In the Grammys 2014 pre-telecast, Imagine Dragons claimed the Grammy award for Best Rock Performance for their smash single “Radioactive,” beating out Jack White, David Bowie, and Queens of the Stone Age in a rather shocking upset. The radio darlings are universally enjoyed, but the maniacally devoted fanbases of all other nominated artists suggested a different result.
Watch Daft Punk & Stevie Wonder’s collaboration performance from Grammys 2014
Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin won Best Rock Album for Celebration Day, despite no original songs. They topped Bowie, Sabbath and Queens of The Stone Age, reminding us that the Grammy judges have absolutely no understanding of what the hell they’re doing. Nor do producers, who deemed an alarming number of prominent awards unworthy of the live telecast, opting instead for a Cyndi Lauper-driven stream-of-consciousness mess of missed cues and absentee winners as we learned that Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories beat out Disclosure to win Best Dance/Electronica Album, and also won Best Engineered Album. We also caught the news that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the Cinderella story of this year’s awards, swept the rap and hip-hop categories, winning Best Rap Album for The Heist.
Need further evidence? No problem: Vampire Weekend won Best Alternative Album for Modern Vampires of the City. They beat out Nine Inch Nails, The National, Tame Impala, and Neko Case.
Daft Punk wins Album of The Year Grammy – read our tribute to ‘Random Access Memories’
Watch NIN/QOTSA/Lindsey Buckingham/Dave Grohl close out the 2014 Grammy Awards
Grammys 2014
“>
Grammys 2014
-
Grammys 2014
Imagine Dragons perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Rapper Kandrick Lamar and singer Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer John Legend performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musician James Hetfield of Metallica performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Beyonce (L) and rapper Jay-Z onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singers Steven Tyler (L) and Smokey Robinson speak onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singers Miranda Lambert (L) and Billy Joe Armstrong perform at the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Recording artists Thomas Bangalter (L) and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musicians Daft Punk; Nile Rodgers, Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Recording artist Pink onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Pink performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Lorde performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Lorde (L) and accepts the Best Pop Solo Performance award for 'Royals' onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musician Lindsey Buckingham performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Katie Perry onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musicians Paul McCartney (L) and Ringo Starr onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Ringo Starr performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Robin Thicke performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Kirk Hammett of Metallica onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Madonna performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
(2nd L-R)Musicians Macklemore, Mary Lambert, Madonna, Ryan Lewis and Queen Latifah perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Recording artist Macklemore and singer Mary Lambert perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musicians Lang Lang (L) and James Hetfield perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Actor-singer Jared Leto speaks onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Dan Reynolds performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musician Dave Grohl performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musical group Queens of the Stone Age perform with Nine Inch Nails onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musician Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musicians Daft Punk accepts award for Album of the Year onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Katy Perry performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singer Katy Perry performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singers Nate Ruess and Pink onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Actor/singer Jamie Foxx and rapper Jay-Z onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musicians Alicia Keys (2nd L) and Yoko Ono (3rd L) present Paul Williams, Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers, and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo of Daft Punk with the Album of the Year award onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Singers Nate Ruess (L) and Pink onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
Musicians Paul McCartney (L) and Dave Grohl onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
-
Grammys 2014
(L-R) Musicians Krist Novoselic, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear speak onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
