Monday, January 27, 2014

Grammys 2014 say 'we do,' get political with mass wedding


FoxNews.com

January 26, 2014: Audience members participate in a same sex wedding during a performance of "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the 56th annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles. With Queen Latifah presiding from the stage and the music playing, 33 straight and gay couples lined the aisle dressed in wedding finery. Under Latifah's command, they exchanged rings near the end of Sunday night's show televised on CBS. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

This year, the Grammy Awards weren't just about the music, they were also about making a statement in the same-sex marriage debate.

Heavily hyped in the hours leading up to Sunday night's show, 34 couples -- both gay and straight -- exchanged rings and said "I do," as officiated on stage by Queen Latifah. The actress/rapper/talk show host was recently deputized by Los Angeles County to legally conduct wedding ceremonies and will sign the marriage certificates for each couple.
The event took place on a stage set to resemble a giant chapel with stained-glass windows during a performance by hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, in which they sang their hit tune "Same Love," a song embraced by the LGBT community last year.
One of the couples who tied-the-knot was Lewis's sister Laura and her boyfriend Alex.
"The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision/And you can be cured with some treatment and religion/Man-made rewiring of a predisposition," Macklemore rapped. "Playing God, aw nah here we go/America the brave still fears what we don't know/And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten/But we paraphrase a book written 3500 years ago."
Madonna later joined the matrimonial moment in an all-white suit, singing a portion of her heyday hit "Open Your Heart."
The group wedding ceremony was met with a standing ovation by the Grammy crowd, with Keith Urban even caught teary-eyed by the roving camera.
And many viewers at home also advocated a thumbs-up with tweets such as "so beautiful & so proud of couples not afraid to marry who they want... Straight gay black white... Love is Love."
Others, however, viewed the Grammy show-stopper as both inappropriate for a music awards show and a blatant attack on religious values.
"Why can't the event just be about the music? So tired of political and social messages being infused into everything," one tweeted. Others referred to it as "anti-Christian" and "propaganda," while another weighed in: "I don't care if they are gay or straight this is wrong. Quit shoving your leftist agenda down my throat. Enough is enough."
But it seems that is exactly what producers and the forces behind the Grammys intended to achieve: debate, emotion and even a little anger.
"I expect that people with all kinds of opinions might voice them, and that's healthy," Neil Portnow, President of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences told the press ahead of the telecast.
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Madonna the wedding singer performs as 33 gay and straight couples wed at the Grammys... and Katy Perry catches a bouquet

  • Queen Latifah officiated the mass wedding during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' powerful rendition of their song 'Same Love,' which has become a marriage equality anthem
  • The song overtly addresses the cultural divide on the issue of gay marriage
  • The stage was transformed into a makeshift church, with an alter and stained glass windows, for the emotionally-charged performance
  • Following the vows, Madonna performed 'Open Your Heart' to a standing ovation and tears from not just the brides and grooms but celebrity guests including Keith Urban
  • Lewis' own sister Laura even was part of the mass wedding, tying the knot with her boyfriend, Alex
  • Queen Latifah was recently deputized by Los Angeles County to legally conduct wedding ceremonies and will sign the marriage certificates for each couple
  • The performance polarized viewers with some slamming the Grammys for taking such a stance on a political issue
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 05:16 GMT, 27 January 2014 | UPDATED: 16:15 GMT, 27 January 2014


