Macklemore & Madonna Perform During Mass Wedding
The Grammy Awards made history Sunday night when 33 gay and straight couples were married in a ceremony during a performance by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis that also featured a surprise appearance by Madonna.
The mass wedding -- held during the 56th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles -- was officiated by rapper/actress/talk show host Queen Latifah during a performance of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' hip-hop hit Same Love. The couples were described as comprising "gay, straight, old, young, of many races and many colors."
Katy Perry was a lucky audience member to catch a bouquet. She wrote on Instagram: "Congrats to all the #samelove couples tonight. You had me in tears of joy for y'all! Also... Look who caught the bouquet!!! #okuuuurrrr"
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The track -- which also featured vocals by singer/songwriter Mary Lambert -- addresses gay and lesbian rights and was recorded during the campaign for Washington Referendum 74, which became law in 2012 to legalize same-sex marriages in Washington state.
Producer Ryan Lewis told the New York Times beforehand that the Grammy wedding "will be in our minds the ultimate statement of equality, that all the couples are entitled to the same exact thing." Lewis' sister Laura and her fiancé Alex were reportedly among those participating in the mass ceremony.
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Grammy Awards show producer Ken Ehrlich told the Times that the idea for the big wedding came from onstage marriage proposals held occasionally during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis shows. The couples selected for the segment were initially only told that the ceremony would take place on live television and just learned in the last couple of weeks that it would happen on the Grammys broadcast, according to the newspaper.
