Grammy Awards 2015 Primetime Winners List and Live Blog

Click for the Full List of Winners Handed out at The Grammy Premiere Ceremony Earlier Today
Click for ALL THE PERFORMANCES from tonight’s telecast!

Tonight’s Presenters: Dierks Bentley, James Corden, Miley Cyrus, Josh Duhamel, Jamie Foxx, Barry Gibb, Dave Grohl, Jennifer Hudson, Enrique Iglesias, Nick Jonas, Anna Kendrick, Shia LaBeouf, Katharine McPhee, Nicki Minaj, Gwyneth Paltrow, Pentatonix, Smokey Robinson, Nile Rodgers, Gina Rodriguez, Ryan Seacrest, Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, and the Weeknd.

Tonight’s Performers: AC/DC, Beck and Chris Martin, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Eric Church, Brandy Clark and Dwight Yoakam, Ariana Grande, Hozier, Jessie J, Tom Jones, Juanes, Miranda Lambert, Lang Lang, John Legend and Common, Annie Lennox, Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Herbie Hancock and John Mayer and Questlove with Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Rihanna with Kanye West and Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Sam Smith w Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Usher and Pharrell Williams.

LL Cool J returns as host.

AC/DC, the classic rock/metal band opens the ceremony with “Rock or Bust.” – Yass Angus Young still sporting the school boy outfit at 59.  Grammys opens old school. That could have been more spectacular, to be honest. The band launches into “Highway to Holl.”  Dave Grohl and Blake Shelton are  certainly enjoying themselves. Half the audience is pretty much WTF, though. Prolly wishing Taylor Swift was opening the show.

We’re going back to CALI sings host LL Cool J. Hm. No comedy monologue promises LL. THANK JEEBUS.

Taylor Swift hands out the first award for Best New Artist to Sam Smith.     She has a bunch of “friends” in this category, and as a “loser,” she advises them to “Shake it Off” if they don’t win.  And now, Taylor will take a seat in the auditorium where the camera will obsessively catch her “dancing” all night. Whee. And Sam Smith wins. Not a surprise. “I have to say something now without crying.” he says. He keeps it short and sweet.

Here’s Anna Kendrick, soon to be seen in Pitch Perfect 2. She introduces Ariana Grande, who apparently got her start in Boca Raton dinner theater, or something. She sings the ballad “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart.”  Hooray for singing live and not sucking.

Jessie J. and Sir Tom Jones from The Voice UK  (former and present!)  present songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil with the Trustees Award.  They sing “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” in their honor. It’s a little surreal.  I wouldn’t call what they have chemistry. And Jessie’s dress which resembles cut out flower petals, is kind of a disaster.

The Grammys are feeling even more staid than usual tonight.

Next, they hand out the award for the Best Pop Solo Performance to Pharrell Williams for Happy! This is his second Grammy of the night. “Happy” won Best Video. OMG PHARRELL IS WEARING SHORTS. He looked really uncomfortable during his speech. He wasn’t expecting to win, so he didn’t prepare a speech. “This is super awkward, so I’m going to moonwalk my way off the stage.” Which, he actually did not do.

There are only NINE awards, you’d think they’d give the winners more than like, 20 seconds, to accept their Grammys.

Dierks Bentley introduces Miranda Lambert, who sings her country hit, “Little Red Wagon.” Look at Miranda, dressed head to toe in black leather. She looks GORGEOUS. Energetic performance from the country queen. We’ll take her, if we can’t have Carrie Underwood, who is at home, basking in the glory of her Grammy win. She’s too pregnant to travel. WAIT. Are they actually BLEEPING Miranda? Or was that an audio flub? BLAKE SHELTON IN THE AUDIENCE LOOKING SO PROUD.

Pentatonix and Barry Gibb on stage together! They announce that the Bee Gees are Lifetime Achievement honorees. Poor Barry, the only remaining Gibb brother, honors his brothers who have passed on. They present Best Pop Vocal Album to Sam Smith for In the Lonely Hour! Sam, accepting his second award of the night, says he was making bad decisions–trying to lose weight and making terrible music to be heard. It wasn’t until he started being true to himself that the music began flowing.

