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Adele, Foo Fighters rule Grammys

Britain’s Adele wins six trophies, matching Beyonce for the most Grammys won in one sweep by a woman.

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY The Associated Press

See what Mainers were Tweeting during the Grammys.

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Adele poses with her six awards at the 54th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. Adele won awards for best pop solo performance for "Someone Like You," song of the year, record of the year, and best short form music video for "Rolling in the Deep," and album of the year and best pop vocal album for "21."

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Ryan Tedder celebrates backstage with the Grammy for album of the year for "21."

AP

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GRAMMY WINNERS

LOS ANGELES — Winners in selected major categories at Sunday's 54th Annual Grammy Awards:

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 Solo Performance: "Someone Like You," Adele

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: "Body and Soul," Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

Pop Vocal Album: "21," Adele

Alternative Album: "Bon Iver," Bon Iver

Rock Song: "Walk," Foo Fighters

Rock Album: "Wasting Light," Foo Fighters

Rock Performance: "Walk," Foo Fighters

Hard Rock/Metal Performance: "White Limo," Foo Fighters

R&B Album: "F.A.M.E.," Chris Brown

R&B Song: "Fool For You," Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim & Jack Splash

R&B Performance: "Is This Love," Corrine Bailey Rae

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: "Fool For You," Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

Rap Album: "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," Kanye West

Rap Performance: "Otis," Jay-Z and Kanye West

Rap Song: "All of the Lights," Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West

Rap/Sung Collaboration: "All of the Lights," Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Dance Recording: "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," Skrillex

Dance/Electronica Album: "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," Skrillex

Musical Theater Album: "The Book of Mormon," Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone

World Music Album: "Tassili," Tinariwen

Latin Pop Rock, Rock or Urban Album: "Drama y Luz," Mana

Tropical Latin Album: "Last Mambo," Cachao

Banda or Norteno Album: "Los Tigres Del Norte and Friends," Los Tigres Del Norte

Regional Mexican or Tejano Album: "Bicentenario," Pepe Aguilar

Country Solo Performance: "Mean," Taylor Swift

Country Album: "Own the Night," Lady Antebellum

Country Performance by a Duo or Group: "Barton Hollow," The Civil Wars

Country Song: "Mean," Taylor Swift

Jazz Vocal Album: "The Mosaic Project," Terri Lyne Carrington & various artists

Jazz Instrumental Album: "Forever," Corea, Clark & White

Improvised Jazz Solo: "500 Miles High," Chick Corea

Large Ensemble Jazz Album: "The Good Feeling," Christian McBride Big Band

Blues Album: "Revelator," Tedeschi Trucks Band

Folk Album: "Barton Hollow," The Civil Wars

Pop Instrumental Album: "The Road From Memphis," Booker T. Jones

Bluegrass Album: "Paper Airplane," Alison Krauss & Union Station

Americana Album: "Ramble at the Ryman," Levon Helm

Reggae Album: "Revelation Pt. 1: The Root of Life," Stephen Marley

New Age Album: "What's It All About," Pat Metheny

Children's Album: "All About Bullies ... Big and Small," various artists

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Paul Epworth

Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: "Cinema (Skrillex remix)," Sonny Moore

Gospel Song: "Hello Fear," Kirk Franklin

Gospel/Contemporary Christian Performance: "Jesus," L'Andria Johnson

Gospel Album: "Hello Fear," Kirk Franklin

Choral Performance: "Light & Gold," Eric Whitacre

Classical Contemporary Composition: "Elmer Gantry," Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein

Producer of the Year, Classical: Judith Sherman

Orchestral Performance: "Brahms: Symphony No. 4," Gustavo Dudamel

Opera Recording: "Adams: Doctor Atomic," Alan Gilbert, conductor

Spoken Word Album: "If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)," Betty White

Comedy Album: "Hilarious," Louis C.K.

Compilation Soundtrack Album For Visual Media: "Boardwalk Empire," various artists

Score Soundtrack Album For Visual Media: "The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat

Song Written For Visual Media: "I See the Light," Alan Menken & Glenn Slater

Historical Album: "Band on the Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection - Deluxe Edition)," Paul McCartney

Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists: "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)," Jorge Calandrelli

LOS ANGELES — Adele, who captured the world’s heart with an album about a broken romance, emerged as the top winner at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, winning six trophies including the prestigious trifecta of record, song and album of the year.

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 6 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 when 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.”

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 for “our fallen sister.”

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.