On February 12th, 2017, the 59th Annual Grammy Awards aired. The show already was generating some buzz and brought in 26 million viewers. They had Lady Gaga collaborated with Metallica, Beyoncé’ had her first performance since announcing that she was pregnant with twins and Chance the Rapper became the first black hip-hop artist to win Best New Artist in almost 20 years. One thing that brought a lot of attention to this year’s Grammys was Adele. She stole the show with her tribute to the late George Michael, her five wins, and her acceptance speeches.
At the award ceremony, Adele made Grammy history by becoming the only artist to win Album, Record, and Song of the Year twice. Adele has won over fans by not only having an incredible voice but also with her down to earth, hilariously relatable personality. In each interview, her personality shines through and often leaves viewers wishing she was a part of their friend group.
One of the most memorable parts of the night, however, was her acceptance speech right after accepting the award for Record of the Year with her hit song "Hello." When she got onto the stage she was visibly shocked and quickly became emotional after giving out some acknowledgments. Adele announced to the audience that she “can’t possibly accept this award.” Adele continued, “I’m very humbled and very grateful and gracious, but my life is Beyoncé.” After the camera went to Beyoncé showing her mouth the words ‘I love you’ to Adele, Adele continued to praise Beyoncé’s album "Lemonade."
“The 'Lemonade' album, Beyoncé, was so monumental, and so well thought out, and so beautiful and soul-bearing. And we all got to see another side of you that you don’t always let us see, and we appreciate that. And all us artists adore you. You are our light…And the way that you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel, is empowering, and you make them stand up for themselves and I love you. I always have and I always will.”
For many people, Adele’s win came as a shock, including Adele herself. Both artists are incredibly talented in their own ways but this past year Beyoncé’s album "Lemonade" has impacted many people. "Lemonade" has been a huge stepping stone in black feminism. In April of 2015, billboard.com went on to explain that “as she gets more personal, she gets more political.” The album brought up a lot of attention, especially after Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance of "Formation." She made an album to empower black women.
While Adele had an incredible album and year, her album wasn’t revolutionary the way Beyoncé’s was. For Adele to acknowledge the power of "Lemonade" really spoke volumes about how powerful it was. Later in the evening, Adele took her award and broke it in half which many people related it back to the popular movie "Mean Girls."
Both artists are incredibly talented but it is fair to say that Beyoncé was robbed of Album of the Year. "Lemonade" created a lot of buzz and empowered many black women.
One of the most powerful things that Bey included in her visual album was a quote from Malcolm X:
"The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman."