Thirty-three gay and straight couples were married live at the Grammy Awards last night in an emotionally-charged performance celebrating a year where the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down and scores of states legalized same-sex unions.
Queen Latifah officiated the mass wedding during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' powerful rendition of their song 'Same Love,' which has become a marriage equality anthem.
Following the vows, delivered as the stage was transformed into a makeshift church, with an alter and stained glass windows, Madonna, wearing a white suit and hat, performed 'Open Your Heart' to a standing ovation and tears from not just the brides and grooms but celebrity guests including Keith Urban.
Lewis' own sister Laura even was part of the mass wedding, tying the knot with her boyfriend, Alex.
Queen Latifah was recently deputized by Los Angeles County to legally conduct wedding ceremonies and will sign the marriage certificates for each couple. The lovers stood on platforms in the crowded venue as they exchanged rings and said 'I do' during the performance.
Scroll down for video
Macklemore (L), Ryan Lewis (2nd R), Mary Lambert (2nd L), Madonna (C) embrace on stage after performing the song 'Same Love' while Queen Latifah officiated over a mass wedding at the Grammy Awards
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Macklemore (L), Ryan Lewis (2nd R), Mary Lambert (2nd L), Madonna (C) embrace on stage after performing the song 'Same Love' while Queen Latifah officiated over a mass wedding at the Grammy Awards
The performers also embraced Queen Latifah onstage during the performance, who acted as officiant
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The performers also embraced Queen Latifah onstage during the performance, who acted as officiant

Couples teared up during the mass wedding on Sunday night
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Couples teared up during the mass wedding on Sunday night
One of the couples at the ceremony were caught beaming as newlyweds
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One of the couples at the ceremony were caught beaming as newlyweds




Dressed in a sparkling evening dress, Queen Latifah glowed as she introduced Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
'Music has the power to bring people together at the Grammys,' the actress and talk show host said. 'This song is a love song not for some of us but all of us!'
Macklemore was dressed in a velvet suit with a bolo tie, and vocalist Mary Lambert, wearing a sparking red evening gown, performed next to him, as did Trombone Shorty and producer Ryan Lewis kept a low profile, standing further back on stage.
The rapper was full of adrenalin as he delivered lyrics like: 'The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision/And you can be cured with some treatment and religion/Man-made rewiring of a predisposition. Playing God, aw nah here we go/America the brave still fears what we don't know/And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten/But we paraphrase a book written 3500 years ago.'
That's when Queen Latifah reemerged on stage, introducing the couples.
'It is my distinct honor to ask the participants to exchange rings,' she said.
She then acted as officiant for the lovers, who stood on platforms away from the stage in an array of formal and casual wedding attire.
One of the couples married during the awards ceremony included Spencer Stout and Dustin Reeser, whose Home Depot marriage proposal went viral, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. They are planning a ceremony later in the week for family and friends.
An intimate moment was captured from one bride during the Grammy's mass wedding portion
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An intimate moment was captured from one bride during the Grammy's mass wedding portion
One happy couple wore what appear to be matching sunglasses for the big day
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One happy couple wore what appear to be matching sunglasses for the big day


Passionate kisses were also part of the wedding festivities
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As were loving embraces
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Both passionate kisses and tender embraces were on display, as shown by these couples


Katy Perry caught the bouquet during Sunday's ceremony, expressing her support for the newlyweds
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Katy Perry caught the bouquet during Sunday's ceremony, expressing her support for the newlyweds
Once the official business was taken care of, Madonna joined the performers onstage, singing 'Open Your Heart' as the newlyweds kissed, hugged, laughed and cried. The married couples then moved along to the music, as a backing gospel choir joined in.
The couples walked down the center aisle of the theater away from the stage as Mary Lambert joined Madonna for a duet performance.
Country singer Keith Urban was seen with tears in his eyes during the performance.
 

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Celebrity fans of the performance included Neil Patrick Harris and Ellen DeGeneres on Twitter.
Patrick Harris wrote, 'My face hurts from smiling. That was one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to see. Much much love. Well done, Grammys.'
DeGeneres tweeted, '#SameLove was incredible. Love to @Macklemore, @RyanLewis, @MaryLambertSing @Madonna & @IAmQueenLatifah for a beautiful performance #GRAMMYs.'
Other Twitter users announced their support. One user wrote 'I would never stop telling people Beyonce and Jay-Z were at my wedding. #GRAMMYs'
However, some were predictably critical of the surprise performance.
Snap happy: Anna Kendrick sneaked over with her smartphone in hand so she could take a candid shot of a couple having a dance
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Snap happy: Anna Kendrick sneaked over with her smartphone in hand so she could take a candid shot of a couple having a dance

