Story highlights
- Sam Smith wins four Grammys, including song, record of the year
- Kanye West creates another kerfuffle
(CNN)The 2015 Grammys offered the familiar -- a slew of awards for a newcomer, some outstanding performances -- and the unfamiliar: Kanye West laughing and smiling?
Here are a few things that dominated the evening and ideas to make the show better:
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Sam Smith accepts the Song of the Year Grammy for "Stay With Me" at the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 8. Smith also won Record of the Year ("Stay With Me"), Best Pop Vocal Album ("In the Lonely Hour") and Best New Artist.
Hide Caption
1 of 7
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Beck receives the Grammy for Best Rock Album. His "Morning Phase" was also named Album of the Year.
Hide Caption
2 of 7
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Smokey Robinson presents Beyonce with the award for Best R&B Performance. "Drunk in Love" also took home the Grammy for Best R&B Song.
Hide Caption
3 of 7
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Pharrell Williams accepts the Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for "Happy (Live)." The song also earned the Best Music Video award, and Pharrell's "Girl" was named Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Hide Caption
4 of 7
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Miranda Lambert takes the stage after winning Best Country Album for "Platinum."
Hide Caption
5 of 7
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
Ian Axel, left, and Chad Vaccarino of A Great Big World accept the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. They won the award for their song "Say Something," featuring Christina Aguilera.
Hide Caption
6 of 7
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Winners
"Weird Al" Yankovic accepts the award for Best Comedy Album ("Mandatory Fun").
Hide Caption
7 of 7
Welcome, Sam Smith!
A year ago, the British soul singer was an unknown in America. Sunday night, he took home four Grammys, including song of the year, record of the year (both for "Stay with Me"), best new artist and best pop vocal album (for "In the Lonely Hour").
He also gave a dazzling performance of "Stay with Me" with Mary J. Blige pitching in. About the only thing that could have made it better was if Tom Petty, who was credited on the song thanks to similarities to "I Won't Back Down," had joined him.
"I'm having a really, really, really good night," Smith said as he won song of the year. That was an understatement.
Is that Kanye West?
Like dancing unicorns and functioning Congresses, a smiling, laughing Kanye West was considered a mythical creature: occasionally talked about but never seen.
On Sunday night, though, the usually grim-faced rapper gave a soulful performance of "Only One," joined Rihanna and a somewhat awkward Paul McCartney for "FourFiveSeconds" and then jokingly stole the show by running on stage when Beck won album of the year for "Morning Phase."
On the other hand, maybe he wasn't joking at all.
Beck's big night
Obviously, Kanye didn't expect Beck to win album of the year -- and neither did Beck himself. But "Morning Phase" took home that major prize as well as best rock album.
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Ariana Grande arrives at the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 8. See who else was there.
Hide Caption
1 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Rihanna
Hide Caption
2 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Taylor Swift
Hide Caption
3 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
Hide Caption
4 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Iggy Azalea
Hide Caption
5 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Katy Perry
Hide Caption
6 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams
Hide Caption
7 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Maddie Ziegler, left, and Sia
Hide Caption
8 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Miley Cyrus
Hide Caption
9 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Chris Brown
Hide Caption
10 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Beyonce
Hide Caption
11 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Paris Hilton
Hide Caption
12 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Joy Villa
Hide Caption
13 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
Hide Caption
14 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
Hide Caption
15 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Nicki Minaj
Hide Caption
16 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Madonna
Hide Caption
17 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Kimberly Perry
Hide Caption
18 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Monyetta Shaw and Ne-Yo
Hide Caption
19 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
Hide Caption
20 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Courteney Cox
Hide Caption
21 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Usher
Hide Caption
22 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Rita Ora
Hide Caption
23 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
Hide Caption
24 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Toni Braxton
Hide Caption
25 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
John Mayer
Hide Caption
26 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Jennifer Hudson
Hide Caption
27 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Ashanti
Hide Caption
28 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Dave Grohl and Jordyn Blum
Hide Caption
29 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Mary J. Blige
Hide Caption
30 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Tom Jones
Hide Caption
31 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Jane Fonda
Hide Caption
32 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
From left, Este Haim, Danielle Haim and Alana Haim of Haim
Hide Caption
33 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Charli XCX
Hide Caption
34 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Ciara
Hide Caption
35 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Questlove
Hide Caption
36 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Vaja
Hide Caption
37 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Jenny Lewis and Ryan Adams
Hide Caption
38 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Gwen Stefani
Hide Caption
39 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Olivia Culpo and Nick Jonas
Hide Caption
40 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Childish Gambino
Hide Caption
41 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
From left, Daniel Tichenor, Brad Shultz, Matt Shultz and Jared Champion of Cage the Elephant
Hide Caption
42 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Sam Smith
Hide Caption
43 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
From left, Troy Sanders, Brann Dailor, Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher of Mastodon
Hide Caption
44 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Patrick Carney, left, and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys
Hide Caption
45 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Aloe Blacc
Hide Caption
46 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Kelly Osbourne
Hide Caption
47 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
From left, Jack Patterson, Grace Chatto, Luke Patterson and Milan Neil Amin-Smith of Clean Bandit
Hide Caption
48 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
From left, Phil Campbell, Lemmy Kilmister and Mikkey Dee of Motorhead
Hide Caption
49 of 50
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Red carpet
Kaya Jones
Hide Caption
50 of 50
Obviously flustered, Beck thanked the entire production team, as well as his children for "letting me keep them awake extra longer."
