Adele triumphs at Grammys with six wins

LOS ANGELES,Febrauary14,2012 - Soul singer Adele triumphed in her return to music’s stage on Sunday, scooping up six Grammys and winning every category in which she was nominated including album of the year for “21” and best record with “Rolling In the Deep.” Adele triumphed in her return to music’s stage, scooping up six Grammys and winning every category in which she was nominated including album of the year.

List of Grammy winners in select major categories               Album of the Year: “21,” Adele

Record of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth New Artist: Bon Iver Pop Vocal Album: “21,” Adele Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul,” Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You,” Adele Rock Song: “Walk,” Foo Fighters Rock Album: “Wasting Light,” Foo Fighters Rock Performance: “Walk,” Foo Fighters R&B Song: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim & Jack Splash R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.,” Chris Brown Rap Performance: “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West Rap Song: “All of the Lights,” Kanye West Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Kanye West Country Vocal Solo Performance: “Mean,” Taylor Swift Country Performance by a Duo or Group: “Barton Hollow,” The Civil Wars Country Album: “Own the Night,” Lady Antebellum Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album: “Drama y Luz,” Mana Jazz Vocal Album: “The Mosaic Project,” Terri Lyne Carrington & various artists Opera Recording: “Adams: Doctor Atomic,” Alan Gilbert, conductor Traditional Gospel Album: “Hello Fear,” Kirk Franklin Dance Recording: “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex Dance/Electronica Album: “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex Alternative Music Album: “Bon Iver,” Bon Iver Spoken Word Album: “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” Betty White

As joyous       as the show was for Adele, it was equally as serious with tributes to late pop star Whitney Houston, who died suddenly on Saturday. She was remembered by fellow artists in acceptance speeches and songs. Jennifer Hudson sang Houston’s signature hit “I Will Always Love You,” and Grammy host LL Cool J offered a prayer for Houston’s family, friends and fans.But it was Adele who stole the show. The 23-year-old, who has taken the music world by storm, underwent surgery on her vocal cords late last year and had been resting her voice on doctor’s orders until music’s biggest night. The British singer took the stage to belt out “Rolling In the Deep,” and finished to a standing ovation.Adele claimed three of the music industry’s top awards, album, record and song of the year, and added best pop solo performance, pop vocal and short video to her stack of trophies.“Thank you so much. This is ridiculous,” she said upon accepting the record of the year Grammy. “I want to say thank you to every radio programmer and broadcaster that has been playing ‘Rolling in the Deep’ ... because I know it’s not really a pop record.” She flashed a big smile and a thumbs up.Rockers Foo Fighters were the other big winners, picking up five Grammys including best rock performance for the hit “Walk.”“This is a great honor because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio ... we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine,” said frontman Dave Grohl. “It shows that the human element of making music is what’s most important.”But as jubilant as the audience was for Adele and as much as Foo Fighters rocked the house, Grammy organizers were equally as serious about the death of Houston, whose body was found in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room. The cause is still unknown.Host LL Cool J took the stage and offered a prayer for Houston, her fans and her family. “Although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed by her musical spirit,” he said.Other highlights included a Beach Boys reunion and a lifetime award for Glen Campbell, who sang “Rhinestone Cowboy.”Rousing performances came from Taylor Swift singing her hit “Mean,” Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Chris Brown, Coldplay and Rihanna. Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt sang “A Sunday Kind of Love” from Etta James, who also died in 2012. 

MANY WINNERS

Grammy organizers give out awards in more than 75 categories and many early winners mentioned Houston. Singer Melanie Fiona, who won with Cee Lo Green for traditional R&B performance for “Fool For You,” said she was inspired by Houston.

“Whitney Houston, I would not be standing up here if not for you,” Fiona said. Backstage, she told reporters her mother had rocked her in the cradle to Houston’s songs when she was a baby.ajor winners included Jay-Z and Kanye West for best rap performance with their song, “Otis” from the album “Watch the Throne,” but they failed to show up to claim their prize. Chris Brown won the Grammy for best R&B album “F.A.M.E.”, and Lady Antebellum took home best country album with “Own the Night.”Rousing performances came from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Chris Brown, Coldplay and Rihanna, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, and Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt sang a duet of “A Sunday Kind of Love” from Etta James, who also died in 2012.

Country singer Taylor Swift picked up two awards for her song “Mean,” about people she felt had wronged her, and DJ Skrillex won two Grammys for best dance recording and top dance/electronica album with “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.”Rapper Kanye West earned seven nominations, but was shut out of the top categories, paving the way for Adele to be the night’s big winner - or surprise loser if she fails to overcome competition. Along with his rap performance trophy, West won a second award for best rap album with “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”Still to come were top awards including best album where Adele’s “21” faces rockers Foo Fighters and their hit “Wasting Light,” Lady Gaga with “Born This Way,” Bruno Mars and his “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” and pop star Rihanna with “Loud.”Adele also figures prominently among nominees for record of the year where “Rolling in the Deep” squares off against rockers Bon Iver and “Holocene,” Bruno Mars for “Grenade,” Mumford & Sons with “The Cave,” and Katy Perry for “Firework.”One poignant moment came early in the day when Mitch and Janis Winehouse, parents of late singer Amy Winehouse who died of excessive drinking in 2011, accepted the award for best pop duo or group performance - Amy and Tony Bennett - “Body and Soul.”“Long live Whitney Houston. Long live Amy Winehouse and long live Etta James,” referring to the “At Last” singer who died earlier this year. “There’s a beautiful girl band up there.”