By Ashley Reynolds, Staff Writer
The winner of 2013’s Album of the Year came as a surprise, even to the artists.
“We had no idea about winning, so we didn’t write anything down,” said Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. Their album Babel took the gold, despite fierce competition by Fun., The Black Keys, and Frank Ocean.
Several of 2012’s most-loved artists also took home awards. Fun. took home Best New Artist and Song of the Year for their wildly popular tune “We Are Young.” Skrillex won Best Dance Recording for “Bangarang” and Best Dance/Electronica Album for their album of the same name. Gotye and The Black Keys were among the winners as well.
Taylor Swift opened the show with a circus-esque performance of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” Other performances included the Lumineers, Elton John and Ed Sheeran, and a Bob Marley tribute by Rihanna, Sting, and Bruno Mars.
While in the past the Recording Academy has been accused of being overly stuffy, this year they definitely hit some of the most-beloved songs and artists of the past few months.
The mood grew somber as several artists joined together to pay tribute to the victims of Sandy Hook. Mumford & Sons, Zac Brown Band, Elton John, T-Bone Burnett, Mavis Staples, and Brittany Howard all paid their respects before the night was done.
Surprisingly, there were few scandals this year. Nobody fought, stole the stage from each other, or arrived in outrageous costumes. Overall, it was a great show with a number of stunning performances. It seems that, for once, the music stood for itself.
