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Adele wins six awards at 54th Grammys

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Los Angeles. Feb. 12 2012

The Grammys cast aside their celebratory vibe on Sunday to pay tribute to singer Whitney Houston, whose death over the weekend hung heavy over the 54th annual awards show.

Until Saturday, the pre-show drama had focused on Adele and how the six-time-nominee would fare in her first public performance since canceling a tour and having surgery on her vocal cords.

A glowing Adele did not disappoint, nor was she disappointed. She won six Grammys, including the song and record of the year for “Rolling in the Deep,” and album of the year for “21.” Earlier in the night, she thanked “the doctors who brought my voice back.” That voice sound a touch raspy at points, but her resolve surged as she powered through “Rolling in the Deep.” Without much more than a few hand gestures and a couple of shy smiles, she commanded the screen like few performers during the three and half hour nationally televised broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.She described her winning album “21” as being about something “everyone’s been through … which is a rubbish relationship,” and that universality translated to the year’s biggest-selling and now most-acclaimed recording.

Whitney Houston’s death in a Los Angeles hotel room Saturday put the Grammys into scramble mode, as they altered the telecast schedule and devised an appropriate tribute to the pop icon. “We’ve had a death in our family,” host LL Cool J said. He offered “a prayer for a woman we loved, for a fallen sister.”

Jennifer Hudson performed a stark version of the Dolly Parton song that Houston made her own, “I Will Always Love You,” on “The Bodyguard” soundtrack.

Chris Brown, who only three years ago backed out of the Grammys amid a criminal proceeding involving an assault on the singer Rihanna, scored multiple appearances. Yet the Grammys made only passing mentions to the late “Soul Train” founder Don Cornelius and jazz-poet Gil Scott-Heron.

 Chris Brown performed, ending a three-year hiatus from the Grammys. On Feb 8, 2009, he turned himself in to police in connection with an assault on his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, and then withdrew from performing on that year’s Grammys. On Sunday, he came back to shimmy and gyrate in a prime-time performance, but social media was abuzz with stunned responses. “Sorry, Chris Brown, I’m not over it,” tweeted one pundit.

“This is ridiculous!”: So said Adele after receiving her fifth Grammy. The remark wasn’t directed at Nicki Minaj, who did some serious “Exorcist”-style button-pushing in a Gothic song-and-dance number, but could anyone blame her if it was?

And the living artist with the most Grammys went to Alison Krauss. She surpassed Quincy Jones with her 28th Grammy for best bluegrass album.Glen Campbell, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and is in the midst of his farewell tour, bid goodbye on the big stage with a performance of “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Campbell clearly enjoyed the moment, and the audience – fully understanding its significance – showered him with adulation.

 Kanye West had a great night with four victories, but didn’t show up to claim any trophies. His “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” won for best rap album and “All of the Lights” for  best rap/sung collaboration and best rap song. He also shared best rap performance with Jay-Z for “Otis.” Jazz harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy shared a Grammy with Bela Fleck for best instrumental composition, "Life in Eleven,"  and former Chicago jazz trumpeter Maurice Brown played on the Tedeschi Trucks Band's "Revelator," which won best blues album. Nominees R. Kelly, Wilco, OK Go, Kurt Elling, Lupe Fiasco and the Numero Group were among those who came home empty-handed.

Credit: Chicago Tribune

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