Grammys crown Sam Smith and Beck; Kanye predictably makes a scene

This year’s Grammys felt less like an award show and more like a concert where trophies were occasionally given out. The 57th iteration of the show was packed with performances, 23 in total, that bridged the gap between artists of today and yesteryear.

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The show kicked off with a two-song performance by AC/DC, because what better way to get in the mood to award the best musicians of 2014? (To be fair, AC/DC did put out a new record last year and it sounded every bit like an AC/DC record from their heyday.) It was also an upbeat note before a show that was filled with ballads. If you managed to stay awake through them, you’d have seen pairings of Tom Jones and Jessie J, Anna Kendrick and Ariana Grande, and Sam Smith with Mary J. Blige, among others. The arrangement of Blige and Smith’s duet was particularly impressive, complete with a string orchestra backing the two through Smith’s entirely unescapable Stay With Me.

And then, of course, there was Kanye. The one person who manages to make headlines without winning anything, Yeezus provided some signature shock value, and a bit of humor by pretending to take to the stage to protest Beck winning Album of the Year over Beyoncé. Oh, and he also put on quite the show of his own when not poking fun at himself, performing the new song Only One and the Rhianna and Paul McCartney-supported FourFiveSeconds. He also clowned on Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet before the show, telling the host that having multiple interests isn’t due to having attention deficit disorder but is rather “just called thinking.”

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Kanye was more serious after the ceremony, however, claiming that Beck, an icon in the production and writing of alternative rock for decades, should “respect artistry,” and that he should’ve “given his award to Beyoncé.” For what it’s worth, Kanye got blanked in his two nominated categories, losing to Eminem in both—and continuing the trend that the vocal artist (to put it delicately) has pointed out in the past, namely that he’s never won an award while up against a white artist.

Taylor Swift also went home without an award, and handed out some solid advice to other artists who suffered the same fate. “As a former loser of Best New Artist in 2008, if you do not win this award, it’s gonna be fine. Just, like, shake it off,” she said. One person who did not have to heed that advice: Sam Smith. He took home awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Vocal Album. It was a big night for the new star, who has had some controversy of his own recently thanks to Stay With Me being recognized as sounding all too close to Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down. Petty now shares royalties, as well as being recognized as a songwriter on the track.

You can see the full list if winners below: