From the moment "Royals" was announced as a contender for Song of the Year, the 17-year-old newcomer generated the most buzz among the assembled press corps and artists alike. "She's incredible," gushed Keith Urban, who like Lorde was born in New Zealand. "Just deeply, deeply talented."

A palpable excitement rippled through the room when Lorde stepped to the microphone, seeming genuinely excited for the nominations. She generated laughs when asked if people in her home country understood the gravity of GRAMMY nominations. "Yes, for sure," she smiled. "We have the Internet, so we get it."

The moment of the night, however, belonged to Arsenio Hall, who was excited to talk about nominees like Kendrick Lamar, one of the first musical guests on his new late-night show. He also had kind words for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, as well as Ed Sheeran.

"I could see the look on his face when I read his name for Best New Artist, and he looked genuinely surprised," Hall said of Sheeran. "I wish him luck. He seems like a talented, humble man."

Since there couldn't be a gathering of this many members of the media without a mention of Kanye West, Hall was asked how it felt when West referenced him during a recent radio interview ("And, then people say you are like Arsenio Hall, and you were turning up too much and now you fired," 'Ye said).

Hall started slowly, saying how he didn't really have a response since West's reasoning "twists the facts." Getting warmed up, however, Hall worked himself up into something of his own rant regarding West's statements.