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 for 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 winning 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 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.”
The show, as usual, was heavy on performances more than awards. Chris Brown 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 a 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.
Justin Vernon’s band Bon Iver beat Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry, J. Cole and Skrillex for best new artist.
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 group’s 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.”
Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/13/2012