The singer, who also made a triumphant comeback from vocal cord surgery on the Grammy stage, sobbed as she won the night’s final award, album of the year, for “21.” It was last year’s top-selling album with more than six million copies sold and remains lodged at the No. 1 spot on this year’s charts.
Her victories tied her with Beyonce as the most wins by a woman in one evening.
“Mom, gold is good!” Adele shouted as she took the album of the year trophy.
The celebration of Adele, a big-voiced, soulful singer, came on a night where the Grammys marked the loss of one of music’s great female voices _ and one of its most prized talents overall. Whitney Houston died the night before the Grammys, casting a shadow over music’s biggest night.
But while her death lent a somber overtone to the evening’s show, it did not overwhelm it, perhaps best proved by the show’s closing number, a rollicking jam session featuring Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Dave Grohl among others.
The night’s other big winners were Grohl’s Foo Fighters, who won five Grammys. They noted that they made their album “Wasting Light” in a garage.
“To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of making music is what’s most important. Singing into a microphone, learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do,” Grohl said as the band accepted their best rock performance trophy for “Walk.” “It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about sounding absolutely correct. It’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here (your heart) and what goes on here (your head). ... Long live rock `n’ roll!”
Among the evening’s performances was a dance-heavy number by Chris Brown, and performances by McCartney and Springsteen, who kicked off the show by performing his new song “We Take Care of Our Own,” a rousing song that references the troubles of the nation.
But the evening’s most moving moment came as Jennifer Hudson _ who has called Houston an inspiration and one of her biggest idols _ emerged to sing one of Houston’s signature songs, “I Will Always Love You.” Dressed in black, with only the accompaniment of a piano, Hudson appeared to fight back tears as she sang the song, ending with the line, “Whitney, we will always love you.”
The show started off on a somber note, as host LL Cool J appeared in black, and told the audience: “There is no way around this. We’ve had a death in our family.”
He then led the audience in prayer to “our fallen sister.”
“Heavenly father, we thank you for sharing our sister Whitney with us,” he said, as celebrities like Lady Gaga and Miranda Lambert bowed their heads in prayer. “Though she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit.”
He then introduced a clip of a glowing Houston singing “I Will Always Love You.” In his performance of “Runaway Baby,” Bruno Mars also mentioned the death: “Tonight we’re celebrating. Tonight we’re celebrating the beautiful Miss Whitney Houston.”
And Stevie Wonder said: “To Whitney up in heaven, we all love you.”
The show, as usual, was heavy on performances more than awards. Among those was Chris Brown, who was performing on the stage for the first time since he dropped out of 2009’s broadcast; his attack on Rihanna the night before led to both of their absences, an assault charge for Brown and a career low.
But 2011 marked an amazing comeback for Brown and he was rewarded with two planned performances during the show, the first time he and Rihanna performed at the same event since the attack (she sang solo and with Coldplay during the ceremony).
Brown also won best R&B album: “First and foremost, I gotta thank God, and thank the Grammys for letting me get on this stage and do my thing,” he said “All my fans, I love you. We got one. Thank you.”
Justin Vernon, whose band Bon Iver beat Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry, J. Cole and Skrillex for best new artist, accepted the award with admittedly mixed emotions.
“It’s really hard to accept this award. Well, there’s so much talent out here, like on this stage. There’s a lot of talent that’s not here tonight. It’s also hard to accept because when I started to make songs I did it for the inherent reward of making songs, so I’m a little bit uncomfortable up here,” he said. “But with that discomfort I do have a sense of gratitude. I want to say thank you to all the nominees, all the non-nominees that have never been here and never will be here.”
The Grammys did their best to keep a tone that balanced the many moods of the night: The Foo Fighters performed in a tent outside the Staples Center, where the awards were being held, amid a throng of bouncing fans; but moments earlier, Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt paid tribute to Etta James, the legend who died last month.
There was also a tribute to the recently reunited Beach Boys that featured Maroon 5, Foster the People and Mike Love, Al Jardine and Brian Wilson, the three remaining members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, all pitch-perfect as they brought the groups California rock sound and harmonies back to life.
Glen Campbell, who announced his retirement last year after disclosing he had Alzheimer’s disease, also performed with The Band Perry and Blake Shelton, singing his classic hit, “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
The Foos and Brown also returned for another dance-themed performance, a first for the Grammys. It also featured deadmau5, David Guetta and Lil Wayne.
And with Lady Gaga not performing, Minaj stepped in to give the night’s most bizarre/headscratching performance. The rapper-singer’s number included a clip that referenced “The Exorcist” and a stage show that had her levitating on stage amid a church-like background, with hooded choir members and religious imagery.
The ceremony marks the first since a major overhaul of the categories last year: They were trimmed from 109 to 78. The move upset several musicians, and a group of Latin jazz musicians protested the elimination of their category outside arena.
In one of the new categories, Rebirth Brass Band won the best regional roots music award for “Rebirth of New Orleans.”
Saharan desert rockers Tinariwen won the newly-combined best world music album award, which had been previously been divided into traditional and contemporary categories.
Mexican rockers Mana won for best Latin pop, rock or urban album, another new category. Cachao, the Cuban mambo pioneer who died in 2008, won best tropical Latin album.
