The Recording Academy wouldn’t be themselves if they didn’t stir a bit of controversy with the Grammys winners list. While Adele may have taken home the top honor for ‘Album of the Year,’ the singer was and is still rooting for Beyonce’s dynamic project, Lemonade.
Speaking to the press after the show on Sunday (Feb. 12), Adele extended her statements on Bey by explaining the first time she heard the icon. “I was 11-years-old, and I was with some girlfriends, and we were practicing a song and for an assembly and they wanted us do a responsible song,” she said. “And then we heard “No, No, No,” and my mom was like, ‘No, No, No,’ [but] they played it to me and I remember hearing it so clearly and how I felt hearing them [Destiny’s Child], but her specifically. I went home you know, and my mom’s boyfriend managed to find me some songs and photographs of her and I fell in love immediately. I was 11 then. The way I felt when I heard “No, No, No,” was exactly how I felt when I heard Lemonade last year.”
The visual album shared themes of love, womanhood and African (and Southern) spirituality, a mission Adele was clearly in awe of. While on stage, she thanked Beyonce for the project and showered her with compliments. “I can’t possibly accept this award, and I’m very humble and very grateful, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé,” said the 28-year-old. “This album for me, the ‘Lemonade’ album, was so monumental. The way you make me and my friends feel the way you make my black friends feel is empowering, and they stand up for themselves. And I love you. I always have.”
Like many critics, Adele questioned the academy for overlooking Lemonade. “My views are, ‘What the f**k does she have to do to win ‘Album of the Year?’ That’s also how I feel and I felt like this album brought out a side to her we haven’t seen and I felt blessed to be brought into that,” she said. Obviously, her vision was very new and I just thought this year would be the year they would kind of go with the tide. I am of course, very very grateful for having won it, but I felt the need [to say something] because I love her.”
As we pointed out last week, only nine African-American artists have taken home the Album of the Year award. Jazz great Herbie Hancock was the last artist to win the accolade in 2008 for his tribute album to Joni Mitchell. The longstanding timeline of the upsets in the category isn’t in hiding as fans pointed out the black elephant in the gold room.
https://twitter.com/adam_lewis/status/831002472034426884?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
At least we know Adele is privy to the conversation. Following her unforgettable performance, Bey took home Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video, upping her total number of Grammys to 22 (counting her previous Grammy wins with Destiny’s Child).