| Here's what you missed at the 2015 Grammy awards | We know what you're thinking: Awards shows are garbage, a superficial prom for America's creative "talent" to preen and prance and pat themselves on the back. And the Grammys, with its skewed voter system and history of awful snubs, are no different.
You're right — but also wrong. Last year, 28.5 million people watched the Grammys, and these shows, while horrifyingly bland and bizarre, are important platforms for some of the country's most beloved icons to shape how we think about the nation and each other. This year's Grammys were no exception. Some examples:
+ In one quote, four-time Grammy winner Sam Smith sent a powerful message to aspiring artists about what it really means to be a musician.
+ President Barack Obama made a surprise video PSA for the White House's campaign to end domestic violence — not bad, considering Grammy voters honored serial misogynist Eminem with the award for best rap album.
+ Activist, performance artist and rape survivor Brooke Axtell spoke out against sexual assault alongside Katy Perry, who finally sent the message she ignored at the Super Bowl.
+ Pharrell used the anticipation around a "new" version of his hit song "Happy" to send an important, if subtle, message on the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
+ Miranda Lambert took a bold stand for women in country music, the incredible artists and songwriters often underrepresented in a genre in need of diversity.
Of course, there was plenty of fun at this year's Grammys. Our favorites:
+ Madonna. Holy living fuck, Madonna.
+ Kanye West nearly (jokingly) repeated his infamous 2009 "Imma let you finish" moment after Beck clinched the award for album of the year. | | | While no one was paying attention, tensions in Ukraine reached an all-time high | The yearlong armed conflict in eastern Ukraine between government security forces and Russia-backed rebels has reached one of its tensest points yet.
Reuters reports that the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany will meet Wednesday in Belarus in what might be the last possible attempt to secure a cease-fire before a "dramatic spiral" that renders peace impossible.
+ Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he hoped the meeting would produce a "swift and unconditional cease-fire" in eastern Ukraine, where the U.N. estimates the death toll has risen to an astonishing 5,358.
+ The negotiations come at a critical time. Separatist advances into Ukrainian territory have been gaining pace, while a recent report by major U.S. think tanks urged President Obama to begin arming Poroshenko with $1 billion in weapons annually through 2017. Unless something changes quickly, the situation will only get more heated. | | | Jordan is planning to "wipe the Islamic State from the face of the Earth" | In a clear and direct escalation of military activity against the Islamic State group, Jordan has reportedly launched 56 airstrikes against the terrorist group in the last three days in response to the brutal execution of a Jordanian pilot last week.
+ The attacks were a retaliation after the Islamic State group released a video Thursday showing the execution of captured Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. Al-Kaseasbeh was burned alive while trapped in a cage.
+ The country's air force chief, Gen. Mansour al-Jabour, said Sunday that the nearly five dozen strikes hit "logistics centers, arms depots and targeted hideouts of their fighters," reports Al-Jazeera. The attacks were targeting the Syrian city of Raqqa, an Islamic State stronghold.
+ "We achieved what we were looking for: revenge for Muath," al-Jabour said, according to the Associated Press. "And this is not the end. This is the beginning." | | |
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