Grammys featured nearly as many tributes as new music

Record of the year went to “Uptown Funk”, Mark Ronson’s song that featured Bruno Mars on vocals.

The biggest night in music may be dominated by the Swift – or taken by a “Butterfly”.

Nowhere is that tension more obvious than at the Grammy Awards, which annually struggle with how to honor music’s proud traditions and cherished artists, while still acknowledging new music and staying relevant to modern trends.

Not only did the 26-year-old country-turned-pop artist take home three awards on Monday but she also made history – becoming the first woman to win the coveted Album of the Year twice.

British superstar Adele was accompanied by just a pianist for her highly anticipated performance of All I Ask from her album 25 – but her performance was plagued with sound issues early on. Together, Swift and Lamar shared the Best Video award for “Bad Blood”.

Song of the Year went to “Thinking Out Loud”, written by Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge.

Alabama Shakes dominated the rock categories, winning Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Don’t Wanna Fight”.

It is gloriously intense and stunning representation of Lamar’s heavenly blend of political rap, hip hop, beat poetry, jazz, funk and soul – we can’t stop watching it.

To whom could that speech possibly have been directed?

Before that and beyond the performances from Swift and Lamar, the Grammy stage was packed with tributes for most of the evening.

Well, if you can’t see it on Broadway, there’s always the cast album, which won a Grammy on Monday night. Country darling Stapleton took part in a B.B. King tribute; Best New Artist nominees Bay and Kelly strummed guitars and faced one another on a tiny circular stage for their performance; and Trainor and Lovato were part of a hit-or-miss Lionel Richie tribute. Also doing well: The Weeknd, whose seven nominations include nods for record and album of the year.

Panamanian artists Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado won Best Tropical Latin Album for “Son De Panamá”.

It’s the ridiculous feud that just won’t die.

She’s still up against Lamar in the album of the year category.

Wild swings between what’s comfortable and what’s actually artistically current – or even forward-looking – are familiar to longtime Grammy voters and observers, myself included.

Kendrick Lamar canta en la ceremonia de los premios Grammy el lunes 15 de febrero del 2016, en Los Angeles.

Grammys boss Neil Portnow subtweeted Spotify, propping up child piano prodigy Joey Alexander before asking the audience, “Isn’t a song worth more than a penny?” and breaking down the unattractive economics of music streaming services. But the thing is, it’s all very well and good if you’re Taylor Swift – standing up on stage, after hours of hair and make up, with your squad behind you while you call and out those who’ve tried to pull you down – but, it’s not always that easy. As of 2011, however, the Recording Academy made it possible for voters to vote in up to twenty different genre fields, plus the four “big” categories of Record of the Year and so forth.