This Year's Grammys Show Was the Most Socially Aware in a While

Just before Katy Perry sang her emotional ballad "By the Grace of God," activist and domestic-abuse survivor Brooke Axtell took the stage to perform a spoken-word piece about domestic violence. Of the collaboration, Brooke told People, "It's an honor to collaborate with Katy in this way. She has been very devoted to various aspects of female empowerment. It's going to bring a lot of encouragement and freedom to those who hear my story and know that they are not alone in this."

During Pharrell Williams's performance of "Happy," the singer paid tribute to the late Michael Brown, the teen who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO, and Trayvon Martin, who was shot by George Zimmerman. In the middle of the performance, backup dancers wearing black hoodies held up their hands in a "hands up, don't shoot" gesture.

When Prince presented the award for album of the year, he included a nod to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, saying, "Albums still matter. Like books and black lives, they still matter."

As in Pharrell's performance, the all-male choir behind Beyoncé held up their hands in a "hands up, don't shoot" signal as she sang "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." Her performance led into that of John Legend and Common, who sang the moving, poignant song "Glory," which they wrote for Selma.