Paul McCartney
The Beatles legend played tunes from the American songbook—and his own formidable one.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Want to start strong? But this roadtested band on first because they rock.
Nicki Minaj
In the most polarizing performance of the evening, the rapper's Exorcist-tastic event was pretty long and not very entertaining.
The Civil Wars
The Grammy-winning duo only had a minute of airtime, but made great use of it with a great quip and rousing performance.
Jennifer Hudson
In an incredibly emotional performance, Hudson belted out "I Will Always Love You" as a tribute to the late Whitney Houston.
The Band Perry
Not only did the group give a great performance during the Glen Campbell tribute, but bassist Reid Perry wore perhaps the tightest pants of the night.
Adele
Simply amazing. Some years belong to one performer, and Adele demonstrated why this one is hers with a stellar performance of "Rollin' in the Deep" (as well as six Grammy wins).
Katy Perry
The singer faked us out with a pretend-malfunction before restarting with a fiery performance.
Alicia Keys & Bonnie Raitt
The two soulful singers celebrated the work of Etta James in a sweet duet.
Beach Boys & Maroon 5
Mixing the old with the new, the common denominator was the sweet harmonies of the Beach Boys hits.
Foster the People
Wouldn't it be nice if these guys sang with the Beach Boys—well, they did!
Rihanna
She performed on her own, as well as with Coldplay, and looked as fantastic as she sounded doing it.
Taylor Swift
The country cutie performed a super-sweet rendition of her Hunger Games track "Mean."
Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson
The country star and the American Idol winner delivered a searing "Don't You Want to Stay?"
Chris Brown
The singer performed twice.
Glen Campbell
The country pop legend was a backup player for Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys before becoming a star in his own right, and he got a terrific tribute to his work from the Band Perry and Blake Shelton.