Sam Smith, the British soul singer who was virtually unknown a year ago, dominated the Grammys Sunday with four awards, although adventurous rocker Beck unexpectedly took home Album of the Year honors.\nSuperstar Beyonce and \u201cHappy\u201d creator Pharrell Williams won three prizes each on the music industry\u2019s biggest night, which was marked by displays of artist activism against domestic violence and police brutality.
\nThe 22-year-old Smith swept up three of the night\u2019s four top trophies — Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist — as well as Best Pop Vocal Album honors. Smith, who not long ago was working as a bartender in London, thanked the man he fell in love with last year and who inspired \u201cStay With Me\u201d — his mega-hit ballad about a one-night stand.
\n\u201cThank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys,\u201d Smith said to applause.
\nSmith has refrained from on-stage theatrics and has walked a fine line on his personal life, acknowledging his sexual orientation while striving not to be identified exclusively as a gay artist.
\nHe earned an ovation at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when he performed his signature tune in his rich, soulful tenor voice with Mary J. Blige.
\n\u201cBefore I made this record, I was doing everything to try to get my music heard. I tried to lose weight and … I was making awful music,\u201d said Smith.
\n\u201cIt was only until I started to be myself that the music started to flow and people started to listen. So, thank you, guys, for accepting me to be just me.\u201d Smith was prevented from a clean sweep of the top categories by Beck, whose introspective \u201cMorning Phase\u201d — full of lush orchestration around his acoustic guitar — won the Album of the Year prize.
\nBeck, who also won Best Rock Album, has for two decades been known for his inventive and often ironic style which has won him critical acclaim and a cult following, if not the mainstream success usually recognized by the Grammys. Beck\u2019s Album of the Year award was presented by the often-elusive Prince who, sporting a futuristic orange suit and carrying a staff, pointedly spoke out against a series of killings of African Americans that has galvanized public opinion.
\n\u201cLike books and black lives, albums still matter,\u201d Prince said.
\nThe theme was echoed throughout the Grammys.
\nThe rapper Common referred to the tensions with police in Ferguson, Missouri, as he joined John Legend on the song \u201cGlory,\u201d which is featured in the Oscar-nominated civil rights drama \u201cSelma.\u201d
\nAnd Williams turned \u201cHappy\u201d — normally a straightforward ode to joy — into a more political track.
\nWith his back-up dancers wearing hoodies, Williams led them in a \u201cHands Up, Don\u2019t Shoot\u201d gesture — a subtle protest against police shootings of African Americans.
\nUS President Barack Obama also appeared unexpectedly on an overhead screen to urge action to stop violence against women.
\nSaying that more than one in four women has experienced some form of domestic violence, Obama declared: \u201cIt\u2019s not okay. It has to stop.\u201d
\nSurvivor-turned-activist Brooke Axtell told the audience how she let a seemingly \u201chandsome, charismatic man\u201d abuse her, before Katy Perry sang an unadorned rendition of \u201cBy The Grace of God.\u201d
\nIn a less grand gesture, rapper Kanye West defiantly raised his middle finger to the world as he performed with Paul McCartney and Rihanna.
\nAnd in another surprise, West said Beck did not deserve his Best Album win and that it should have gone to Beyonce instead.
\n\u201cBeck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyonce,\u201d he told E! television.
\nMadonna — who was furious last month when songs from her upcoming album leaked \u2013- performed her new song \u201cLiving for Love\u201d in a red matador-inspired outfit with half-naked male dancers in bull horns.
\nThe music industry\u2019s top names opened the night by wearing red devil horns as aging hard rockers AC\/DC performed two songs including \u201cHighway to Hell\u201d with drummer Chris Slade taking over from Phil Rudd, who is facing charges in New Zealand including making death threats.
\nBeyonce won for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance with \u201cDrunk In Love,\u201d her tale of marital bliss sung with her husband Jay-Z, as well as for the more technical Best Surround Sound Album. With the latest honor, Beyonce has won 20 Grammys — topping Aretha Franklin for the woman with the second biggest all-time haul, although still well behind the country star Alison Krauss at 27.
\n\u201cThis has been such an incredible year. I love you all. I\u2019d like to thank my beloved husband. I love you deep,\u201d said the 33-year-old singer.
\nWilliams took home prizes for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Video for \u201cHappy,\u201d as well as Best Urban Contemporary Album honors for \u201cGirl.\u201d
\nRosanne Cash — the daughter of folk legend Johnny Cash — took home awards in three Americana categories in her first Grammys since 1985.
\nEminem won a record sixth Grammy for Best Rap Album for \u201cThe Marshall Mathers LP 2.\u201d
\nIggy Azalea, a white Australian who has become a cultural flashpoint for performing in an African American accent, was one of the night\u2019s big losers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"