Kanye West sings “Only One,”  that song about his daughter,  North West, that he wrote with Paul McCartney.  Aw. He sings heavenward, to his late mom. It’s the circle of life, ya’ll. If you’re going to pen a sappy song, you can’t find a better collaborator than Sir Paul.  This is nice.  Kanye + Nice. Not a combo I was expecting any time soon.

Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj introduce a powerful badass woman. Who is she? OUR BITCH MADONNA.  Miley learned her try hard ways from Madge. Pretty sure.  The new single “Living for Love” is OK.  But forget the song. Madonna, at 56, looks incredible. She strips down to a blazing red sparkle short set–a matador with a slew of bulls tauntingly dancing around her. As you’d expect, there’s very little singing going on here. Madonna is past the point where she can surprise us. But hey, she’s pretty much a living legend at this point. All the pop women presently owe her a debt. The song finishes with the singer being hoisted to the ceiling in a harness.

Josh Duhamel and Malcolm Butler and Julian Edelman, from the Patriots (jokes about interceptions as the envelope is snatched from Josh’s hand), present Best Rock Album to Beck for Morning Phase. THANK YOU LORD XENU he says. Just kidding. No he doesn’t. He thanks his fellow musicians, guys he’s played for over 20 years and his wife, Marissa Ribisi.

Nile Rogers and Smokey Robinson are next. Honoring George Harrison as a Lifetime Achievement honoree.  Paul in the audience, looking on. They present Best R&B Performance to Beyonce & Jay Z for “Drunken Love.”  This is her third Grammy, having two awarded during the pre-grammy show.  “I love you deep,” says Beyonce, thanking her husband.

James Corden, who is about to take over the Late Late Show, and an early fan of Ed Sheeran, introduces him, with John Mayer, Herbie Hancock and Questlove. They perform “Thinking Out Loud” like a jazz combo. The musicians give the song a nice touch.

Jeff Lynne’s ELO join Ed. They perform “Evil Woman.” Then Ed joins Jeff on “Mr. Blue Skies.”  Ha ha. When Paul McCartney discovers the camera trained on him as he stands and sings along to the song, he sorta rolls his eyes and sits down. ETA: Folks are wondering if he was forced to sit. I think maybe he was just annoyed at the camera in his face. So, is the “Jeff Lynne’s ELO” deal ego, or some bizarre legal thing he’s forced to adopt? Look at Beyonce on her feet? She looks a little confused, though. Jeff is always a pro. Solid performance.

Hello Ryan Seacrest. He introduces Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani, of The Voice, singing the Maroon 5 song “My Heart is Open.”  Gwen is glamorous in a red one-shouldered gown, and Adam is dressed in a simple suit. There’s a full compliment of  strings behind them, drowning out the vocals on the chorus.  Pretty, though.

LL Cool J stands in the midst of the Grammy version of sway bots as he introduces Hozier performing their massive hit “Take Me To Church.”  I love this song. I’ve enjoyed every competition reality show version I’ve heard so far. Heh. OHHHHHH. QUEEN Annie Lennox takes the stage. This is a perfect duet.  The song morphs into “I Put A Spell on You.” From heaven to hell, ya’ll. Annie has put a spell on ME. The Hozier dude noodles a guitar solo, while Annie plays a mouth harp and slinks around the stage. DIVINE.

Nick Jonas and Meghan Trainor are next. The two make boring puns with each other’s song names before they present Best Country Album to Miranda Lambert for Platinum.  Aw. Blake Shelton all love struck in the audience.

The Weekend introduces Pharrell Williams with Hans Zimmer and pianist, Lang Lang for a super weird take on “Happy.”  It begins like something out of Hellmouth, with dark strings and banging piano. It goes back to a major key for awhile, but doesn’t’ stay there long. Interesting?  Pharrell is still in shorts. And a bell boy hat.  There’s a gospel choir in the audience. WELL. That was kind of bananas.  Pharrell regrets forgetting to thank God during his acceptance speech– he chooses to do it now.

HI PRESIDENT OBAMA. He’s on screen with a PSA for ItsOnUs.org, raising awareness for the fight against domestic violence. Don’t beat up your girlfriend right before the Grammy’s, like Chris Brown did. A survivor takes the stage to tell her story. PLEASE REACH OUT FOR HELP she tells anyone who might be suffering. And CUE RIHANNA FEELING PRETTY UNCOMFORTABLE RIGHT NOW.