Celebrity fans of the performance included Ellen DeGeneres who tweeted, '#SameLove was incredible. Love to @Macklemore, @RyanLewis, @MaryLambertSing @Madonna & @IAmQueenLatifah for a beautiful performance #GRAMMYs'
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Celebrity fans of the performance included Ellen DeGeneres who tweeted, '#SameLove was incredible. Love to @Macklemore, @RyanLewis, @MaryLambertSing @Madonna & @IAmQueenLatifah for a beautiful performance #GRAMMYs'

Neil Patrick Harris wrote, 'My face hurts from smiling. That was one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to see. Much much love. Well done, Grammys'
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Neil Patrick Harris wrote, 'My face hurts from smiling. That was one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to see. Much much love. Well done, Grammys'

The couples, gay, straight and interracial, were lined up in the venue, standing on platforms as they said their vows
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The couples, gay, straight and interracial, were lined up in the venue, standing on platforms as they said their vows

On Twitter, users slammed the Grammys for taking such an overt stance on a political issue, claiming the show-stopper was both inappropriate for a music awards show and an attack on religious values.
Prior to the event, Billy Hallowell from The Blaze tweeted 'Why can't the event just be about the music? So tired of political and social messages being infused into everything.'
Conservative pundit Todd Starnes, who has appeared on Fox News, also tweeted 'The Grammys to make a mockery of marriage tonight.'
Others dubbed the mass wedding as 'anti-Christian' and leftist 'propaganda.'
'I don't care if they are gay or straight this is wrong. Quit shoving your leftist agenda down my throat. Enough is enough,' another tweet read.



An earlier report by the New York Times announced that more than three dozen gay, straight and interracial couples - including Lewis' sister and her boyfriend - would exchange vows.
For Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, whose 'Same Love' was up for song of the year, the event took on a personal note with the participation of Lewis's sister Laura, who married her boyfriend during the ceremony.
'A night that is already tremendous for me, for the music,' the Times quoted him as saying, 'but to have my sister get married and my family there watching it — that makes it a whole other level of amazing.'
Lewis also said that the weddings 'will be in our minds the ultimate statement of equality, that all the couples are entitled to the same exact thing.'
Couples were beaming during the televised mass wedding
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Couples were beaming during the televised mass wedding

The stage was made to resemble a chapel with beautiful stained glass windows
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The stage was made to resemble a chapel with beautiful stained glass windows

The performers were clearly moved by the significant moment
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The performers were clearly moved by the significant moment

Even Ryan Lewis' sister Laura married her boyfriend, Alex, during the memorable performance
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Even Ryan Lewis' sister Laura married her boyfriend, Alex, during the memorable performance

The wedding's rehearsal took place on Saturday, where the couples walked up and down aisles near the main GRAMMY stage. Show producer Ken Ehrlich stated that putting the soon-to-be-wed pairs onstage 'could be viewed as more exploitative.'
'It seemed like less of a "show" than if I put them onstage,' Ehrlich explained. 'I don't want them to feel as though they're on parade,' he told the New York Times.

The idea for the weddings originated last fall when Mr. Ehrlich sat down with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis over lunch to brainstorm ideas for a possible performance. Knowing that their concerts have occasionally featured onstage marriage proposals, Mr. Ehrlich suggested taking it a step further with a full wedding.
The band was into it, so a casting agency was hired to find the couples, who at first were told only that the ceremony would take place on live television. The couples each signed confidentiality agreements — promising not to tell even their families.
Defending the multi-marriage stunt from critics against the Grammy wedding ceremony, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences president Neil Portnoy said, 'I expect that people with all kinds of opinions might voice them, and that's healthy, but we don't need to stoop to the level of trying to find gimmicks and sensationalistic approaches to what we do.'
In a charming twist, pop star Katy Perry caught a bouquet thrown into the crowd, and tweeted a picture of herself holding it with the comment, 'Congrats to all the #samelove couples tonight. You had me in tears of joy for y'all! Also... Look who caught the bouquet!!! #okuuuurrrr
Earlier in the evening, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song.
Watch the full performance here.





