Adele, who had trouble with her live performance at last year’s Grammy Awards, asked to restart her tribute to George Michael on Sunday at the Grammys, telling the audience: "I can’t mess this up for him."
She stopped and used an expletive after singing some of a new arrangement of Michael’s "Fastlove," as videos and photos of Michael played in the background. She re-sang the song and earned applause and support from the crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, though Adele was teary eyed.
Adele apologized onstage again for the technical goof when accepting song of the year for "Hello," saying she really loved Michael. At last year’s show, the British singer had a hiccup after a microphone inside a piano fell onto the instrument’s strings.
Michael died on Christmas Day. A tribute for Prince by Bruno Mars and The Time will happen later in the show.
Adele was still a big winner with three honors, including best pop vocal album and pop solo performance, and she and could win even more awards later in the show.
Until Adele’s abrupt restart, Beyonce was the talk of the show. In glittery gown, gilded crown and gold choker, a pregnant Beyonce took the Grammy stage in a lengthy performance of two songs from her critically acclaimed album "Lemonade." She was introduced by her mother and former stylist, Tina Knowles: "Ladies and gentlemen, with my mother’s pride, my daughter, Beyonce."
Beyonce sang on top of a long table, even leaning back on a chair while singing "Love Drought." She later sang "Sandcastles" while sitting down in a chair that tilted alarmingly backward, hitting high notes.
She earned a loud applause from the audience, including daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay Z. Beyonce won best music video ("Formation") and urban contemporary album ("Lemonade").
"My intention for the film and album is to create a body of work that would give voice to our pain, our struggles, our doubts, and our history, to confront issues that make us uncomfortable. 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," said Beyonce, reading from a card. "This is something that I want for every child of every race, and I feel that it’s vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes."
David Bowie, who died last year from cancer, won all four awards he was nominated for. He won three in the pre-telecast, and was awarded best rock song for "Blackstar" during the live show.
"Blackstar," his final album released days after he died, also won best alternative music album, rock performance, and engineered album, non-classical (Bowie is listed as one of the engineers on "Blackstar.") In the latter category, he beat out Prince, who also died last year.
Adele kicked off the Grammys with a live rendition of her comeback anthem, "Hello," which helped her win two early Grammys: "Hello" won best pop solo performance and "25" won pop vocal album in the pre-telecast ceremony. In the top three categories, she will go head-to-head with Beyonce.
Mars and his groovy band gave a memorable performance of "That’s What I Like" — as Jennifer Lopez, Faith Hill, Rihanna and even some of the men in the audience watched closely, looking impressed.
Chance the Rapper won the first award in the live telecast for best new artist. He also won best rap album, besting Drake and Kanye West.
"I didn’t think we were gonna get this one," said Chance, who also won best rap performance.
James Corden, hosting the Grammys for the first time, rapped some of his monologue at the top of the show, namedropping Prince, Rihanna and Drake.
Twenty one pilots won best pop duo/group performance for the hit "Stressed Out." They removed their pants when accepting the award in homage to their earlier days when they watched the Grammys at home in their boxers.
In the pre-telecast, Beyonce’s younger sister, critical R&B darling Solange, won her first Grammy for best R&B performance (it was her first-ever nomination). Drake, who didn’t attend the live show, won best rap song and rap/sung performance for the smash hit, "Hotline Bling."
Justin Timberlake’s "Can’t Stop the Feeling!" — which is nominated for an Oscar — won best song written for visual media. His No.1 hit is from the "Trolls" soundtrack. Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott won two Grammys in the Christian category for the album she recorded with her family. Scott, who has won seven Grammys with Lady A, cried onstage both times when accepting the wins.
"We’ve been crying since this project started," her father, Lang Scott, said.
Best new artist nominees The Chainsmokers won best dance recording for the pop hit "Don’t Let Me Down," while album of the year nominee Sturgill Simpson won best country album for "A Sailor’s Guide to Earth."
The country music rebel thanked his wife, who he said told him to quit his job on the railroad years ago and move to Nashville.
Joey + Rory won best roots gospel album for "Hymns," and Rory Feek was emotional onstage as he remembered his wife Joey, who died last year from cancer.
"My wife’s dream was to make a hymns album. She didn’t have the chance to do it until she’d been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, so she’d sing in hotel rooms while she did chemotherapy and radiation," said Rory, who added that his wife said if they were nominated he had to attend the Grammys. "She got a big smile on her face and she said, ‘Remember, if we win, I’ll know before you will."
Some actors won Grammys, too: Don Cheadle picked up best compilation soundtrack for visual media for "Miles Ahead," where he is credited as a compilation producer, and Carol Burnett won the best spoken word album Grammy.
"The Color Purple" won best musical theater album, giving Jennifer Hudson her second Grammy and earning Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and "Orange Is the New Black" actress Danielle Brooks their first Grammys.
Beyonce and Adele are both competing for album and record of the year. Their competition for album of the year aside from Simpson includes Drake’s multihit "Views" and Justin Bieber’s redemption album "Purpose."
Nominees battling "Formation" and "Hello" for record of the year include Rihanna and Drake’s "Work," twenty one pilots’ "Stressed Out" and Lukas Graham’s "7 Years."
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