The 2014 Grammy Award show was memorable, but not for the award winners. The performances were the suggested highlights of the night.
Beyoncé opened the show with her song “Drunk in Love,” which came with an appearance by her husband, Jay Z.
Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons rocked the stage with their mash-up of “Radioactive” and “M.A.A.D City.”
Remaining members of The Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the band.
Queen Latifah, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert, Trombone Shorty and Madonna collaborated to perform and to marry 33 couples at the Grammys.
Other performances worth looking up on YouTube include: Metallica with Lang Lang, John Legend and Willie Nelson with Kris Kritofferson, Merle Haggard and Blake Shelton.
Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Grohl and Lindsey Buckingham closed out the show.
There were 20 performances at the Grammys this year, which left very little time for awards to be distributed. Most awards were given before the show aired, saving the big awards for the world to see.
It was a big night for the young artist Lorde, who won Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year both for “Royals.”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis took the awards for Best Rap Album for “The Heist” and Best New Artist, as many predicted.
Daft Punk surprised many by winning Best Group Performance and Record of the Year with Pharrell Williams for “Get Lucky” and Album of the Year for “Random Access Memory.”
The silent winner of the night was Pharrell Williams. The producer was nominated for seven Grammy awards and won three of them including Producer of the Year. His hat also garnered quite a bit of attention.
The Grammys felt more like a concert than an awards show. While musical acts are good to have, they should not take up more time than the nominees and winners. Hopefully the desire to have this many performances dies with the 2014 Grammy Awards.