Adele wins big, Beyonce celerates motherhood, Tribe gets all anti-Trump

LOS ANGELES — It was the clash of the divas at this year’s 56th annual Grammy Awards, as pop’s two biggest female stars as Beyonce and Adele went head-to-head for song, record and album of the year on Sunday.

In the end, it was Adele who took home with the most golden gramaphones, winning all five Grammys for which she was nominated, including for her comeback album 25 and her single Hello.

Despite 62 total Grammy nominations and 20 awards, Beyonce, 35, has never won the coveted album of the year, although she has topped the charts with all six of her studio records. She had nine nominations this year, and she was hotly tipped to win big thanks to Lemonade, the personally and politically charged album many believe to be about the artist’s troubled marriage to rapper Jay Z, layered with themes of black and female empowerment.

Although Queen Bey only took home prizes for best music video and best urban contemporary album, the 35-year-old scored high on the wow factor with her showstopping performance and an acceptance speech in which she said it was important for her 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 added: “This is something I want for every child of every race, and I feel it’s vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes.”

Adele was almost apologetic in edging out Bey.

“My queen and my idol is Queen B. I adore you,” the 28-year-old British singer said to Beyonce as she accepted her award, adding that Lemonde was “monumental”.

Beyonce and Adele also had the most talked-about moments on a night marked by political statements, an emotional tribute to British pop star George Michael, and a rocking memorial to pioneering funk musician Prince.

In her first public appearance since her announcement 12 days ago that she is expecting twins, Beyonce donned a sheer, glittering gold dress and halo to sing ballads Love Drought and Sandcastles from her latest album.

Moments later, Adele literally stopped the show after flubbing the start of a tribute to the late British pop star Michael.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s live TV,” she said, cursing, stopping her slow ballad version of Michael’s Fastlove and asking to start again. “I can’t mess this up for (Michael),” she said.

The other big Grammy winner was late British singer David Bowie, who won all five of the nominations for his final album Blackstar, including best rock song.

Ahead of the main awards show, Chance the Rapper won a Grammy for best rap performance, wearing a black hoodie with “Obama” on the back and “thank you” on the front. Chance also received the best new artist award.

Other stars who took the limelight for politically-charged statements in an otherwise sleepy show included A Tribe Called Quest. The pioneering hip-hop outfit was joined by rapper Busta Rhymes onstage to perform their song, We The People.

Rhymes referred to President Donald Trump as “Agent Orange”, thanking him for “perpetuating all of the evil ... throughout the United States”.

The set ended with women wearing headscarves joined the performers onstage and Q-Tip chanting “Resist!”, eliciting a standing ovation from the audience.

But the commentary was not all anti-Trump. In a bold statement that instantly made headlines, singer Joy Villa on the red carpet revealed a gown with “Make America Great Again” - the election slogan of Trump - stitched down the front.

REUTERS, NYT