For a singer who received a near-coronation — from best new artist to song of the year — Sam Smith played it modest at the 57th annual Grammy Awards, broadcast on Sunday night from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He shared his performance of his hit “Stay With Me” (song of the year and record of the year) from the album “In the Lonely Hour” (best pop vocal album) with Mary J. Blige, whose voice found the heat in Mr. Smith’s ardent plea to a one-night stand. Mr. Smith dedicated the record of the year award to “the man who this record is about, who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart, ’cause you got me four Grammys.” “Stay With Me” is a song in a reverent, hymnlike mode — one of many near-hymns on the awards show, which packed 23 performances around nine awards presentations; 74 more awards were given before the telecast.The broadcast swerved among the somber, the overblown and the head-scratching. The more inexplicable, the more memorable. Madonna sang her gospel-infused “Living for Love” wearing a one-piece outfit in matador red, surrounded by male dancers wearing silver masks and bulls’ horns.
There was Pharrell Williams (best urban contemporary album, best pop solo performance), dressed like a bellhop, starting his hit “Happy” amid a crashing, minor-key orchestral arrangement that sounded like something out of “Carmina Burana,” with a splashy piano interlude from Lang Lang.
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A version of this article appears in print on February 9, 2015, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: An Evening of Hymns and Repeated Praise. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
