Photo Credits: AP2_13_2017_000014B
Adele wins big at Grammys with five awards
AGENCIES
Los Angeles
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.
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 everyday," 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.
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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!"
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Posthumous honours 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.
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QUOTE - UNQUOTE
Five years ago, when I was last here, I was pregnant, and I didn't know. (...) And in my pregnancy, becoming a mother, I lost a lot of myself. I struggled and I still do struggle being a mom. It's really hard. But tonight winning this is kind of full circle
- Adele, on her last big Grammys night
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My intention for the film and album was to create a body of work that will give a voice to our pain, our struggles, our darkness and our history, to confront issues that make us uncomfortable."
- Beyonce, on her album-film 'Lemonade'
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At this particular moment in history, our voices are needed more than ever
- Jennifer Lopez, on the importance of music in society
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Grammys red carpet: red, cutouts, pantsuits and... Trump?
The music world's hottest stars strutted their best stuff down the Grammys red carpet at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday. Here are the top moments from the A-list fashion parade:
Nothing makes a statement like fire-engine red.
Beyonce avoided the red carpet spotlight but later sat in the audience in a sleek, form-fitting red sequined gown that clung to all her curves, including her baby bump. A chunky diamond necklace filled her ample decolletage.
Country singer Carrie Underwood earned rave reviews for her beaded high-necked Elie Madi gown with a huge diamond cutout that revealed a ton of cleavage.
Fellow country crooner Faith Hill also bared quite a bit in a red keyhole gown from Zuhair Murad. And Britain's Charli XCX stunned in a sultry strapless Vivienne Westwood gown with a deep sweetheart neckline.
Adele, the night's big winner with five Grammys including Album, Record and Song of the Year, turned to Givenchy for her red carpet look - a pleated olive green gown with a chaste neckline, a criss-cross bodice and a fitted waist.
Her hair was swept up, and her signature cat eye makeup was in place.
The British balladeer later sang her megahit 'Hello' in a different Givenchy gown, featuring a glittering bodice with hints of red that resembled panes of stained glass and a crystal-studded black full-length pleated skirt.
And for her tribute to George Michael, she wore all black - and cross earrings similar to those the late pop singer wore.
After actress Evan Rachel Wood's much-adored tux at the Golden Globes, and her pledge to ditch dresses for all of awards season, the ladies of the music world embraced jumpsuits and pantsuits on Grammys night.
But these pantsuits were sassy, with cutouts galore.
Paris Jackson - yes, the daughter of the King of Pop is now 18, earned plaudits for her youthful sleeveless multi-colored Balmain jumpsuit, the legs slit high and the bodice snipped out at the waist. Her blonde hair was cropped and shaggy.
Country music singer-songwriter Brandy Clark rocked an all-black pantsuit with flared trousers. And R&B singer Mya looked sultry in a red pantsuit with a pussy bow blouse that was anything but innocent, with a naughty revealing bodice.
Jennifer Lopez may have rocked the Grammys red carpet once upon a time with her plunging barely-there green Versace gown, but on Sunday, she missed the mark in a frothy lilac Ralph & Russo halter gown open down to there and with a slit up to there.
Katy Perry turned to celeb designer Tom Ford, but the pale pink floor-length feather skirt topped with a somewhat ill-fitting metallic long-sleeve top didn't really work. Her message about "purposeful pop"- far better.
"That's what we need more than ever... to listen to one another," the newly blonde Perry told E! Network on the red carpet.
The underboob award goes to Lady Gaga, who was ready for her performance with Metallica in leather hot pants and a cropped jacket - that revealed quite a lot of her breasts. Fishnets and thigh-high boots completed the look.
And on the men's side, Cee-Lo Green looked like a cross between Star Wars droid C-3PO and a gilded Samurai warrior.
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BLOWING THE TRUMP-ET
A pro-Trump statement at the Grammys? It seemed unlikely, and yet, there it was.
Singer Joy Villa arrived in a white cape... which she took off to reveal a tight red, white and blue gown with "Make America Great Again" emblazoned on the front... and a glittering silver "TRUMP" across the bottom of the train.
On her Instagram feed, Villa - known more for her red carpet statements than her singing, said, "My whole artistic platform is about LOVE!"
The ensemble earned immediate scorn on Twitter and Instagram.
