Grammys continue tradition of success with 55th edition

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by L.L. Cool J, took place Sunday evening. This year’s installment was yet another awards show that did not fail to please celebrities and music enthusiasts across the country.

"Welcome to the greatest music show on earth, the Grammy Awards," L.L. Cool J said to kick things off.

The show began with a strange but entertaining performance of "Never Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift, who was dressed in an all-white outfit with a large, white top hat boasting "Alice in Wonderland" influences.

During the performance, she sang to a man strapped to a large spiral and later pushed him to the floor . Maybe this said something about Swift’s love life.

Ed Sheeran performed alongside a sparkling Elton John, and together they sang "The A Team" on guitar and piano flawlessly.

Jennifer Lopez, who wowed the audience in a black dress with her entire right leg showing, and Pitbull then presented the award for Best Pop Solo Performance to Adele for "Set Fire to the Rain." Adele won six Grammys in 2012, but this was her only trophy in 2013.

Fun. kept the action rolling with a performance of their newest single, "Carry On." Toward the end of their performance, it began to rain, and it was not just background rain, ladies and gentlemen. This was real, wet rain, and it poured all over the group. Fun. also racked up the Grammys for Song of the Year for "We Are Young" and Best New Artist later in the evening.

Bonnie Raitt, who won her 10th Grammy Sunday evening, and John Mayer, who was in a blue velvet suit, introduced country artists Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley to perform a combination of their songs "Over You" and "Home." Lambert’s sparkling gold, nude and black mini-dress stole the performance.

Miguel and Wiz Khalifa performed a unique version of Miguel’s "Adorn" in black and white pinstripe suits. Next, strangely enough, the duo presented Best Country Solo Performance to Carrie Underwood, who looked gorgeous in a black sparkling gown, for "Blown Away."

Ellen DeGeneres and Beyonce, both looking incredibly classy, hilariously introduced Justin Timberlake for his much-anticipated performance of "Suit and Tie," his recently released single, and his new love ballad, "Mirror."

The audience went wild when Jay-Z accompanied him onstage, and Timberlake received great reactions via Twitter.

He’s back. Get excited.

Another spectacular performance from Sunday’s show was Maroon 5, who performed "Daylight," before Alicia Keys appeared alongside the group in a classy, cut-out, black mini-dress to sing "Girl on Fire."

Kaley Cuoco and Keith Urban then presented Best Pop Vocal Album to "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson.

"Miguel, I don’t know who the hell you are, but we need to sing together," Clarkson said in her acceptance speech.

Best Rap Song Collaboration was awarded to "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean and The Dream.

As the music to cue the end of the acceptance speech began, Jay-Z began to speak, and the music shut off. If that’s not celebrity power, I’m not sure what is.

The Black Keys rocked the awards show with their single, "Lonely Boy," before Clarkson sang a beautiful rendition of "Tennessee Waltz" combined with "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

Following this performance, Bruno Mars began the much-awaited Bob Marley tribute with his most recent single, "Locked Out of Heaven."

Sting joined Mars on the song before Rihanna and Damian and Ziggy Marley (Bob’s sons) also joined in on "Could You Be Loved," Marley’s song which transformed music and maybe a little of the world in the ’60s and ’70s.

Hunter Hayes melted every female’s heart in the room with "Wanted" before introducing Carrie Underwood, for whom he opens on tour. Underwood then performed a beautiful version of her recent single, "Blown Away," followed by "Two Black Cadillacs."

Clarkson and Underwood – both products of early seasons of "American Idol" – were undoubtedly the best vocal performances of the evening.

A hooded Prince then wowed the crowd and walked onstage next with a stick and sunglasses to present record of the year to Gotye and Kimbra for "Somebody That I Used to Know."

A slideshow of pictures and songs from those who passed away in the music industry were shown to a somber audience before Elton John and many other artists performed "Take A Load Off Annie" to brighten the mood.

Frank Ocean performed his recent song "Forrest Gump" with a performance and lyrics that confused many, but it seemed as if no one cared because his voice was so beautiful.

The Beastie Boys and L.L. Cool J ended the show with "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," a performance which reminded everyone that music industry is still thriving and will always make an impact on society.

Overall, the show was a raging success.

The Grammy Awards are the only awards show that still airs on a tape delay. Others air live across the country, and according to CBS, this is because the Grammy is a performance-heavy show, East Coast online chatter piques West Coast curiosity and ratings are strong as is.

"It’s something we talk about every year, but the simple truth is it’s working," said a CBS representative.