Adele has her hands full trying to cradle the six Grammy Awards she won at this year’s ceremony.
Adele sweeps Grammy Awards
~ Rod Nicholson
The 54th Grammy Awards, held on February 12 in Los Angeles, turned out to be a night dominated by two women with incredible voices, with the kind of drama and musical history befitting the plot of a sensational Hollywood biopic. The career and life of one iconic female singer had just come to an end the night before and the career of a soon-to-be iconic female singer would soar to new heights on the night itself.
Whitney Houston’s death the afternoon before the awards show made it imperative that somehow some sort of fitting tribute to her had to be put together on very short notice. And those involved came through as host LL Cool J offered a opening heartfelt prayer and an admonition that the late singer be ‘given the respect she deserves,’ while later in the show Jennifer Hudson’s stunning rendition of Houston’s signature tune ‘I Will Always Love You’ electrified the audience.
Despite the fact that Houston’s unexpected passing cast its shadow over the proceedings, this was also Adele Atkins’ night. The celebrated UK songbird took home six awards, among them three of the most coveted: Album of The Year, Record of The Year and Song of The Year. Not to mention nods for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Short Form Music Video. No wonder she commented at one point, ‘This is getting ridiculous!’
As always, there was plenty of flash and glitter with elaborate sets and video presentations used to pump up the visuals behind several live performances highlighting the show. Current country music princess Taylor Swift and Katy Perry presented two of the more traditionally theatrical performances while provocateur Nicki Minaj likely got the most tongues wagging with her frenetically off the wall run through ‘Roman Holiday.’
Sir Paul McCartney made two appearances, the first being a subdued but heartfelt take on ‘My Valentine’ accompanied by Diana Krall and Joe Walsh and the second the show’s closer as he ran through ‘Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End,’ trading guitar licks with Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen and McCartney bandmate Brian Ray. Bruno Mars nearly stole the show early in the evening with his high-energy performance that recalled the great James Brown, backed by a band that matched him every step of the way.
Adele wasn’t the only big winner this year, as Foo Fighters added to their collection of Grammys with five wins of their own for Best Rock Performance, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best Long Form Music Video. Kanye West received an award for Best Rap Album while sharing in the wins for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance (with Jay-Z).
The field of multiple winners also included singing great Tony Bennett for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Bon Iver for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, Taylor Swift for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song, Cee Lo Green for Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best R&B Song and Skrillex for Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronica Album.
Toronto singer/songwriter Melanie Fiona was one of only two Canadian winners at this year’s Grammys, sharing in both of Cee Lo Green’s wins for their song ‘Fool For You,’ while Arcade Fire’s artistic director Caroline Robert picked up the award for Best Recording Package for her work on their Scenes From The Suburbs album. Canuck also-rans included Drake, Sum 41 and Deadmau5.
Other winners of note on the night included Lady Antebellum for Best Country Album, Chris Brown for Best R&B Album, Booker T. Jones for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Coldplay for Best Rock Performance, Tedeschi Trucks Band for Best Blues Album, Levon Helm for Best Americana Album, Alison Krauss & Union Station for Best Bluegrass Album and Corea, Clarke and White for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
All in all it was quite a night with this year’s proceedings receiving the show’s highest ratings since 1984, and one that will go down in Grammy history for its combination of drama, emotion and the brilliant live performances by Adele and Jennifer Hudson that made the evening a special one.