The British star outdid Beyonce, claiming the Grammy's top prizes. The annual music awards ceremony paid tribute to music icons Bowie, Prince and George Michael - while some artists got political, with calls to resist.
Image: Reuters/M. Blake
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Highlights of the Grammys 2017
Adele, Beyonce, tributes to late pop icons and political messages: Here are the best moments of the 2017 Grammy Awards.
Image: Reuters/M. Anzuoni
Adele sweeps top awards
After opening the ceremony with a spotless performance of "Hello" - which also won the song of the year award - Adele stopped during her tribute to George Michael, cursed, and asked to restart the song. "I'm sorry. I can't mess this up for him," she said. "Can we start again?" The big winner of the evening also picked up the two top Grammys: album and record of the year.
Image: Reuters/M. Blake
Pregnant Beyonce shines
For her first stage appearance since announcing she was pregnant with twins, Beyonce wore a glittering gown and crown, performing an elaborate ode to motherhood. "Lemonade" won the Grammy for best urban contemporary album. She accepted the prize saying she hoped children could grow up in a beautiful, intelligent world - qualities that should be reflected in institutions such as the White House.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Adele shares her Grammy with Beyonce
Beyonce actually had the most nominations - nine - but won only two awards. Many found it unfair that Adele beat out Beyonce in the two top categories - including Adele herself. "I can't possibly accept this award," she said, expressing her admiration to Beyonce. Adele later broke off the top of her Grammy to give half of it to Beyonce.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Chance the Rapper wins big
It was the Chicago rapper's big night: He won in the categories best new artist, best rap performance and best rap album for "The Coloring Book" - beating out other top performers, including Drake and Kanye West. Picking up the last award, he said he hadn't prepared anything to say, as he hadn't expected to win - but his acceptance speech was just as exhuberant as the previous ones.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Lady Gaga and Metallica perform together
A non-working mic had Metallica's singer James Hetfield screaming into Lady Gaga's instead at the beginning of their performance together. They sang "Moth Into Flame" from Metallica's "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct." Nominated for best rock song, the heavy metal band lost to David Bowie's "Blackstar."
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Posthumous awards for David Bowie
His final album, "Blackstar," was released just days before his death on January 10, 2016. The album won all four categories for which it was nominated, including best alternative music album. The awards ceremony was filled with tributes to the music greats who passed away in 2016.
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Bruno Mars channels Prince
Mars offered an electrifying tribute to Prince with the song "Let's Go Crazy," celebrating the pop icon who died in April 2016 at the age of 57. The singer-songwriter and record producer also won a Grammy on Sunday night, for his production work on Adele's album.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Katy Perry persists
She was the first artist of the evening to turn the event into a political showcase. Wearing a Hillary Clinton-inspired white pantsuit, Katy Perry took the stage to perform her newest song, "Chained to the Rhythm," which has lyrics like "We think we're free." Her act ended with a projection of the US Constitution.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
James Corden raps
Shortly before, the host of the evening launched the ceremony with his own comedic acknowledgment of the political changes in the country: "Live it all up, because this is the best / and with President Trump we don't know what comes next," rapped the British comedian and host of "Carpool Karaoke."
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
A Tribe Called Quest resists
Although most artists avoided mentioning President Trump in their acceptance speeches, the hip hop group went head on when it took the stage. Busta Rhymes referred several times to Donald Trump as "President Agent Orange." The rappers chanted "We the people" throughout their performance and ended it with the rallying cry: "Resist! Resist! Resist!"
Image: Getty Images/K. Djansezian
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The big winner of the US music industry awards evening was English singer-songwriter Adele. She took home the awards in all the five categories for which she was nominated on Sunday night, including the top three categories - album, record of the year with her comeback album "25," and song of the year with her megahit "Hello."
Adele appeared to doubt that she should have won over Beyonce, whose groundbreaking album "Lemonade" was also nominated: "My artist, the artist of my life is Beyonce, and the 'Lemonade' album was so monumental and well thought-out and so beautiful and soul baring," she said in her emotional acceptance speech.
"We all (expletive) adore you," she said directly to the visibly pregnant star.
Beyonce: an ode to motherhood
Beyonce offered an epic performance during the ceremony, exposing her round belly after revealing 12 days ago that she was pregnant with twins. Despite leading with nine nominations, she only won in two categories: "Lemonade" picked up best urban contemporary album and her clip for "Formation" was chosen as best music video.
The glittering, pregnant queen of the evening: BeyonceImage: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Beyonce's acceptance speech included allusions to the current political situation: "It's important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow in a world where they look in the mirror, first with their own families as well as in the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the Grammys, and see themselves," she said.
Many social media users quickly decried the racism of the Grammys to explain why Beyonce was snubbed:
Artists 'resist'
Beyonce's speech wasn't the only political moment. Earlier in the evening, Katy Perry's performance of her new song, "Chained to the Rhythm," was accompanied by a huge video projection of the US Constitution. She wore a "Persist" armband, in homage to US Senator Elizabeth Warren. Her act provoked a standing ovation from the audience.
Later on in the evening, A Tribe Called Quest referred to "President Agent Orange" in their performance, which included many allusions to Donald Trumps' policies. Joining the hip hop pioneers onstage were dancers crossing a wall and women in hijabs, in reference to the wall the US president has said he wants to build along the Mexican border and his travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries.
Chicago-born artist Chance the Rapper, 23, outdid other established performers, such as Drake and Kanye West, by winning best rap album for "Coloring Book." He also won in the categories best new artist and best rap performance. He wore a black hoodie with "Obama" on the back and "thank you" on the front.
Tributes to three late greats
David Bowie won posthumously all four awards he was nominated for. His final album, "Black Star," was released days before he died of cancer last year. It won best alternative music album and engineered album, non-classical. The title track grabbed best rock song and rock performance.
Bruno Mars offered an electrifying tribute to Prince, with a spot-on impersonation of the artist, wearing a purple jacket to revisit the Purple One's 1984 hit "Let's Go Crazy." Prince died in April last year, just a few months after Bowie.
Adele was in charge of the tribute to George Michael, who died on Christmas Day at the age of 53. Midway through her somber version of his song "Fastlove," she abruptly stopped, asking to start over again: "I can't mess this up for him," she said. Her second shot was flawless and heartfelt, although it left the star teary-eyed.