Katy Perry is next, sans the purple hair she was sporting earlier. Now, her hair is black, and slicked back. She sings “By the Grace of God,” dressed in white in front of a silhouette scrim of dancing figures. I suppose we won’t be cutting to Taylor Swift at any point during this performance. Katy is not a great live singer, but she’s giving it everything she’s got, so it works.

Wait. Am I still watching the Grammys? Live from Las Vegas we get a performance from Imagine Dragons? OH extended Target commercial. Geez.

Katharine McPhee, star of CBS’s Scorpion is on hand to introduce Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga! They play a clip of her “Over It” as she takes the stage. Ha. Tony and Gaga sing “Cheek to Cheek” from their Grammy winning album, Cheek to Cheek.  Fun performance. That Gaga sure can sang. I love that Tony is open to the world of new things, rather than complaining about change. I’m sure he hiked 2o miles up that hill both ways, but he’s too busy being present in the moment to mention it.

Usher promotes the upcoming Stevie Wonder Grammy special coming to your local CBS station in a few weeks, by performing the Wonder classic, “If It’s Magic” accompanied by solo harp. Usher’s vocals are sublime.  No dancing required. Ohhh. Stevie Wonder comes out of the shadows, playing harmonica. Lovely.

OMG. This Matthew McConaughey Lincoln commercial with the bull. This can’t be serious.

Nice pony tail, Keith Urban. He introduces his “good buddy” Eric Church, whose wife is just about to give birth. He performs “Give Me Back My Hometown.” Eric is basically the Bruce Springsteen of country. This is NOT a bad thing.

Next, Brandy Clark sings her song “Hold My Hand” with Dwight Yoakam backing her up on vocals and guitar. Lots of country goodness on tonight’s Grammys. This is the Grammy Artist of the Year nominee’s first Grammy performance ever. Just beautiful, old school stuff. What’s awesome about tonight’s country performances? NOT A F*CKING TRUCK IN SITE. Unless you count a Little Red Wagon. I don’t.

Rihanna, Kanye and Paul McCartney are next. Some young folk are turning their noses up at Rihanna’s strummy new single, “FourFiveSeconds”. On ONTD they were literally having a meltdown, which I found hilarious. KIDS CALM DOWN. Anway. Back to the Grammys. A very cool performance–I dig the collaboration, and the coming together of generations and musical styles. The classic rocker, the rapper, and the r&b pop star. LOVE IT.

I keep seeing Frankie Grande on my twitter feed, mostly because of his dumb outfit. My mind must be consciously blocking him out, because I have not noticed him. #asshat.

Taylor Swift is back! She’s here to introduce two time Grammy winner Sam Smith and 9 time Grammy winner, Mary J. Blige. Oh she ALSO calls Sam a “friend.” Is there anyone this chick isn’t BBFs with? The singers join forces to sing “Stay With Me.” Gospel choir. Big voices. BEAUTIFUL.

Gina Rodriguez, from the CW show, Jane the Virgin, introduces the Latin singer/songwriter, Juanes, performing “Juntos.” Time for a little diversity!

Oh. It’s Prince. Giving no f*cks. Dressed in orange with a walking stick and an afro. “Albums. Remember those? Albums still matter,” he says, before handing out Album of The Year to Beck for Morning Phase.

Oh. A bit of a surprise? Yes? Beck looks thoroughly confused. Wandering around stage, HA HA KANYE GETS UP LIKE HE’S GOING TO INTERRUPT IMA LET YOU FINISH… BUT BEYONCE. Beck motions for Kanye to join him. “I need help here,” he says. Heh. “Hi Prince!” says Beck, who was probably NOT EXPECTING to win. Neither were we.

Shia LaBeouf, who starred in Sia’s most recent video, “Elastic Heart,” reads a poem he wrote for her off of a piece of purple paper. “For Sia: I feel like this may be strange to say this here. I love you so. Punch me if I stop crying….” OK. A perfect segue to another eyebrow-raising performance of “Chandelier.” Sia has this thing about NOT taking center stage. On SNL she wore a lace/sunglasses contraption that obscured her face. Here, the performance takes place in a cracked out living room set, where the singer faces a wall, while young Maddie Ziegler and Kristin Wiig (!!!), as Sia’s doppelganger, dance. Another odd, but compelling performance from the creative singer/songwriter.

