WASHINGTON — Adele just said “hello” to another Grammy sweep.
The British pop sensation won five Grammys, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Hello,” as well as Album of the Year for “25” at the 59th annual awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.
It was a near repeat of her 2012 feat when she won six Grammys for her smash album “21,” making her the first artist ever to sweep the top three categories twice. She now has 15 total Grammys.
Taking the stage to accept this year’s top prize, Adele deferred praise to fellow nominee Beyonce.
“I can’t really accept this award,” Adele said. “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.”
Beyonce did pick up Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Lemonade” and Best Music Video for “Formation.” She also delivered a trippy performance of “Sandcastles” and “Love Drought,” sporting a Biblical halo on her head and the world’s most famous pregnant twin belly. Social media reaction ranged from brilliant to indulgent, as the camera cut to a smiling husband Jay Z and daughter Blue Ivy.
“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,” Beyonce said during her acceptance speech. “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.”
Beyonce’s younger sister Solange won Best R&B Performance, while Drake won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance for “Hotline Bling” during the preshow ceremony. He did not attend.
Chance the Rapper took us to church with a gospel choir and spiritual acceptance speeches, winning Best New Artist and Best Rap Album for “Coloring Book,” the first streaming-only album to do so.
On the rock side, the night belonged to the late great David Bowie, who racked up five posthumous Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Recording Package and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his acclaimed “Blackstar.” Bowie had only previously won one Grammy in his entire career. Can you say make-up awards?
While Bowie won numerous awards, the late Prince received a phenomenal salute by his longtime colleague Morris Day and The Time, followed by Bruno Mars donning a “Purple Rain” style purple suit with white frills out of the sleeves for a rocking rendition of “Let’s Go Grazy.” Earlier in the night, Mars wore a tracksuit to wow the crowd with a performance of his own funky hit “That’s What I Like.”
But it was far from a smooth night for the live performances, as Adele had to restart her tribute to the late George Michael. Cursing during her cover of “Fastlove,” she asked the show’s producers for a mulligan, saying, “I can’t mess this up for him,” before restarting and finishing with tears in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Metallica had to battle through a dead microphone during their much-anticipated duet. As flames shot up behind them, Metallica frontman James Hetfield was forced to share Gaga’s mic, throwing off their choreography and nearly causing her to trip over a speaker.
No matter. Plenty of other duets went off without a hitch, including “The Fighter” by Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, as well as “Once” by Alicia Keys and Maren Morris, who won Best Country Solo Performance for “My Church.” Sturgill Simpson won Best Country Album for “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” while Best Country Song went to Lori McKenna for penning Tim McGraw’s “Humble & Kind.”
The most political performance came from hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, featuring Anderson .Paak and Busta Rhymes, making “Agent Orange” quips and shouting, “You must go.” Katy Perry also featured political imagery, transforming a white-picket-fence set design into the U.S. Constitution.
Arguably the most shocking acceptance speech came from Twenty One Pilots, who won Best Pop Duo Performance for “Stressed Out” before dropping their drawers to stand in their underwear.
Nontelevised winners included Ziggy Marley for Best Reggae Album, Lalah Hathaway for Best R&B Album, Vince Gill for Best American Roots Song, The Chainsmokers for Best Dance Recording, Megadeath for Best Metal Performance, and Maxwell for Best R&B Song with “Lake By the Ocean.”
