Adele Sweeps Top Grammys as Houston Death Mutes Awards Show
By Andy Fixmer
(Updates TV ratings in ninth paragraph.)
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Adele won six Grammy awards, sweeping the major categories of song, record and album of the year, on a night the music industry mourned the loss of singer Whitney Houston.
Adeles 21 was named album of the year, and Rolling in the Deep won song and record of the year at the 54th Grammy Awards, telecast by CBS Corp. last night from Los Angeles. Foo Fighters won five awards including best rock album, and Kanye West took home four including best rap album for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Houstons death at 48 on Feb. 11 in Beverly Hills, California, sent a shock through the music industry and muted the celebratory nature of the years biggest awards show. Artists honored her from the stage, and Jennifer Hudson performed a simple tribute with I Will Always Love You on a stage darkened except for a soft spotlight.
We have had a death in our family, host LL Cool J said at the programs outset. The only thing t! hat feel s right is to begin with a prayer, for a woman who we loved, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston.
Adele, the British singer-songwriter whose last name is Adkins, tied Beyonces record for most Grammy wins in one night by a female artist, according to the Recording Academy website. She also won best pop vocal album for 21, and was honored with best pop solo performance for Someone Like You. The artist records for XL Recordings, which is distributed by Sony Corp.s Columbia Records.
This record is really inspired by what just about everyone has gone through, Adele said after 21 was named album of the year. A rubbish relationship.
Vocal Cords
On the show, Adele sang Rolling in the Deep, her first performance since undergoing vocal cord surgery last year. She credited her co-writer, producer Paul Epworth, saying, he brought me out of my skin to write this record.
Im getting real emotional, Adele said. I should thank my doctors, since they did bring my voice back.
Last nights telecast attracted 39.9 million U.S. TV viewers, the second-most ever for the show and an increase of 50 percent from last year, according to updated Nielsen data released by CBS. The largest Grammy audience of 51.7 million was recorded in 1984, when Michael Jackson captured many of the top honors for the album Thriller.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened the show with the single We Take Care of Our Own, from the album Wrecking Ball, scheduled to go on sale March 6 in the U.S.
Beach Boys
The surviving Beach Boys, reunited for a 50th anniversary tour, played Good Vibrations. Two other Southern California bands, Maroon 5 and Foster the People, played Surfer Girl and Wouldnt It Be Nice. Paul McCartney played My Valentine from his new album, Kisses on the Bottom.
Hudsons tribute to Houston came near the end of the three- hour show. Houston, who made I Will Always Love You famous playing the role of a pop diva in The Bodyguard, earned three 1993 Grammys for the movie sou! ndtrack, including album of the year.
Houstons first Grammy came for her 1985 vocal performance of Saving All My Love for You. She won the same award for 1987s I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me). She received a Grammy for best female R&B vocal performance for 1999s Its Not Right But Its Okay.
Houston won six Grammys in a career slowed by drugs and alcohol. She was found unresponsive Feb. 11 in her room at the Beverly Hilton hotel, where she was planning to attend the annual pre-Grammys party held by Clive Davis, the Arista Records founder.
Album Sales
Sales of her albums have soared with her death. Whitney - - The Greatest Hits was the top album at Apple Inc.s iTunes online store. Two others were in the top 10.
Chris Browns F.A.M.E. was named best R&B album. Lady Antebellums Own the Night won best country album. Bon Iver was named best new artist.
In addition to Wests My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, distributed by Vivendi SAs Universal Music Group, he and Jay-Z won the best rap performance Grammy for Otis from Watch the Throne.
West, a previous winner of 14 Grammys, also won the best rap song and best rap/sung collaboration for All of The Lights.
As West dominated rap, Foo Fighters, who are signed to Sonys RCA record label, swept major rock categories. Wasting Light was named best rock album, and the band, formed by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, took best rock song and best rock performance for Walk, and best hard rock/metal performance for White Limo.
L.A. Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, won for best orchestral performance for its recording of Brahmss 4th symphony. Adams: Doctor Atomic by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus was chosen as best opera recording.
The Recording Academy lowered the number of awards this year to 78 from 109 a year ago.
Albums and tracks by Grammy winners and performers often spike after the telecast. The day after last years show, nine of the! 10 best -selling albums on iTunes were from artists who had won or performed. Last years show drew the most viewers since 2001, according to data from Nielsen.
Adele has already had an impact on record sales. U.S. music sales rose 6.9 percent last year as consumer purchases of albums increased for the first time since 2004, according to Nielsen and Billboard magazine. Sales of digital albums climbed 20 percent, fueled by demand for 21, the years best-selling album with 5.8 million copies sold in all formats.
Record of the year recognizes a tracks artists, engineers and producers, while song of the year credits songwriters.
Recording artists who released albums between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2011, were eligible.
--With reporting by Mark Beech in London. Editors: Anthony Palazzo, Nancy Moran
To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net