Enrique Iglesias announces that Max Martin won Producer of the Year before presenting Song of the Year to “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith. “I’m having a really really really good night!” says Sam. OOH THAT SCARY PLAYOFF MUSIC. Who made the executive decision to make it so creepy? To scare the winners into shutting up?

Dave Grohl here to celebrate David Letterman, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. Dave has introduced a ton of acts on his show over the years. The tribute may be self-serving, but it’s fitting. Grohl introduces Beck, who sings “Heart Like A Drum” from his Grammy winning album, Morning Phase, with Chris Martin. OK. I have to hop onto Spotify and check out this album.

Stevie Wonder and Jamie Foxx are here to present Record of the Year. But first a standing ovation for Stevie. That special is on CBS next Monday! They name check We Are The World, which is 30 years old. We have to fix the stuff that’s broke, Stevie says, more or less. Stevie opens the envelope. Jamie shifts into Ray Charles and is all “I can’t read it either.” Ha ha ha. And the award goes to Sam Smith for “Stay with Me”! WOW. Pretty much a sweep for Sam. “Dear lord, thank you so much, says Sam.” Ooooh. He thanks “the person who the record is about…the man who broke my heart.” Otherwise, he wouldn’t have 4 Grammys!

WHAT THE HELL SIA AND THAT GIANT WIG.

Grammy boss, Neil Portnow, Jennifer Hudson and Ryan Tedder are on stage to lecture us about FAIR PAY FOR MUSICIANS. Jhud and Tedder were among those to speak to lawmakers about passing laws to protect artists. They are launching the Grammy Creators alliance.

Next, lets say goodbye, as the In Memoriam reel plays.

Gwyneth Paltrow  introduces her “good friend” (psych Taylor) Beyonce, who sings the hymn her grandmother sang to her, “Take My Hand Precious Lord.” Next, it’s John Legend and Common singing the song they penned for  Selma, “Glory.” Both performances are a one two punch for equality.

And we’re out. At over 3 1/2 hours. TOO MUCH. Way too much.

Winners List

Album of the Year

Morning Phase – Beck Hansen – WINNER
Beyoncé – Beynonce
X – Ed Sheeran
In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith
Girl – Pharrell Williams

Best New Artist

Iggy Azalea
Bastille
Brandy Clark
Haim
Sam Smith – WINNER

Song of the Year

All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor (Kevin Kadish, Meghan Trainor)
Chandelier – Sia – (Sia Furler, Jesse Shatkin)
Shake it Off – Taylor Swift – (Max Martin, Shellback, Taylor Swift)
Stay With Me (Darkchild Version) – (James Napier, William Phillips, Sam Smith) – WINNER
Take Me to Church – Hozier – (Andrew Hozier-Byrne)

Record of the Year

Fancy – Iggy Azalea – Fancy
Chandelier – Sia – Chandelier
Stay With Me (Darkchild Version) – Sam Smith – WINNER
Shake it Off – Taylor Swift
All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor

Best Pop Solo Performance

All of Me (live version) – John Legend
Chandelier – Sia
Stay With Me – Sam Smith
Shake it Off – Taylor Swift
Happy – Pharrell Williams – WINNER

Best Pop Vocal Album

Ghost Stories – Coldplay
Bangzerz – Miley Cyrus
My Everything – Ariana Grande
Prism – Katy Perry
X – Ed Sheeran
In the Lonely Hour – Sam Smith – WINNER

Best Country Album

Riser – Dierks Bentley
The Outsiders -Eric Church
12 Stories – Brandy Clark
Platinum – Miranda Lambert – WINNER
The Way I’m Living – Lee Ann Womack

Best Rock Album

Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
Morning Phase – Beck – WINNER
Turn Blue – The Black Keys
Hypnotic Eye – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Songs of Innocence – U2

Best R&B Performance

Drunk in Love – Beyonce feat Jay Z – WINNER
New Flame – Chris Brown feat Usher & Rick Ross
It’s Your World – Jennifer Hudson feat R Kelly
Like This – Ledisi
Good Kisser – Usher