This year’s Grammys ultimately proved to be a celebration of the talents of Taylor Swift. Not only did the 26-year-old megastar pick up the highly coveted album of the year prize but she followed that up with two further awards at the Los Angeles’ ceremony held at the Staples Center. Kendrick Lamar fared even better, as the rapper reflected on a five-award haul to become the most successful artist at this year’s annual American Music awards evening.
Huge seller globally
American singer-songwriter Swift’s fifth studio album “1989” – the same year as her birth - delighted the judges and earned their top album accolade for the past twelve months.
Not too surprising maybe based on music sales alone: the album has sold over 5.7 million copies in the US, with global sales estimated at 8.6 million units.
The pop goddess made history by becoming the first woman to lift the award twice during her musical career. She had previously won the award six years ago for her album entitled “Fearless”, a massive hit across the world with over 9 million sales to date.
Swift’s additional delight
But there was more delight to come for the young lady from Pennsylvania at the 58th edition of the Grammy Awards, as she added best pop vocal album and best music video (for “Bad Blood”) to her night’s haul.
Besides a live performance of “Out of the Woods” from “1989” to kick the evening’s entertainment off, Swift utilised her acceptance speech to thank her fans for their support.
She also provided some heartfelt advice for young women in the music industry to “focus on the work."
Alabama Shakes’ treble
American rock band Alabama Shakes matched Swift’s success. “Sound & Color” was voted as the best alternative music album, while the track “Don’t Wanna Fight” triumphed ahead of the rest of the best rock song and best rock performance nominees.
Five awards for Lamar
Lamar’s expectation levels had been raised in the build up to the event by the news that he had been nominated in a staggering 11 categories, just one less than the record set by the late Michael Jackson.
As it was he triumphed to the tune of five awards but was nonetheless rightfully delighted with his achievement and was believed to have been mentioned in a congratulatory tweet from the White House.
The 28-year-old Californian’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” was selected as the best rap album, with Lamar’s further awards including the best rap song and best rap performance for “Alright”.
His punchy performance on the night was reminiscent of Beyonce’s appearance at the recent Super Bowl, with its clear message concerning race controversy.
Double for Sheeran
British delight came in the form of a brace of awards for Ed Sheeran. He tasted success in the song of the year and best pop solo performance categories for his ballad “Thinking Out Loud”.
‘Uptown Funk’ success
Sheeran was denied in the record of the year category. The weighty collaboration of Bruno Mars with Mark Ronson ensured that “Uptown Funk” scooped that honour in addition to best pop duo / group performance.
Due reward for a track that attained the number one spot in both the UK and US charts. Not only that, the video reached its billionth view on YouTube during 2015, marking it out as the fourth most-watched of all-time (Psy’s “Gangnam Style” unsurprisingly maintains its top spot).
