Adele triumphs over Beyonce in major Grammy categories
After sweeping up trio of top awards at the Grammys, English singer declares, 'My idol is Queen Bey, and I adore you'
LOS ANGELES: Adele on Sunday night (yesterday morning Singapore time) triumphed once again at the Grammy Awards with five wins for her latest blockbuster album of ballads.
But she used her moment in the sun to heap praise on US diva Beyonce, whom she bested for top honours.
The English balladeer swept up the trio of major prizes at the music industry's biggest night - Album, Record and Song of the Year - along with two other pop awards.
Beyonce walked away with two trophies.
In a sentimental homage to late rock icon David Bowie, his final album Blackstar earned five awards, including four posthumous prizes for the English singer.
RECORD OF THE YEAR
Adele became the first act to sweep the three key categories in two different years.
She won Record of the Year, which recognises the overall song, and Song of the Year, which looks at songwriting, for her ubiquitous hit Hello and Album of the Year for 25.
Adele, 28, made a similar sweep in 2012 with her last album 21 - which remains the only album to have outsold 25 in the past decade.
Fighting back tears, she took to the podium and paid tribute to Beyonce, who had led the night's nominations with nine nods for her politically edgy visual album Lemonade.
"My idol is Queen Bey, and I adore you. You move my soul every day," Adele said as she looked at Beyonce, who was making her first public appearance since announcing recently that she was pregnant with twins.
Adele hailed Beyonce's album as "monumental and so well thought out, and so beautiful and soul-baring", suggesting it should have won, bringing her rival to tears.
Adele even broke one of her Grammys in half while onstage, so that she could give it to Beyonce.
Speaking to reporters backstage in the press room, she added: "Like I said in my speech, my Album of the Year is Lemonade. So a piece of me did die inside, as a Beyonce stan (fan) - not going to lie. I was completely rooting for her, I voted for her. I felt like it was her time to win. What the f*** does she have to do to win Album of the Year?"
It was a happy ending to a night that included a major embarrassment as Adele - using an expletive that was cut from the television broadcast - insisted on restarting Fastlove, her tribute to late pop icon George Michael.
It was the second straight year of hiccups for Adele after a microphone fell on the piano during her Grammy performance 12 months ago.
During the show, Metallica frontman James Hetfield discovered that his microphone was off as the rock band played with US pop star Lady Gaga, who transformed into a metalhead, dancing ferociously before stage-diving.
Beyonce won only for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade and Best Music Video for Formation.
The 35-year-old's Grammy performance was a New Age-inspired celebration of motherhood. With hints of India and ancient Egypt, Beyonce, in a golden crown and cape, sang two new songs as dozens of female dancers surrounded her with flowers and a spoken word incantation lauded the power of women.
Accepting one of her awards, Beyonce said Lemonade and the accompanying film were meant to "give a voice to our pain, our struggles, our darkness 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 up in a world where they look in the mirror - first through their own families, as well as the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the Grammys - and see themselves and have no doubt that they're beautiful, intelligent and capable," she said. - AFP
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