Which 2014 Awards Winner Has Done Best?

With all the focus on the upcoming Grammys (two days!) and Oscars (two weeks!), it might feel like the awards shows of last year were a long, long time ago. After all, so much pop culture craziness has happened in the span of a year, from the release of 1989 to the controversy over Selma to the introduction of our new favorite meme, Left Shark. Simply put, a lot has changed in the span of 12 months.

And that includes the careers of 2014's biggest awards show winners. To refresh your memory, three of the Grammy's top prizes last year — Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year — went to Macklemore, Pharrell, and Lorde, respectively, and three of the Oscars' best honors — Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture — went to Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, and 12 Years a Slave. It's no spoiler to say that all of the actors (using star Chiwetel Ejiofor for Slave) have done well in the time since their awards, but as for who's done best this past year? Well, that's what I wanted to find out. Here's how last year's biggest Grammy and Oscar winners have spent this past year, and how they stack up amongst each other:

GRAMMYS

1st place: Pharrell

Of the Grammys' top winners, it's Pharrell, by a hat, who takes the first place prize for post-show activities. Since his Record of the Year win, the musician has released an album, performed at the Oscars, and gone on tour — and that's just scratching the surface.

But if anyone had as good a year as Pharrell, it's Lorde. Despite not putting out much new music, the Song of the Year winner has worked non-stop since her Grammy win, and she'd had the success to prove it.

Macklemore, however, comes in third, due to a decent but dull 2014 that, compared to the two winners above, was slow. Perhaps 2015 will be busier?

Some things to note: Although "Happy" was released back in 2013, most of its momentum came the following year, when the lead single from Pharrell's GIRL was featured on every radio station, commercial, and flash mob video on the planet. As for Lorde, not releasing a new album would normally set a person back, success-wise, but if anything, the singer's influence has only grown, due in large part to her friendship with Swift and dominance over all things Mockingjay. And as for Macklemore? Well, he tried to stay out of the spotlight this year, but his tendency to get in trouble proved that more difficult than he expected.

Here's how it all breaks down:

OSCARS

1st place: Cate Blanchett

Blanchett might seem like a surprising choice for number one, but once you see her schedule, you'll agree: the actress has had the busiest, most successful year of the Oscars' top three winners.

As for McConaughey, it might've seemed like a quiet year for the star, but that's only because the year before was so wild. In actuality, he had quite a busy, and profitable, twelve months.

Ejiofor, the 12 Years a Slave star seems like he's been MIA all year, but he's actually been busy filming new projects that'll be released in the coming months. Still, compared to the other two winners, he's definitely had the slowest year.

Some things to note: Although Blanchett's at about the same fame level she was a year ago, she's certainly more in-demand as an actress. Even with the criticism following the Woody Allen controversy, there was no lasting damage to her career. For McConaughey, keeping a low profile this past year hasn't done much to lower his celebrity. Even his car commercials proved popular (and rife for parody). Ejiofor, meanwhile, has seen his fame grow substatially, but he's still far from a household name. His year may have been less exciting than that of the other Oscar winners, but it also was the least dramatic — when was the last time you heard about Ejiofor causing a feud or getting called out in the press?

Check out how it all breaks down:

Images: Liz Minch/Bustle