WATCH: ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey recaps music’s biggest night
TORONTO — The 56th Grammy Awards on Sunday were a celebration fit for “Royals” — the ubiquitous single from 17-year-old singer Lorde.
The newcomer from New Zealand beat artists like Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars to win Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
It was also a good night for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who earned trophies for Best New Artist, Rap Performance, Rap Song and Rap Album. The duo performed during the show with help from Madonna and Queen Latifah, while 33 couples tied the knot.
WATCH: Is an awards show the right place to make a political statement?
But the Grammy for Album of the Year was awarded to Random Access Memories by French music duo Daft Punk. The album earned another pair of awards, including Dance/Electronica Album.
Daft Punk also got lucky with Pharrell Williams for their collaboration “Get Lucky” (Record of the Year and Pop Duo/Group Performance), which they performed on the show with Stevie Wonder and Nile Rodgers.
READ MORE: Compete list of Grammy winners
Lorde’s Song of the Year win (with co-writer Joel Little) was bad news for Nova Scotia’s Henry Walter, who was nominated for co-writing Perry’s “Roar.”
Toronto’s Drake came up empty-handed, as did Toronto’s Mychael Danna (Life of Pi) who lost the Score Soundtrack category to Thomas Newman (Skyfall).
Vancouver native Trevor Guthrie’s collaboration with Armin Van Buuren, “This Is What It Feels Like,” lost the Best Dance Recording category to “Clarity” by Zedd feat. Foxes.
Half-Canadian singer Robin Thicke failed to win any Grammys but performed with Chicago early in the broadcast.
Two Canadians were honoured with Grammys on Sunday — albeit not during the live broadcast.
Jennifer Gasoi and Michael Bublé were early winners at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
Gasoi won Best Children’s Album for Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well at the pre-broadcast ceremony, where 72 Grammys were handed out.
READ MORE: Grammys misspell Cory Monteith’s name
The Vancouver-born, Montreal-based jazz musician is the first Canadian to win the category.
“I’ve dreamt of this day for 20 years. It’s on my vision board,” Gasoi said.
Bublé, a Burnaby native, won his fourth Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for To Be Loved.
Bublé is on tour and did not attend the ceremony — but he posted a photo on Instagram showing how he celebrated.
Two Canadians who got some camera time late in the show — wildly applauding Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — are Toronto-based music manager Jeffrey Latimer (The Tenors) and activist Craig Kielburger.
Kathy Griffin, who won her first Grammy for Best Comedy Album, gave a shout-out to a certain Canadian pop star during the pre-broadcast ceremony.
“I want to thank Justin Bieber for giving me his ‘relax juice’ today in Panama City,” she said. “He said it would keep me calm.”
Griffin also thanked the Miami Beach Police Department “as they saved my life and steered me out of harm’s way as somebody was drag racing down the street the other day, driving his Lamborghini with his d**k.”
Other early Grammy winners include Justin Timberlake, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Alicia Keys, Adele, Kacey Musgraves, Rihanna, and Steve Martin.
Of course, the Grammy Awards are largely about the performances. Among them this year were Katy Perry, Pink with Nathan Ruess, Sara Bareilles with Carole King, Paul McCartney with Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson with Kris Kristofferson, Imagine Dragons with Kendrick Lamar, and Metallica.
Comments