2015 Grammy Award Winners

2015 Grammy Award Winners

  • Winners were broadcast on February 8, 2015
  • Staples Center in Los Angeles was the go-to venue for the night’s festivities
  • LL Cool J acted as the host, a role he was becoming quite accustomed to
  • Music released between October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014, was eligible for awards
  • Noteworthy Moments: Sam Smith won four awards, including Record and Song of the Year for “Stay With Me”; Beck’s Morning Phase nabbed Album of the Year; Pharrell Williams scored three awards, including one for the infectious “Happy”
  • Trivia:
    1. Sam Smith was one of the few artists to win in all four major categories in one night
    2. Kanye West jokingly stormed the stage when Beck won Album of the Year, referencing his infamous Taylor Swift interruption from 2009
    3. The awards show featured a “FourFiveSeconds” performance by Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney, generating a lot of buzz
    4. AC/DC opened the show, marking their Grammy Awards performance debut
    5. Madonna performed “Living for Love” with a matador-themed performance, attracting both praise and criticism

2015 Grammy Winners

Record of the Year:
Stay With Me (Darkchild Version) – Sam Smith
Album of the Year:
Morning Phase – Beck
Song of the Year:
Stay With Me (Darkchild Version) – Sam Smith
Best New Artist:
Sam Smith
Best Pop Solo Performance:
Happy (Live) – Pharrell Williams
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Say Something – A Great Big World With Christina Aguilera
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
Cheek to Cheek – Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Best Pop Vocal Album:
In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith
Best Dance Recording:
Rather Be – Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne
Best Dance/Electronic Album:
Syro – Aphex Twin
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album:
Bass & Mandolin – Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer Jr
Best Rock Performance:
Lazaretto – Jack White
Best Metal Performance:
The Last in Line – Tenacious D
Best Rock Song:
Ain’t It Fun – Paramore (Hayley Williams & Taylor York, songwriters)
Best Rock Album:
Morning Phase – Beck
Best Alternative Music Album:
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Best R&B Performance:
Drunk in Love – Beyonce featuring Jay Z
Best Traditional R&B Performance:
Jesus Children – Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Lalah Hathaway & Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Best R&B Song:
Drunk in Love – Beyonce featuring Jay Z
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Girl – Pharrell Williams
Best R&B Album:
Love, Marriage & Divorce – Toni Braxton & Babyface
Best Rap Performance:
I – Kendrick Lamar
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
The Monster – Eminem Featuring Rihanna
Best Rap Song:
I – Kendrick Lamar (K. Duckworth & C. Smith, songwriters)
Best Rap Album:
The Marshall Mathers LP2 – Eminem
Best Country Solo Performance:
Something in the Water – Carrie Underwood
Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
Gentle on My Mind – The Band Perry
Best Country Song:
I’m Not Gonna Miss You – Glen Campbell (Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond, songwriters)
Best New Age Album:
Winds of Samsara – Ricky Kej & Wouter Kellerman
Best Improvised Jazz Solo:
Fingerprints – Chick Corea, soloist
Best Jazz Vocal Album:
Beautiful Life – Dianne Reeves
Best Jazz Instrumental Album:
Trilogy – Chick Corea Trio
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album:
Life in the Bubble – Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band
Best Latin Jazz Album:
The Offense of the Drum – Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Best Gospel Performance/Song:
No Greater Love – Smokie Norful (Smokie Norful; Aaron W. Lindsey & Smokie Norful, songwriters)
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song:
Messengers – Lecrae featuring For King & Country
Best Gospel Album:
Help – Erica Campbell
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:
Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. – For King & Country
Best Roots Gospel Album:
Shine For All the People – Mike Farris
Best Latin Pop Album:
Tangos – Ruben Blades
Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album:
Multiviral – Calle 13
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano):
Mano A Mano – Tangos A La Manera De Vicente Fernandez – Vicente Fernandez
Best Tropical Latin Album:
Mas + Corazon Profundo – Carlos Vives
Best American Roots Performance:
A Feather’s Not a Bird – Rosanne Cash
Best American Roots Song:
A Feather’s Not a Bird – Rosanne Cash (Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal, songwriters)
