Adele sweeps Grammy awards in shock victory over Beyonce

Los Angeles, February 13

Adele won the top three Grammy awards on Sunday, taking home the statuettes for album, record and song of the year in a shock victory over Beyonce.

Adele won all five Grammys for which she was nominated, including for her comeback album "25" and her single "Hello."

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Beyonce, who had gone into Sunday's awards show with a leading nine nominations for her "Lemonade" album, won just two.

"My queen and my idol is Queen B. I adore you," Adele said to Beyonce as she accepted her award.

"The 'Lemonade' album was so monumental," she added.

Adele also apologised to fans as she restarted her George Michael tribute during the live telecast of the Grammy Awards after battling sound issues.

The soul superstar was invited to honour the memory of the late "Faith" hitmaker, and took the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to perform a reworked version of George's 1996 song "Fast Love."

However, Adele was hit with sound problems moments into the performance and halted the music.

"I know it's live TV, I'm sorry, I can't do it again like last year," she said, referring to the audio issues which almost derailed her 2016 Grammys rendition of "All I Ask."       

After letting slip an expletive, which producers managed to censor just in time for the live broadcast, Adele continued, "I'm sorry for swearing, and I'm sorry for starting again...

I'm sorry, I can't mess this up for him.

"Can we please start again? I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

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 album "Lemonade."

Adele, 28, was competing head-on with Beyonce, 35, the only other artist to be nominated this year for all three top awards - album, song and record of the year.

Chance the Rapper was named best new artist while Twenty One Pilots won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance for "Stressed Out."

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.

Following is a list of winners in key categories:    

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

“25” – Adele

RECORD OF THE YEAR

“Hello” – Adele

SONG OF THE YEAR (songwriters award)

“Hello” - Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters    

BEST NEW ARTIST

Chance The Rapper

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

“25” – Adele

BEST ROCK ALBUM

“Tell Me I’m Pretty” - Cage The Elephant    

BEST URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM

“Lemonade” - Beyoncé   

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM

“A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” - Sturgill Simpson    

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM

“Blackstar” - David Bowie

BEST RAP ALBUM

“Coloring Book” - Chance The Rapper

— Agencies