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Who is Beck, the man behind the 2015 Album of The Year 'Morning Phase'?

Many, including Kanye West, were surprised Beck won the Grammy for album of the year. But that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it.

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John Shearer/Invision/AP
Beck performs at the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles.

It was a surprise to most observers when Beck beat out 叠别测辞苍肠茅 and Sam Smith for album of the year at the Grammys Sunday night in Los Angeles 鈥 particularly to those who had never heard of him.

Don鈥檛 feel bad. Even Beck himself was surprised, given the competition. With 叠别测辞苍肠茅鈥檚 revolutionary digital album drop and Sam Smith鈥檚 otherwise incredible luck at the Grammys, no one expected 鈥淢orning Phase鈥 to win album of the year, or even necessarily best rock album.

So who is Beck?

Beck is an experimental singer songwriter who rose to fame in the early 鈥90s and has since produced 12 studio albums. The folksy album 鈥淢orning Phase鈥 is a companion record to his previous album 鈥淪ea of Change,鈥 both of which are more mellow than his typical style 鈥 if there is even anything typical about his music.

If you don鈥檛 know his music, the songs 鈥,鈥 鈥,鈥 鈥,鈥 or 鈥溾 are all good places to start. Not all of his music is as easy a listen, but these tracks are all accessible.

However, through his oddity, Beck has done some prolific things throughout his career.

In 2012, Beck released his album 鈥淪ong Reader鈥 entirely in sheet music, hoping that other artists would create their own interpretations of his music. They did, and two years later a compilation of 鈥淪ong Reader鈥 covers was released.

Beck has also contributed to numerous soundtracks and collaborated with several other artists. Most recently, he worked with fellow Grammy nominee Sia on 鈥淢oonquake Lake,鈥 which was featured on the soundtrack for the 2014 film 鈥淎nnie.鈥

While he does not frequent the "Billboard Top 100" like his competitors for album of the year, the Recording Academy has thought well of him for years.

He has been nominated for 16 Grammys throughout his career, including two previous nominations for album of the year for 鈥淥delay鈥 and 鈥淢idnight Vultures.鈥 He has won three Grammys in addition to the two he picked up Sunday night: Best Rock Vocal Performance for 鈥淲here It鈥檚 At鈥 and Best Alternative Music Performance for 鈥淥delay鈥 and 聽鈥淢utations.鈥

Kanye West, however, did not seem to think that he was as deserving.

As a surprised Beck received his Grammy, West mounted the stage, mocking the time that he, embarrassingly, intervened on 叠别测辞苍肠茅鈥檚 behalf when Taylor Swift beat her out for a Grammy in 2009. But Kanye wasn鈥檛 entirely kidding this time. "You all know what it meant when 'Ye walks on the stage," he said in an interview with E! after the show.

"If they want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us," West said. "Flawless 叠别测辞苍肠茅 video, and Beck needs to respect artistry, and he should have given his award to 叠别测辞苍肠茅."

Beck handled the whole situation well.

after the ceremony, Beck said, "I thought she was going to win. Come on, she's 叠别测辞苍肠茅! ... You can't please everybody, man. I still love [West] and think he's genius. I aspire to do what he does.鈥

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