The 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards were held last Monday in Los Angeles, California. Dubbed “Music’s Biggest Night,” the GRAMMYs celebrated the best (and the most popular) in the industry from the last year. Since many of the GRAMMY winners are announced before the actual ceremony, the night mainly focuses on the performances and the awarding of the highest profile awards.

Taylor Swift opened up the show with glitz and glamour. Some of the best performances of the night came from superstar singers. The Weeknd received a standing ovation for his performance of his hit “Can’t Feel My Face.” After years on hiatus, Adele was able to fight and sing through audio issues in her performance of “All I Ask.” With a sense of humor, Adele tweeted, “Because of it though… I’m treating myself to an in n out. So maybe it was worth it.”

The most touching performances of the night were in memory of some of the legends the industry lost within the last year. Members of the band Eagles performed their classic “Take It Easy,” for the late Glenn Frey. Chris Stapleton, Gary Clark Jr. and Bonnie Raitt trading soulful guitar chords in honor of B.B. King. The most incredible tribute came from Lady Gaga for music’s latest loss, David Bowie. Gaga’s performance was a medley of Bowie’s greatest hits and characters. It’s quite clear that Gaga was the best artist to pay tribute to Bowie, as her career has been heavily influenced by Bowie’s multi-faceted career.

The breakout star group of the night was Alabama Shakes, whose sophomore album “Sound & Color” earned them three GRAMMY awards, include Best Alternative Music Album.

The biggest winner of the night was Kendrick Lamar, who won five GRAMMYs, four of which were for his platinum selling album “To Pimp A Butterfly.” Not only was he able to walk away a winner, he also had one of the most powerful performances of the night.

It was Taylor Swift and Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars who took home the biggest awards of the night, as they won Album of the Year and Record of the Year respectively.

But why should we even care about the GRAMMYs? Isn’t it just a bunch of the industry heads getting together to pat themselves on the back for the work they’ve done? This isn’t an unreasonable criticism. I certainly don’t need a bunch of secret voters to tell me which album I loved the most from last year. But the GRAMMYs are “Music’s Biggest Night” when it comes to the performances on stage every year. Even if you don’t agree with the winners or nominees, the show certainly becomes the single largest musical event of the year.

Event: 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Date: February 15
Rating: ★★★★☆