56th Grammy Awards Brings Surprises and Lots of Love

Who would have thought that one of the biggest nights in music would coincide with the one of the most important night in the lives of 33 couples?  That was exactly what happened at the 56^th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, as Queen Latifah married both hetero and homosexual couples during hip-hop duo, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's performance of "Same Love."

"This song is a love song, not for some of us, but for all of us," said Latifah, introducing the performance. She then announced that the couples were now considered legally recognized as married during a break in the song. After the mass-wedding, Madonna took the stage, singing an excerpt of her song "Open Your Heart" with Seattle-based singer-songwriter Mary Lambert closing the remainder.

The performance was just a fraction of Best New Artist winner Mackelmore's big night. His single "Thrift Shop" was awarded the Grammys for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance; Best Rap Album went to his debut album, The Heist.

The couples weren't the only ones moved by the marriages. Keith Urban, Ellen DeGeneres, and Katy Perry were all moved to tears during the performance.

No matter an individual's stance on the topic of same-sex marriage, the Grammys provided a platform to try and reach everyone. "Music is something that's universal. No matter where you're from, we're all moved by music," said Quincy Gossield, one of the newlyweds.  

Despite mostly-positive reactions, not everyone welcomed Macklemore's performance."If you care about children, this thing ought to [disgust] you because gay marriage is bad for children [and] a form of child abuse," said Bryan Fischer, Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association. He also Tweeted before the ceremony: "Heads up: Grammy telecast to feature sodomy-based wedding ceremonies."

Beyoncé opened the show with "Drunk in Love" from her latest self-titled album with husband Jay-Z. Singer-songwriter Lorde won Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year for "Royals," making her the youngest songwriter to win a Grammy.

Daft Punk had the biggest night, taking home Album of the Year for Random Access Memories. They were also awarded for Best Pop Duo for their track "Get Lucky (ft. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers," and Best Electronica/Dance album. A performance of "Get Lucky" in-house followed featuring Stevie Wonder.

Though not televised, British heavy metal legends Black Sabbath took home the Grammy for Best Metal Performance ("God is Dead?"), but Taylor Swift did the head-banging for them while performings "All Too Well."

David Fincher's direction for Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z's "Suit and Tie" won Best Music Video, and the two were also awarded Best Rap Collaboration for "Holy Grail."

In a move that surprised all, former Beatles members Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney joined the stage together for the first time in years to perform "Queenie Eye."

Despite all of the festivities that occurred during the course of the evening, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails expressed his anger with the ceremony as a whole via Twitter, due to his set with Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), and Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters and Nirvana) being cut short for the ending credits.

Grammy Executive Producer, Ken Ehrlich, has since apologized.