Adele Wins Big at Grammys With Five Awards
Adele on Sunday triumphed once again
at the Grammys with five awards for her latest blockbuster album of ballads,
but she used her moment in the sun to heap praise on Beyonce, whom she bested
for top honors.
*Singer Adele speaks after receiving
her Grammy award at the Staples Center during the 54th Grammy Awards in Los
Angeles, California, February 12, 2012. AFP PHOTO(file)
The English balladeer swept up the
trio of major prizes at the music industry’s biggest night — Album, Record and
Song of the Year — along with two other pop awards. Beyonce walked away with
two trophies. And in a sentimental homage to late rock icon David Bowie, his
final album “Blackstar” earned five awards, including four posthumous prizes
for the singer. Adele, who has stood by her winning style of heart-wrenching
songs of loss and regret, became the first act ever to sweep the three key
categories in two different years. She won Record of the Year, which recognizes
overall song, and Song of the Year, which looks at songwriting, for her
ubiquitous hit “Hello” and Album of the Year for “25.” Adele made a similar
sweep in 2012 with her last album “21” — which remains the only album to have
outsold “25” in the past decade. Fighting back tears, Adele took the podium and
paid tribute to Beyonce, who had led the night’s nominations with nine for her
politically edgy “Lemonade.” “My idol is Queen Bey and I adore you. You move my
soul every day,” Adele said as she looked at Beyonce, who was making her first
public appearance since announcing she was pregnant with twins. She hailed
Beyonce’s album as “monumental and so well thought out, and so beautiful and
soul-baring,” suggesting it should have won, bringing her rival to tears. Speaking
to reporters after the show, Adele said she had been worried “25” would flop:
“I didn’t really find my voice, and I don’t know if I did find it even at the
end.” It was a happy ending to a night that included a major embarrassment as
Adele — using an expletive that was cut from the television broadcast —
insisted on restarting “Fastlove,” her tribute to late pop icon George Michael.
It was the second straight year of hiccups for Adele after a microphone fell on
the piano during her Grammy performance a year ago. Shortly afterwards on
Sunday, Metallica frontman James Hetfield discovered that his microphone was
off as the band played with Lady Gaga — who transformed into a metalhead,
dancing ferociously before stage-diving. – Beyonce’s call for inclusive world –
Beyonce won only for Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Lemonade” and Best
Music Video for “Formation.” The video marked the most political statement of
Beyonce’s career as she rallied behind the Black Lives Matter movement with
imagery of police officers surrendering as if under arrest. Reflecting her
increasingly experimental side, the 35-year-old singer’s Grammy performance was
a New Age-inspired celebration of motherhood. With hints of India and ancient
Egypt, Beyonce — in a golden crown and cape — sang two new songs as dozens of
female dancers surrounded her with flowers and a spoken word incantation lauded
the power of women. Accepting one of her awards, Beyonce said “Lemonade” and
the accompanying film were meant to “give a voice to our pain, our struggles,
our darkness and our history — to confront issues that make us uncomfortable.”
“It’s important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty
so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror — first through
their own families, as well as the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the
White House and the Grammys — and see themselves, and have no doubt that
they’re beautiful, intelligent, and capable,” Beyonce said in one of the
night’s more subtle political comments. The evening saw its most forceful
statement as rapper Busta Rhymes took the stage with hip-hop pioneers A Tribe
Called Quest and emerging artist Anderson .Paak. Denouncing US President Donald
Trump for his efforts to curtail immigration, Busta Rhymes mocked “President
Agent Orange” and shouted, “We come together! We the people!” – Posthumous
honors for Bowie – “Blackstar” — the final album of Bowie, who always enjoyed
more recognition in his native Britain — won in all five categories for which
it was nominated, including Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Music Album.
Bowie had won only one Grammy in his lifetime before Sunday. And “Blackstar,”
which he released two days before his death last year from an undisclosed
battle with cancer, was controversially passed over for Album of the Year
honors. Bowie showed himself innovative to the end by collaborating with the
avant-garde jazz saxophonist Donny McCaslin. While not predicting how Bowie
would have felt, McCaslin told reporters: “When the press was hearing the album
before it came out, I could see it meant a lot to him.” Chance the Rapper, 23,
picked up three prizes including the closely watched Best New Artist award for
his gospel-infused hip-hop. The Chicago artist benefited from updated rules
that now consider streaming exclusives. Bruno Mars electrified the crowd with a
tribute to Prince, uncannily channeling the late pop icon by donning a purple
jacket and playing a guitar solo to “Let’s Go Crazy.” The performance marked a
new commercial effort by the estate of Prince — who famously rejected music
industry conventions — with his classic albums on Sunday returning to major
streaming sites.
Adele on Sunday
triumphed once again at the Grammys with five awards for her latest
blockbuster album of ballads, but she used her moment in the sun to heap
praise on Beyonce, whom she bested for top honors.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/five-awards-adele-wins-big-grammys/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/five-awards-adele-wins-big-grammys/
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