A surprise loss didn’t stop Beyonce from being center of attention Sunday’s Grammy awards, as the pregnant singer delivered the night’s most anticipated performance and was praised on stage by the artist who triumphed over her.
Beyonce, 35, went into music’s biggest night with a leading nine nominations including the top awards of the night – album, record and song of the year – but lost all three to Britain’s Adele.
“The ‘Lemonade’ album is so monumental and so well thought out and so beautiful and soul-baring, and we got to see another side to you that you don’t always let us see and we appreciate that,” Adele said, addressing Beyonce, as she accepted the album of the year award for “25.”
Beyonce, dressed in a red sequined gown, mouthed ‘thank you,’ as she looked on.
The R&B singer did win two Grammy awards, including best urban contemporary album for “Lemonade.”
“My intention was to create a body of work that would give voice to our pain, our struggles, our darkness and our history,” Beyonce said as she accepted her Grammy trophy.
While Beyonce is usually known to deliver energetic dance-filled performances, the singer opted to slow things down now she is expecting twins and instead centered her set on the theme of motherhood.
For her performance of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles,” a video projection of Beyonce dressed in a gold chain bikini and gold halo crown appeared on stage, as she caressed her pregnant belly and posed with her mother Tina Lawson and 5-year-old daughter Blue Ivy.
Beyonce then appeared for real on stage, dressed in a nude sequined dress and crown, strutting along the top of a long table strewn with flowers while her dancers, dressed in flowing dresses, surrounded her. At one point, she sat on a chair on top of the table, which tipped back as she sang.
The performance ended with the singer standing in the spotlight as her dancers raised their intertwined arms behind her, looking upwards as Beyonce’s voice recites, “If we’re going to heal, let it be glorious.”
A proud Jay Z wiped tears from his eyes as he cuddled Blue Ivy, who was dressed in a pink tuxedo in homage to Prince.
Beyonce’s mother introduced her performance, praising the singer for her “devotion and love” and her “powerful words and music.”