Beyonce may have gone into Sunday night’s Grammys with a leading nine nominations but the superstar, who delivered a captivating, regal performance, pregnancy on full display, only took home two awards.
With her nine noms this year, Beyonce became the most-nominated female artist in Grammy history, with 62 nods, and if she had won eight of the nine awards she was honored for this year, she would’ve become the most awarded female artist in Grammy history, a title that belongs to 27-time Grammy winner Alison Krauss.
Instead, Adele emerged victorious in the much buzzed-about battle of the two star singers, sweeping her five categories and beating Beyonce in four of those: the categories of song, album and record of the year and pop solo performance.
Still, Beyonce delivered a memorable, eloquent speech when she won best urban contemporary album for Lemonade. (She also won best music video in the pre-show ceremony for her “Formation” clip.) And as Adele accepted the record and album of the year prizes, she lavished praise on Beyonce, who could be seen tearing up in the audience, telling her fellow nominee that she wished Beyonce were her mom and that she is “the artist of my life,” and that Lemonade “was just so monumental.”
Three artists went into Sunday with eight nominations each: Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West. While Drake won two awards, Rihanna and West didn’t win any of the Grammys for which they were nominated.
Also shut out were four-time nominee Justin Bieber, three-time nominees Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert and two-time nominees Ariana Grande and Radiohead.
Drake, West and Bieber were all expected to skip the ceremony.
