Kendrick Lamar began his collaboration with Imagine Dragons wearing a spotless white hoodie, but by the end of it he was covered in splatters of red from the smoky explosions around him. But those puffs of smoke didnt just come from the stage; they were exhaled from the lips of Taylor Swift, who danced in the front row, from Queen Latifah who sang along with Imagine Dragons, from Lorde who wore a wide smile and from Robin Thicke who put his arms in the air.
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The unusual pairing of Lamar and Imagine Dragons who combined their songs m.A.A.d City and this years Best Rock Performance Radioactive, respectively made for one of the evenings most jaw-dropping performances, just because of the sheer energy they combusted. As front-Dragon Dan Reynolds sang, Welcome to the New Age, the musicians all seemed to give a glimpse of just that, as they pounded on giant drums and Lamar took a couple minutes to spit out a mile-a-minute rap as the pink smoke began exploding from the stage. Even one of the masterminds behind Rap Rock 1.0, Steven Tyler, couldnt help but smile and sing along.
Imagine Dragons were up for a pair of awards Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance, both for Radioactive but singer Dan Reynolds wasnt optimistic about the bands chances. We are definitely not going into this thinking were going to win a Grammy, Reynolds told Rolling Stone recently. Were up for Record of the Year, and Radioactive was a big song. But songs like Blurred Lines were huge. If I were a voter, Id be like, Robin Thicke was at the VMAs with his pin-striped suit, and Lorde is cute and who are Imagine Dragons? I have no idea what those dudes even look like! When thats the take, you know youre not going to win that award.
Lamars nominations included Best New Artist and Album of the Year and Best Rap Album for good kid, m.A.A.d city. Also, Swimming Pools (Drank) was up for Best Rap Performance, Fuckin Problems (with A$AP Rocky and 2 Chainz) got a nod for Best Rap Song, Now or Never (with Mary J. Blige) was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and How Many Drinks? (Miguels song featuring Lamar) was in the running for Best R&B Performance.