It was the music industry's biggest night, and it belonged to one man – Sam Smith. The British soul singer won four Grammy Awards on Sunday evening, including the coveted trophies for Record and Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Incredibly, it has been just nine months since Sam released his debut album, In The Lonely Hour. He was the only solo artist to sell more than a million copies in both the US and the UK in 2014.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSam Smith walked away with four Grammy awards
Sam, 22, dedicated his wins to an ex-lover for making it all possible. "Thank you so much for breaking my heart," he said as he accepted Record of the Year. "Because now I've got four Grammys." Many had predicted Grammy success for the Stay With Me star – more of a surprise was the announcement that Beck was the winner of the best album prize. He beat Sam, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé to take home the trophy for his 12th studio LP, Morning Phase – and the astonished expression on his face suggested he hadn't expected to win either.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSam Smith celebrating his win backstage with Taylor Swift
"We made this record at my house for the most part, so I would like to thank my kids for letting me keep them awake a little bit longer," he said as he collected the prestigious trophy. Both Pharrell and Beyoncé enjoyed success in other categories, each collecting three awards. Other winners on the night included Miranda Lambert, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, and Eminem.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMadonna performed her new track, Living For Love
There were also some memorable performances on stage at the Staples Center. Madonna was joined by a troupe of half-naked male dancers dressed as minotaurs as she sang Living For Love, from her new album Rebel Heart. Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Rihanna teamed up to play their joint composition FourFiveSeconds, while there were duets from Jessie J and Sir Tom Jones, Hozier and Annie Lennox, and Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett.
Top winners at the 2015 Grammy awards Album of the year • Winner: Morning Phase - Beck • Beyoncé – Beyoncé • X - Ed Sheeran • In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith • Girl - Pharrell Williams Best new artist • Winner: Sam Smith • Iggy Azalea • Bastille • Brandy Clark • Haim Best rock album • Winner: Morning Phase - Beck • Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams • Turn Blue - The Black Keys • Hypnotic Eye - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers • Songs of Innocence - U2 Record of the year • Winner: Stay With Me - Sam Smith • Fancy - Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX • Chandelier - Sia • Shake It Off - Taylor Swift • All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor Song of the year • Winner: Stay With Me - Jimmy Napes, William Phillips and Sam Smith • All About That Bass - Kevin Kadish and Meghan Trainor • Chandelier - Sia and Jesse Shatkin • Shake It Off - Max Martin, Shellback and Taylor Swift • Take Me to Church - Hozier Best pop vocal album • Winner: In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith • Ghost Stories - Coldplay • Bangerz - Miley Cyrus • My Everything - Ariana Grande • Prism - Katy Perry • X - Ed Sheeran Best pop solo performance • Winner: Happy (live) - Pharrell Williams • All of Me - John Legend • Chandelier - Sia • Stay With Me - Sam Smith • Shake It Off - Taylor Swift Best traditional pop vocal album • Winner: Cheek To Cheek - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga • Nostalgia - Annie Lennox • Night Songs - Barry Manilow • Sending You A Little Christmas - Johnny Mathis • Partners - Barbra Streisand With Various Artists Best music video • Winner: Happy - Pharrell Williams • We Exist - Arcade Fire • Turn Down For What - DJ Snake & Lil Jon • Chandelier - Sia • The Golden Age - Woodkid Featuring Max Richter Best dance recording • Winner: Rather Be - Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne • Never Say Never - Basement Jaxx Featuring ETML • F For You - Disclosure Featuring Mary J. Blige • I Got U - Duke Dumont Featuring Jax Jones • Faded - Zhu Best R&B performance • Winner: Drunk in Love - Beyoncé feat Jay-Z • New Flame - Chris Brown feat Usher & Rick Ross • It's Your World - Jennifer Hudson feat R Kelly • Like This - Ledisi • Good Kisser - Usher Best R&B album • Winner: Love, Marriage & Divorce - Toni Braxton & Babyface • Islander - Bernhoft • Lift Your Spirit - Aloe Blacc • Black Radio 2 - Robert Glasper Experiment • Give The People What They Want - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Best urban contemporary album • Winner: Girl - Pharrell Williams • Sail Out - Jhené Aiko • Beyoncé – Beyoncé • X - Chris Brown • Mali Is... - Mali Music Best country album • Winner: Platinum - Miranda Lambert • Riser - Dierks Bentley • The Outsiders - Eric Church • 12 Stories - Brandy Clark • The Way I'm Livin' - Lee Ann Womack Best country song • Winner: I'm Not Gonna Miss You - Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond, songwriters (Glen Campbell) • American Kids - Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird & Shane McAnally, songwriters (Kenny Chesney) • Automatic - Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert, songwriters (Miranda Lambert) • Give Me Back My Hometown - Eric Church & Luke Laird, songwriters (Eric Church) • Meanwhile Back At Mama's - Tom Douglas, Jaren Johnston & Jeffrey Steele, songwriters (Tim McGraw Featuring Faith Hill) Best metal performance • Winner: The Last In Line - Tenacious D • Neon Knights - Anthrax • High Road - Mastodon • Heartbreaker - Motorhead • The Negative One - Slipknot Best rap album • Winner: The Marshall Mathers LP2 - Eminem • The New Classic - Iggy Azalea • Because The Internet - Childish Gambino • Nobody's Smiling - Common • Oxymoron - Schoolboy Q • Blacc Hollywood - Wiz Khalifa