Grammys: Gay marriage takes centre stage


Comments (2)
Anthony Zurcher By Anthony Zurcher Editor, Echo Chambers
Thirty-three couples are married by Queen Latifah during the Grammy Awards show on January 26, 2014. A mass wedding has become the most talked about moment of the 2014 Grammys


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The 56th Grammy Awards were held last night, and while there were no twerking incidents to stir controversy, a planned marriage ceremony for 34 gay and straight couples officiated by Queen Latifah in the middle of the rap by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis about marriage equality (with a cameo by Madonna) had people talking.

"It was a brave move by the rap duo who are just experiencing their first flush of fame, but it showed the Seattle based duo are serious about using their profile to push a progressive message," writes the New York Post's Hardeep Phull. "It's something that pop stars seldom do for fear of losing fans, but Macklemore & Ryan Lewis showed that they have guts as well as talent."


“Start Quote

Entertainers never want to have a debate, just a series of arrogant 'statements' with no opportunity for a conversation as they flush the Bible on national TV”
End Quote Tim Graham Media Research Center

Grammys: Gay marriage takes centre stage

Actress/producer/director Elizabeth Banks tweeted that the performance "just changed the big world a little for the better".

Bustle's Lindsay Mannering wrote: "When Madonna, dressed in a white tuxedo with a white cane and cowboy hat emerged, it was hard not to push out your lips and think aloud to no one in the room, 'yeah, this is pretty cool'."

Reaction to the performance wasn't universally positive, however, with criticism coming from several directions.

The conservative Media Research Center's Tim Graham took offense at the social criticism in Macklemore's rap, calling it "a piece of musical agitprop to mock the traditional values of conservative American Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others. Entertainers never want to have a debate, just a series of arrogant 'statements' with no opportunity for a conversation as they flush the Bible on national TV."

Others wondered about the self-consciousness in the lyrics of Macklemore's rap, Same Love.

"For a pro gay song, this sure does feature a lot of Macklemore clarifying that he's straight," tweeted Ronan Farrow.

The Washington Post's Alexandra Petri agreed:

Mary Lambert, Madonna, Ryan Lewis and Macklemore performed a song about how Macklemore Believes In Gay Rights And Can Lecture You On Intolerance Because When He Was In Third Grade He Thought He Was Gay (But He Wasn't Though) But, Like, The Point Is, He Gets It (Repeat: The Mack Has Always Liked Girls) while 34 couples (gay and straight) were married by Queen Latifah.

The Daily Beast's Marlow Stern called the number "downright offensive", for which he blamed the airing network, CBS.

"Unfortunately, those watching at home didn't get to see any of the gay couples actually kiss since CBS - in a baffling decision - pulled away the cameras, choosing to instead focus on Madonna fumbling about with a cane while mumbling the words to Open Your Heart," he writes.

Of course, the broadcast wasn't all gay marriage and rapping for equality. There were other moments to get folks worked up into a lather. Katy Perry and Juicy J, for instance, had a goth-inspired performance of Dark Horse that the Blaze's Wilson Garrett called an "alternate reality where Voldemort won and Hermione became an evil stripper."


“Start Quote

Nice to see someone put on a show all generations can be mortified by together”
End Quote James Poniewozik Time magazine

The night was filled with what now has become a regular progression of new and old stars billed as "Grammy moments", with varying levels of success.

The Los Angeles Times's Mikael Wood called them "better than usual", and singled out Stevie Wonder's collaboration with the robot-garb-clad French group Daft Punk (the big award winners of the night) as particularly noteworthy.

Wil Cifer of Soletron writes that sets were "forced collaborations" that "were painfully awkward":

Chicago sounded like they belonged on a cruise ship. Madonna looked like she was trying to hide her age by paling herself out beyond belief, and the pimp cane seemed like a walker. Lindsey Buckingham's guitar sounded great with Nine Inch Nails, but his singing didn't mesh.

In the end, there was something in the three-hour-plus show for everyone to love - or hate.

As Time magazine media critic James Poniewozik tweeted: "Nice to see someone put on a show all generations can be mortified by together."




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