By Mesfin Fedakdu, Music Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Even though Adele flubbed one of her live performances at the Grammys, she walked away the belle of the ball: She took home all five awards she was nominated for Sunday night, including album, record and song of the year.
She beat Beyonce in the top three categories with her comeback album "25," and repeated her accomplishments from 2012, when the British star also won album, song and record of the year at the Grammys. She's the first artist in Grammy history to sweep the top three categories twice, and now has a total of 15 Grammys.
Adele used her speech to honor Beyonce and her groundbreaking "Lemonade" album, which was also nominated.
"But I can't really accept this award. And I'm very humble and I'm very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyonce. This album you made, the 'Lemonade' album, is so monumental," Adele said to her fellow singer at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when accepting the album of the year trophy. "The way you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel is empowering. And they stand up for themselves. And I love you. I always have."
The night for Adele wasn't all good though: The singer, who had trouble with her live performance at last year's Grammys, asked to restart her tribute to George Michael, telling the audience: "I can't mess this up for him." She stopped and used an expletive after singing some of a new arrangement of Michael's "Fastlove," as videos and photos of Michael played in the background. She re-sang the song and earned applause and support from the crowd, though Adele was teary eyed.
Michael died on Christmas Day. A number of other icons were honored, including Prince: Bruno Mars – rocking a glittery, Prince-like purple blazer, worked the guitar like a pro while singing the icon's "Let's Go Crazy." The Time – who worked closely with the Prince – brought the audience to its feet with funky performances of "Jungle Love" and "The Bird."
"Make some noise for Prince y'all," Mars yelled.
Mars was also a winner Sunday – he won for his producing work on Adele's album. Adele's other wins included best pop vocal album and pop solo performance.
Until Adele's abrupt restart, Beyonce was the talk of the show. In glittery gown, gilded crown and gold choker, a pregnant Beyonce took the Grammy stage in a lengthy performance of two songs from her critically acclaimed album "Lemonade." She was introduced by her mother and former stylist, Tina Knowles: "Ladies and gentlemen, with my mother's pride, my daughter, Beyonce."
Beyonce sang on top of a long table on "Sandcastles" and "Love Drought" and later sang while sitting down in a chair that tilted alarmingly backward, still hitting high notes.
She earned a loud applause from the audience, including daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay Z. Beyonce, who walked into the show with nine nominations, won two: best music video ("Formation") and urban contemporary album ("Lemonade").
"My intention for the film and album is to create a body of work that would give voice to our pain, our struggles, our doubts, 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 in a world, where they look in the mirror, first with their own families as well as in the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the Grammys and see themselves," said Beyonce, reading from a card. "This is something that I want for every child of every race, and I feel that it's vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes."
Beyonce's speech wasn't the only political moment: A Tribe Called Quest, along with Anderson .Paak and Busta Rhymes, gave a rousing performance and shouted "resist, resist" at their end of the performance, which featured a number of people onstage, including women in hijabs.
Like Adele, David Bowie – who died last year from cancer – won all four awards he was nominated for. "Blackstar," his final album released days before he died, won best alternative music album and engineered album, non-classical. The title track won best rock song and rock performance.
Adele and Mars worked overtime onstage, each performing twice. Adele kicked off the show with "Hello" and Mars and his groovy band gave a memorable performance of "That's What I Like" – as Jennifer Lopez, Faith Hill, Rihanna and even some of the men in the audience watched closely, looking impressed.
Chance the Rapper won the first award in the live telecast for best new artist. He also won best rap album – the first streaming-only album to do so – and bested Drake and Kanye West.
"I didn't think we were gonna get this one," said Chance, who also won best rap performance.
Twenty one pilots won best pop duo/group performance for the hit "Stressed Out." They removed their pants when accepting the award in homage to their earlier days when they watched the Grammys at home in their boxers.
Producer Greg Kurstin won four honors: He shared album, song and record of the year with Adele, and was also named producer of the year, non-classical.
In the pre-telecast, Beyonce's younger sister, critical R&B darling Solange, won her first Grammy for best R&B performance (it was her first-ever nomination). Drake, who didn't attend the live show, won best rap song and rap/sung performance for the smash hit, "Hotline Bling."
Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" – which is nominated for an Oscar – won best song written for visual media. Best new artist nominees The Chainsmokers won best dance recording for the pop hit "Don't Let Me Down," while Simpson, an album of the year nominee, won best country album for "A Sailor's Guide to Earth."
The country music rebel thanked his wife, who he said told him to quit his job on the railroad years ago and move to Nashville.
Joey + Rory won best roots gospel album for "Hymns," and Rory Feek was emotional onstage as he remembered his wife Joey, who died last year from cancer.
Some actors won Grammys, too: Don Cheadle picked up best compilation soundtrack for visual media for "Miles Ahead," where he is credited as a compilation producer, and Carol Burnett won the best spoken word album Grammy.
"The Color Purple" won best musical theater album, giving Jennifer Hudson her second Grammy and earning Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and "Orange Is the New Black" actress Danielle Brooks their first Grammys.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More