Out singer Sam Smith was the star of the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, held Feb. 8.
The British crooner won four Grammys, including record and song of the year for his anthemic "Stay With Me." The 22-year-old was also named best new artist and his debut album, In The Lonely Hour, won best pop vocal album.
However, rock musician Beck deprived Smith of a sweep in the top three Grammy categories by winning album of the year for Morning Phase.
Pharrell Williams and Beyonce won three Grammys each.
Additionally, the late Joan Rivers awarded the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Diary of a Mad Diva in a ceremony prior to the awards, TheWrap noted. Among those she bested were President Jimmy Carter, actor James Franco, filmmaker John Waters, singer Gloria Gaynor and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Then, there were the performances. Madonna took to the Grammy stage in a matador-inspired outfit to perform her new single "Living for Love," reflecting her video for the song. Also, Smith and Mary J. Blige sang a duet of his hit "Stay with Me," and Annie Lennox sang with Hozier on mash-up of "I Put a Spell on You" and his "Take Me to Church."
In addition, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga performed their rendition of the jazz tune "Cheek to Cheek"; Rihanna joined Kanye West and Paul McCartney to perform "FourFiveSeconds" and No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levineboth judges on NBC's The Voicesang "My Heart is Open."
The night ended with Beyonce and gospel singers singing the hymn "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," before artists Common and John Legend performed their Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning "Glory," from the Academy Award-nominated film Selma.
The night took on a somber note with a message against domestic abuse delivered by President Obama by video, followed by a survivor's testimony and a Katy Perry performance of the song "By the Grace of God."
Also, during the "in memoriam" segment, openly gay Chicago house-music legend Frankie Knuckles was among those spotlighted.