Grammys 2015: Kanye, can 'Ye grow up?

The year is 2015, but US rapper Kanye West is still clinging to his old bag of tricks.

Remember his infamous MTV Video Music Awards stunt in 2009, when he gatecrashed Taylor Swift's acceptance speech after her Best Female Video win?

In a move that pushed him to the top spot in the Douchebag Hall of Fame, he was memorably vocal about who deserved the award more - Beyonce.

West and Swift have since made up, but the 37-year-old is now picking on someone else.

He repeated his act at this year's Grammy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on Sunday night (US time), where his new target was US musician Beck.

SHOCK

It was quite the shock when Beck was announced the unexpected winner of Album of the Year for Morning Phase, beating his more mainstream and hyped-up fellow nominees Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Pharrell Williams.

The live audience at Staples Center, including open-mouthed celebrity couple Beyonce and Jay Z, was puzzled when West briefly appeared onstage with Beck, leaned into the mic first and gestured as if to speak, then smilingly retreated and made his way down to his seat beside wife Kim Kardashian.

Beck good-naturedly told West to "come back", saying he "needed help", to laughter and visible relief from the crowd.

We would like to think West finally learnt how to make fun of himself - until he made it clear later in the night that he was not joking.

In a post-show tirade to E! After Party, he said: "Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyonce...

"I am here to fight for creativity. That's the reason why I didn't say anything tonight. But y'all know what it meant when 'Ye walks on the stage."

Someone give this guy a Grammy for Best Award Show Jerk, please.

But Beck told reporters backstage: "You can't please everybody. I still love him and think he's genius. I aspire to what he does. How many great records has he put out in the last five years, right?"

MADONNA GOES OVER THE TOP

Like West, pop divas like Katy Perry, Beyonce and Ariana Grande, who usually pull out all the stops at awards shows, took the "less is more" approach in their performances.

They chose to keep it classy, each delivering a stripped-down, haunting rendition of By The Grace of God, Take My Hand, Precious Lord and Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart respectively that spoke volumes about their calibre.

Unfortunately, Madonna did not get the memo.

For her new single Living For Love, the 56-year-old singer donned a plunging red matador outfit and was joined by male dancers, wearing horned headgear, and a gospel choir.

SAM-SATIONAL WINS

Best New Artist? Sure.

After all, English crooner Sam Smith was the strongest contender against Iggy Azalea, Bastille, Brandy Clark and Haim in that category.

To his surprise, he went on to sweep three more Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal album, making him the big winner.

"Before I made this record, I was doing everything to try and get my music heard.

"I tried to lose weight and I was making awful music and it was only until I started to be myself that the music started to flow and

people started to listen," he said in his acceptance speech for his Best Pop Vocal Album win.

He also thanked his ex, who had inspired his successful single Stay With Me.

"Thank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys," Smith said after winning Record of the Year for the song.

PHARRELL IS NOT IN THE MOOD

That priceless unamused expression when he saw Taylor Swift's enthusiastic offstage awards show dancing is sure to be a viral meme by now.

Perhaps Williams was having an off day. It looked that way, judging by the US singer's awkward acceptance speech and uncomfortable stance when he won Best Pop Solo Performance for Happy (Live) because he was "prepared for everyone else in this category to win".

He then tried to cover his embarrassment by saying he would moonwalk off the stage.

He proceeded to exit on the wrong side - with no moonwalk.

WEIRDEST SEGMENT

We have long learnt to associate the word "unconventional" with Australian singer-songwriter Sia, who had her back to the audience throughout her Chandelier performance.

It featured child dancer Maddie Ziegler and - gasp! - a surprise cameo by Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig, who nailed the spectacular choreography in a matching blonde wig.

But before that, it was actor Shia LaBeouf, star of Sia's Elastic Heart music video, who introduced her with a strange "love letter" written on purple paper.

Part of the speech read: "For Sia: I feel like this may be strange to say this here. I love you so. Punch me if I stop crying."

He signed off with "Love, Erik", a possible reference to Sia's filmmaker husband Erik Anders Lang.

This article was first published on February 10, 2015.
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