Stephen Marley, son of Bob Marley, won for best reggae album.
When Tony Bennett won for best pop performance by a duo or group for his duet with Amy Winehouse, he invited the late singer’s parents to join him on stage during the awards ceremony’s pre-show segment.
“We shouldn’t be here. Our darling daughter should be here,” Winehouse’s father, Mitch, said after he and the singer’s mother, Janis, had embraced Bennett.
Mitch Winehouse also noted Whitney Houston’s death Saturday and the recent passing of Etta James.
“What can I say?” he said. “There’s a beautiful girl band up in heaven.” (AP)
<관련 한글 기사>
그래미 6관왕 아델 새로운 '팝의 여왕' 등극
아델, 후보 오른 전 부문서 수상
23세의 나이에도 이미 무수한 히트곡들을 내놓은 영국의 팝 가수 아델이 그래미에서 후보에 오른 전 부문에서 수상을 하며 무려 6개의 트로피를 가져갔다. 6개 부문 수상은 여가수로서는 2010년 비욘세 이후 두번째 있는 일이다.
아델은 12일 (현지시간) 열린 54회 그래미 시상식에서 최우수 곡, 음반, 팝 앨범, 팝 아티스트 등 주요 부문에서 모두 수상하며 주인공으로 떠올랐다.
아델은 시상식 첫 부문인 ‘최우수 팝 솔로 퍼포먼스’에서 ‘섬원 라이크 유(Someone Like You)’로 레이디 가가, 브루노 마스, 케이티 페리, 핑크 등 경쟁자들을 물리치면서 올해 그래미 다관왕 수상을 예감케 했다.
그는 상을 받으러 무대에 올라 작곡가 등에게 감사 인사를 전하며 “이 노래를 처음 들었을 때 내 인생이 바뀌는 듯한 느낌이 들었다”고 소감을 밝혔다.
육백만 장 이상 팔리며 2011년 가장 많은 판매고를 기록했던 “21”앨범은 최우수 앨범에, ‘롤링인더 딥 (Rolling in the deep)’ 최고의 곡으로 선정되었다.
한편 아델은 보그 (Vogue) 잡지 3월호에 실릴 인터뷰에서 사람들이 자신의 노래를 듣고 자신을 ‘처량한 (miserable)’사람이라고 생각한다면서 자신을 스타덤에 올린 이별노래는 더 이상 만들지 않겠다고 선언했다.
그 외에 일렉트로닉 음악계의 신예 스크릴렉스가 ‘스케리 몬스터스 앤드 나이스 스프 라이트스(Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites)’ 앨범으로 ‘최우수 댄스 레코딩’상과 ‘최우수 댄스/일렉트로니카 앨범’상을 받았다. 그는 신인상 후보에도 올라 있다.
‘최우수 팝 듀오/그룹 퍼포먼스’상은 ‘바디 앤 솔(Body and Sou)’을 부른 노장 가수 토니 베넷과 고(故) 에이미 와인하우스에게 돌아갔다. 토니 베넷은 이 곡이 수록된 ‘듀엣츠 Ⅱ’ 앨범으로 ‘최우수 트레디셔널 팝 보컬 앨범’상도 받았다.
록 부문은 밴드 푸 파이터스가 휩쓸었다. 싱글 ‘화이트 리모(White Limo)’로 ‘최우수 하드록/메탈 퍼포먼스’상을, ‘워크(Walk)’로 ‘최우수 록 송’상을 받았고 이 곡들이 수록된 앨범 ‘웨이스팅 라이트(Wasting Light)’로 ‘최우수 록 앨범’상을 거머쥐었다.
‘최우수 얼터너티브 뮤직 앨범’상은 본 아이버의 ‘본 아이버(Bon Iver)’에 돌아 갔다.
‘최우수 알앤비(R&B) 퍼포먼스’상은 ‘이즈 디스 러브(Is This Love)’를 부른 코 린 베일리 래가 받았다.
랩 부문은 카니예 웨스트가 대세였다. 그는 리아나 등과 함께 부른 ‘올 오브 더 라이츠(All Of The Lights)’로 ‘최우수 랩 협업’상과 ‘최우수 랩 송’상을 받았고 이 곡이 수록된 앨범 ‘마이 뷰티풀 다크 트위스티드 판타지(My beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)’로 ‘최우수 랩 앨범’상을 차지했다.
또 제이지와 함께 부른 ‘오티스(Otis)’로 ‘최우수 랩 퍼포먼스’상도 가져갔다.
엘엘 쿨 제이의 사회로 진행된 이번 시상식은 전날 세상을 떠난 휘트니 휴스턴에 대한 추모로 시작됐다.
쿨 제이는 “우리는 가족의 죽음을 접했다. 최소한 나에게는 지금 해야 할 가장 옳은 일이 우리가 사랑한 여인, 우리의 떨어진(숨진) 자매 휘트니 휴스턴을 위한 기 도로 시작하는 것이다”라며 “우리는 그녀의 아름다운 영혼과 그녀가 남긴 음악적 유 산을 간직하고 있다”고 말했다.
첫 번째 시상자로 나선 앨리샤 키스 역시 “우리는 어제 위대한 예술가를 잃었지 만, 그의 유산은 남아있다”고 추모했다.
