Forget the trophies: the biggest story of last night’s Grammys ceremony was the on-going love story between Beyoncé and Adele.
As the latter took to the stage after winning Best Album, arguably the most prestigious award of the night, Adele used her platform to celebrate her long-term idol, who was nominated in the same category for Lemonade.
‘I can’t possibly accept this award. I’m very humbled and I’m very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé and this album to me, the Lemonade album, was just so monumental,’ she said tearfully. Beyoncé, who performed two songs from Lemonade earlier in the ceremony, appeared visibly moved at her fellow artist’s praise.
‘It was so monumental and well thought-out and beautiful and soul-baring and we all got to see another side of you that you don’t always let us see and we appreciate that. All of us artists here f--king adore you. You are our light,’ she continued, before having her very own Mean Girls moment, channelling Cady Heron to break her Grammy in two in order to present Beyoncé with the other half.
Before accepting Song of the Year for ‘Hello’ earlier in the night, the singer mouthed ‘I love you!’ to Bey as she made her way onto the stage.
‘My album of the year is Lemonade. So part of me did die inside as a Beyoncé fan – not going to lie. I was completely rooting for her, I voted for her,’ she explained to reporters in the press room backstage. ‘I felt it was her time to win. What the f—k does she have to do to win album of the year?’
A fan of the former Destiny’s Child star since childhood, Adele explained how her first encounter with Beyoncé’s music came when she was ’11 years old.’
‘I was with some girlfriends, and we were practising a song to do at an assembly. I probably suggested the Spice Girls, and they said have you heard [Destiny’s Child’s] ‘No No No’? And I was like, ‘no, no, no.’ The way I felt when I first heard ‘No No No’ was exactly the same as when I first heard Lemonade last year.’
Beyoncé, who announced that she is pregnant with twins earlier this month, took home the Grammy for Best Video (for ‘Formation’) and Best Urban Contemporary Album (for Lemonade).
Her sister, Solange, meanwhile, appeared to take aim at the ceremony’s poor track record for diversity, posting a link to a statement written by Frank Ocean, in which the rapper derides the Grammys for failing to acknowledge modern music in its diverse, inclusive forms.
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