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With each passing year, though, the Grammy telecast becomes less about the awards tally, and more about the performances, and no artist had more riding on Sunday night's show than Madonna. She long ago surpassed the need to prove anything to anyone, and yet the doyenne of pop lives forever in the here and now. And of late, thanks to a series of inexcusable leaks of her upcoming 13th album, Rebel Heart, a live performance of lead single "Live for Love" was considered in some quarters a make-or-break moment. Unsurprisingly, she delivered. Although the normally steely perfectionist showed unexpected signs of nerves, her recreation of the minotaur-filled music video, bathed in red and black, was spot on. Though some of her hardcore fans would have liked to have seen her dance more in those high heels and writhe less, M was once again on point.
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While on paper, Beck's win for Morning Phase—a solid record, but hardly the jaw-dropper that was Beyoncé—might have been the biggest shocker of the night, serious Grammy watchers can't have been that surprised. As recent Album of the Year winners Arcade Fire (2011) and Mumford & Sons (2013) bear out, there is enough of a rock contingent within academy voters that—if there is enough competition in the pop/R&B arena—will win out. Beck was typically gracious in his acceptance, but truth be told, more telling was the placement of the award. Despite presenter Prince's declaration that "albums… still matter," the fact that what is traditionally considered the top Grammy Award was given out before Song and Record of the Year contradicted that idea. In 2015, it's apparently the single that counts.
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The toughest turn for the Grammy Awards on this night was when they got socio-political. It's nothing new—a highlight of last year's ceremony was a mass same-sex wedding celebration—but this time around, it was almost too much. The specter of Ferguson and the idea that black lives do indeed matter was evoked by Pharrell and Prince; a no-frills, all-white Katy Perry turned her Prism track "By the Grace of God" into a musical commentary about domestic abuse. That followed a taped statement on the topic from President Obama and a spoken-word piece from abuse survivor Brooke Axtell—a segment that, important as it was, threatened to grind the show to a halt.But then, along came Beyoncé. She had stayed on the sidelines for most of the night, taking to the podium once to accept the Grammy for Best R&B Performance. But when the time came, she was there. A show that for three hours-plus had hoped to say something meaningful about the uncertain, often fucked up times we live in, finally succeeded when Bey took the stage. In stark contrast to her sexed-up opener of "Drunk in Love" with Jay Z at the 2014 Grammys, this time she closed the show on a spiritual note. Backed by an all-male choir raising their hands as if to say "Hand Up, Don't Shoot," she delivered a glorious take on "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," a gospel favorite she first learned from her mother. She may have been robbed of Album of the Year honors, but on this night, Beyoncé had the last, most important word.Follow John on Twitter.