts performed the title track to their latest studio album, "Rock or Bust," and the classic "Highway to Hell." Pyrotechnics abounded, Katy Perry wore devil horns in the audience, and returning drummer Chris Slade managed a seamless performance. 20. Pharrell Pharrell's "Happy" redux was a mix of The Grand Budapest HOTEL, beatnik performance art and a classical orchestra having a collective heart attack. Lang Lang (or "Long Long," according to the Weeknd) PLAYED piano and Hans Zimmer was on electric guitar, which is a major achievement in itself. But seriously, did anyone actually enjoy this? On the other hand, it wasn't exactly boring. But it was the biggest WTF moment at the Grammys. 21. Jessie J & Tom Jones Two British vocal powerhouses joined forces to perform "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" in tribute to Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, the iconic songwriting couple that has been married since 1961. Both received the Trustees Award at this year's Grammys. Their voices blended together well enough, but the whole thing felt a little karaoke-ish after the first verse. 22. Eric Church The often hard-rocking Eric Church delivered a fairly middle-of-the-road performance of his otherwise great "Give Me Back My Hometown." Not bad, but not killer. 23. Adam Levine & Gwen Stefani The two rock frontpersons joined forces for "My Heart Is OPEN," a track on Maroon 5's V. Vocally it sounded fine, but the song is a bit of a snoozer, so it kinda just drifted by without making much of an impression. This song is the audio equivalent of fetch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torsoface 3,262 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 AP 2 times hun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SissyFromSpace 20,883 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 so.... #1 is best 23 is worst...? Barbie elitist - Weaboo - Sissy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViviLittleM 3 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 AP 2 times hun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini 103 Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 ok bye Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan 20,538 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I don't think Beyonce's was the most memorable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faux 2,190 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 so.... #1 is best 23 is worst...? yes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropico 4,145 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Omg Beyonce's performance wasn't that great Forgettable imo But it's Bey so of course she'll get praise... ♢ Social Justice Enthusiast ♢ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glory 2,247 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 About Katy "it's nice to remember there's an incredible vocal talent behind her candy-coated image." Billboard officialy lost its credibility Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Apple 13,006 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 1)AP 2)Beonce is so overrated from everyone..This performance was NOTHING special..It didn't even deserve to be in top 10 tbh About Katy "it's nice to remember there's an incredible vocal talent behind her candy-coated image." Billboard officialy lost its credibility she sings fine when she doesn't move around Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropico 4,145 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Sorry, Gaga, this is the real Pop Art. WTF BILLBOARD WHY ♢ Social Justice Enthusiast ♢ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SychosSoChic 9,995 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Beyoncè could **** on a brick and forcefeed it to puppies, then make those puppies do a reenactment of the Human Centipede 2, and still get praise I swear Life ain't Hollywood for any one of us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putin 0 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Katy Perry - 7 ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fucbjk 631 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I f**king hate how people (Mostly Gays) Glorify anything Beyonce does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Pinkman 4,660 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 What was so spectacular about the Rihanna performance? I don't understand the praise. :toofunny: It's science, bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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