Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars And Mark Ronson Were Among The Big Winners At The 2016 Grammys
Music’s biggest night belonged to Kendrick Lamar. The Compton, California born rapper won five Grammys on Monday night, including Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Lamar also appeared during the broadcast to give a standout performance that ranked as one of the night’s best.
Lamar led the Grammys 2016 ceremony with 11 nominations, and won three awards for To Pimp A Butterfly before the broadcast even began on CBS: Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for “Alright,” and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “These Walls.” His fifth award was for Best Music Video as part of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video.
It was Swift who started the ceremony off in earnest. The 26-year-old performed “Out of the Woods” with Jack Antonoff on guitar, and ended her performance by dropping a glitter bomb on the crowd of assembled music dignitaries. She later won Album of the Year for 1989, one of three awards for the pop megastar on the night.
The other big winners on Monday night included Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, who won Record of the Year for “Uptown Funk,” and Meghan Trainor, who took Best New Artist.
As usual with the Grammy Awards, the evening was stuffed with performances and pairings – called “Grammy moments” by host LL Cool J. In addition to Lamar and Swift, the show featured Adele singing her new single, “All I Ask,” Alabama Shakes, The Weeknd, and tributes to Lionel Richie (featuring Richie, Tyrese, Demi Lovato, Meghan Trainor, Luke Bryan, and John Legend), Earth, Wind and Fire (by Stevie Wonder and Pentatonix), Glenn Frey (by Jackson Browne and members of the Eagles), and David Bowie (by Lady Gaga).
With 83 categories and at least 15 performances and tributes to get through on Monday night, the Recording Academy started handing out many of its awards early. Swift was the first big winner announced during the Grammy Awards pre-ceremony, taking home Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989.
The Weeknd, who also scored seven nominations, won Best R&B Performance for “Earned It” from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack and Best Urban Contemporary Album for The Beauty Behind the Madness.
Other notable winners included Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars (Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Uptown Funk”), Alabama Shakes (Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Don’t Want to Fight,” and Best Alternative Music Album for Sound & Color), Skrillex and Diplo (Best Dance Recording for “Where Are U Now,” featuring Justin Bieber, and Best Dance Album), Little Big Town (Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song for “Girl Crush”), D’Angelo (Best R&B Song for “Really Love” and Best R&B Album for Black Messiah), and Amy (Best Music Film). Jimmy Carter won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album.