Sam Smith wins 4 Grammys, but Beck nabs album of the year

LOS ANGELES – The kid did alright.

Sam Smith, the 22-year-old rookie from England, had a coming-out party at the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, capturing four trophies including best new artist, song and record of the year for "Stay With Me."

"This is the best night of my life," he gushed when receiving the record of the year. "I want to thank the man this album is about. Thank you for breaking my heart 'cause you got me four Grammys."

Backstage, Smith said he hadn't called that man recently but "I can let him touch the Grammy — once."

However, Smith didn't win album of the year, a trophy that surprisingly went to long-shot Beck for "Morning Phase," which earned both raves and rants from critics and wasn't a particularly big seller. Sounding like a one-man Moody Blues, Beck offered meditations about life and love on the album, with strings arranged by his father.

Beck looked stunned when Prince called out his name. The winner stood lifeless onstage for a prolonged moment and then Kanye West playfully hopped onto stage as if he intended to steal another awards moment from a victor.

Actually Prince almost stole the Grammys. And he wasn't even nominated. His speech before presenting the album of the year was a priceless, poignant ad lib.

"Albums. Remember those?" said Prince, resplendent in a coral outfit. "Like books and black lives, albums still matter."

Beyoncé, who tied with Smith and Pharrell Williams for the most nominations, surged to three trophies as did Williams. Rosanne Cash, a country star turned Americana ace, also snared three — all the ones for which she was nominated.

Highway to heck

Ultimately, the Grammys show is really about live performances — 23 of them during the more than 3½-hour telecast.

AC/DC rocked the house on the opening medley of "Rock or Bust" and "Highway to Hell." But from that point on, there was more bust than rock.

There were too many ballads and medium-tempo performances. Ariana Grande sounded gorgeous but who remembered her song? West's "Only One" was his most invisible appearance on an awards show. Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" was like Sominex.

Williams' presentation of "Happy" was more like "Hilarious" as the singer, wearing a "Grand Budapest Hotel" bellhop outfit, let the classical pianist Lang Lang hammer away on the keys when Williams was supposed to sing the punchline of the refrain — not to mention a gospel choir and a string section. After the oversized mountie hat that was his signature at last year's Grammys, Williams found a new kind of weird.

At least the country stars tried to bring it, with Eric Church haunting on "Give Me Back My Hometown" and Miranda Lambert getting spunky on "Little Red Wagon." Country newcomer Brandy Clark was a nice discovery, delivering the commanding ballad "Hold My Hand" as old pro Dwight Yoakam added reedy high harmonies.

Following that was the unlikely trio of Rihanna, West and Paul McCartney. Silhouetted against a white screen, they delivered the understated but compelling new mid-tempo tune "FourFiveSeconds." West reworked the lyric to add his collaborator's name, leaning toward McCartney as the ex-Beatle strummed his guitar, and singing: "If I go to jail now/ Paul will you pay my bail?"

Earlier, Jeff Lynne got McCartney dancing in the aisles and singing along during a performance of ELO's old hit "Evil Woman." When he realized the camera was on him, Sir Paul threw his hands up in the air and suddenly sat down. Talk about your Grammy moments.

Musically, the Grammy moment came from one of the forced May-December duets that were the theme of this year's awards.

Hozier, 24, a newcomer from Ireland, was paired with Annie Lennox, 60. He set the table with the uplifting "Take Me to Church," one of the biggest songs of the past year. Then the British veteran showed the kids how to breathe soul into an old song. She delivered a rapturous "I Put a Spell on You," the Screamin' Jay Hawkins R&B chestnut from 1956, hypnotizing without ever getting histrionic.

The Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga interpretation of the Irving Berlin standard "Cheek to Cheek" was a cheeky delight. (Their duet record earned the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.) She seemed amped and vamped it up, while Bennett played the role of consummate gentleman, taking her hand for a slow-dance, cheek to cheek, as his jazz combo traded solos.

Katy Perry dialed it down after her over-the-top Super Bowl halftime show last weekend. She performed the majestic piano ballad "By the Grace of God" in a stylized choir dress with silhouetted ballerinas behind her.

A turn toward the serious

There were moments of complete seriousness, including one that preceded Perry's performance — a taped speech from President Obama about domestic violence, followed by an an appearance by women's advocate Brooke Axtell, who talked about being a victim of violence. It was an unexpected detour into social commentary, although in the past the Grammys have addressed such issues as music education and same-sex marriage.

There was a musically pointed moment at the end of the program, when John Legend and Common collaborated on "Glory," their glorious, churchy tune from the civil rights movie "Selma."

The same couldn't be said about Smith's moment in the spotlight, delivering "Stay With Me" with soul star Mary J. Blige, for whom he has written songs. His ballad about asking a one-night-stand partner to sleep over became overcooked with strings and a choir. But at least he's got a few Grammys to stay with him tonight.

Twitter: @JonBream • 612-673-1719