Pointed statements
The Grammys got in some issue-oriented statements
President Obama dropped by via video to speak against domestic violence, with activist Brooke Axtell giving a moving speech.
Others weren't even spoken aloud: During his performance of "Happy," Pharrell and his background performers held up their hands in the now-familiar "Don't shoot" move.
And then there was Prince, who came out to present album of the year.
"Like books and black lives, albums still matter," he said.
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Common and John Legend perform their song "Glory" to close out the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 8. The song, from the movie "Selma," recently won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
Hide Caption
1 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Beyonce sings the gospel song "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."
Hide Caption
2 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Chris Martin joins Beck for a performance of Beck's "Heart Is a Drum." Beck won Album of the Year and Best Rock Album for "Morning Phase."
Hide Caption
3 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Actress Kristen Wiig performs while Sia sings her song "Chandelier."
Hide Caption
4 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Colombian rocker Juanes performs his new song "Juntos (Together)."
Hide Caption
5 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Mary J. Blige and Sam Smith perform Smith's "Stay With Me," which won the Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
Hide Caption
6 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Rihanna team up on Rihanna's new song "FourFiveSeconds."
Hide Caption
7 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Dwight Yoakam performs with Brandy Clark on Clark's song "Hold My Hand."
Hide Caption
8 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Eric Church sings "Give Me Back My Hometown."
Hide Caption
9 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Usher, backed by a harp, sings Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic."
Hide Caption
10 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga sing Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek," which is also the name of their collaborative album from last year.
Hide Caption
11 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Katy Perry sings "By the Grace of God."
Hide Caption
12 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer perform "Happy."
Hide Caption
13 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Annie Lennox was on stage with Hozier for a cover of "I Put a Spell On You."
Hide Caption
14 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine sing "My Heart Is Open."
Hide Caption
15 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Ed Sheeran plays guitar with Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra for "Mr. Blue Sky."
Hide Caption
16 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Madonna had some interesting performers for her single "Living for Love."
Hide Caption
17 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Kanye West went Auto-Tune for "Only One."
Hide Caption
18 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Miranda Lambert performs "Little Red Wagon."
Hide Caption
19 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
Ariana Grande sings "Just a Little Bit of Your Heart."
Hide Caption
20 of 21
Photos: 2015 Grammys: Performances
AC/DC open the show with "Rock or Bust" and "Highway to Hell."
Hide Caption
21 of 21
Annie Lennox goes to church; AC/DC goes to hell; Sia goes looking for a place to hide
Hozier was doing a fine job with his "Take Me to Church," but Lennox gave the song a new dimension -- and then took the audience to church with her soulful, dramatic version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You."
Then there was AC/DC, which started the show with "Rock or Bust" and "Highway to Hell." As surprising as it was to see the heavy-metal heroes on the Grammys -- not usually known for a fondness for metal -- it was equally surprising to see a group of celebrities wearing devil horns in the group's honor.
And Sia, known for hiding her face, performed her song "Chandelier" while facing a wall. Kristen Wiig and Maddie Ziegler handled the dancing duties. Sia was even reclusive on the red carpet.
Is it over yet?
About 11:10 p.m. ET, the Grammys gave out the final award of the night, record of the year. But the show still had about 35 minutes to go -- including an In Memoriam montage, a speech by Recording Academy head Neil Portnow about streaming royalties and performances by Beyonce ("Take My Hand, Precious Lord") and John Legend and Common ("Glory").
Johnny Carson once joked that the Oscars were "two hours of sparkling entertainment spread over a four-hour show." One wonders how many viewers hung around to watch the Grammys after the final award -- usually the sign that it's time to go, folks.
But, of course, there's always something unexpected about the Grammys.
Grammys, you can do better
Not much of a show, was it? Between trying too hard, being too long and having some awkward timing, this Grammy broadcast just didn't measure up to those of recent years.
So here are some suggestions for next year:
Pay attention to the pacing. Sunday's show just seemed off. And with so much show left after the final award for record of the year, viewers need a presentation that stays strong until the end.
Hire camera operators who recognize that you do not get Paul McCartney to have a seat when he's up dancing like a grandpa. Well, he is a grandfather, but Macca is allowed to do whatever he wants. The former Beatle was really, really digging ELO's performance of "Evil Woman" when he noticed that he was on camera and blocking the crowd shot behind him. Jam on, Macca, jam on.
Madonna, however, can have several seats. Yes, she reinvents herself all the time, but at this point, performances like Sunday night's "Living for Love" -- which we guess are supposed to be provocative -- are starting to feel like when Memaw has had too much to drink at Thanksgiving.
And that's not because of her age but because it feels dated. We've seen it all before.
Finally, could we please just have more Prince next year? Performing, presenting, giving side-eye, we don't care. Just more Prince, Grammys, if you please.