Best Americana Album:
The River & The Thread – Rosanne Cash
Best Bluegrass Album:
The Earls of Leicester – The Earls of Leicester
Best Blues Album:
Step Back – Johnny Winter
Best Folk Album:
Remedy – Old Crow Medicine Show
Best Regional Roots Music Album:
The Legacy – Jo-El Sonnier
Best Reggae Album:
Fly Rasta – Ziggy Marley
Best World Music Album:
Eve – Angelique Kidjo
Best Children’s Album:
I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education and Changed the World (Malala Yousafzai) – Neela Vaswani
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):
Diary of a Mad Diva – Joan Rivers
Best Comedy Album:
Mandatory Fun – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Best Musical Theater Album:
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Jessie Mueller, principal soloist; Jason Howland, Steve Sidwell & Billy Jay Stein, producers (Carole King, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast)
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media:
Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Tom MacDougall & Chris Montan, compilation producers
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media:
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat, composer
Best Song Written for Visual Media:
Let It Go – Idina Menzel (Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters)
Best Instrumental Composition:
The Book Thief – John Williams, composer
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella:
Daft Punk – Pentatonix (Ben Bram, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado & Kevin Olusola, arrangers)
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals:
New York Tendaberry” Billy Childs featuring Renee Fleming & Yo-Yo Ma (Billy Childs, arranger)
Best Recording Package:
Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam (Jeff Ament, Don Pendleton, Joe Spix & Jerome Turner, art directors)
Best Boxed or Special Edition Limited Edition Package:
The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-27) – Various Artists (Susan Archie, Dean Blackwood & Jack White, art directors)
Best Album Notes:
Offering: Live At Temple University – John Coltrane (Ashley Kahn, album notes writer)
Best Historical Album:
The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 – Hank Williams (Colin Escott & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical:
Morning Phase – Beck (Tom Elmhirst, David Greenbaum, Florian Lagatta, Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, Robbie Nelson, Darrell Thorp, Cassidy Turbin & Joe Visciano, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer)
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical:
Max Martin
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical:
All Of Me (Tiesto’s Birthday Treatment Remix) – John Legend (Tijs Michiel Verwest, remixer)
Best Surround Sound Album:
Beyonce – Beyonce (Elliot Scheiner, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer; Beyonce Knowles, surround producer)
Best Engineered Album, Classical:
Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem; Symphony No. 4; The Lark Ascending – Robert Spano, Norman Mackenzie, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Michael Bishop, engineer; Michael Bishop, mastering engineer)
Producer of the Year, Classical:
Judith Sherman
Best Orchestral Performance:
Adams, John: City Noir – St. Louis Symphony (David Robertson, conductor)
Best Opera Recording:
Charpentier: La Descente D’Orphee Aux Enfers – Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble (Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Aaron Sheehan; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer)
Best Choral Performance:
The Sacred Spirit of Russia – Conspirare (Craig Hella Johnson, conductor)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance:
In 27 Pieces – The Hilary Hahn Encores – Hilary Hahn & Cory Smythe
Best Classical Instrumental Solo:
Play – Jason Vieaux
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album:
Douce France РCarl Bagge, Margareta Bengston, Mats Bergstr̦m, Per Ekdahl, Bengan Janson, Olle Linder & Antoine Tamestit (Anne Sofie Von Otter; Bengt Forsberg, accompanist)
Best Classical Compendium:
Partch: Plectra & Percussion Dances – Partch (John Schneider, producer)
Best Contemporary Classical Composition:
Adams, John Luther: Become Ocean – Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony (John Luther Adams, composer)
Best Music Video:
Happy – Pharrell Williams (We Are From LA, video director; Kathleen Heffernan, Solal Micenmacher, Jett Steiger, video producers)
Best Music Film:
20 Feet From Stardom – Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer & Judith Hill (Morgan Neville, video director; Gil Friesen & Caitrin Rogers, video producers)