Adele wins six awards at the Grammys

Speaking from the stage after receiving the album of the year gong, Adele said: "This record is inspired by something that is really normal and everyone's been through it, just a rubbish relationship, and it's gone on to do things I can't tell you how I feel about it, it's been the most life-changing year."

But as celebratory as the occasion was for Adele, it was also marked with tributes to Whitney Houston, who died on Saturday.

Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson sang I Will Always Love You, the Dolly Parton hit that Houston made her own, and the ceremony’s host, LL Cool J, offered a prayer for Houston’s family, friends and fans.

“Although she is gone too soon, we remain truly blessed by her musical spirit," he said.

Another recently deceased star who was honoured was Amy Winehouse, whose parents accepted her award for best pop duo or group performance, which the singer would have received for her collaboration with Tony Bennett on Body and Soul.

Elsewhere at the ceremony, rock band Foo Fighters bagged five awards, including best rock performance for their single Walk.

"This is a great honour because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio...we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine," said frontman Dave Grohl.

Country singer Taylor Swift won two Grammys, for solo performance and country song, Bon Iver pipped Nicki Minaj to the best newcomer award and DJ Skrillex bagged best dance recording and dance/electronica album.

Throughout the evening, attendees at the event were treated to performances from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Chris Brown, Coldplay and Rihanna, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj and Paul McCartney.

The list of Grammy winners in full:

Record of the year: Adele – Rolling in the Deep

Album of the year: Adele – 21

Song of the year: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth (songwriters) – Rolling in the Deep

New artist: Bon Iver

Pop solo performance: Adele – Someone like You

Rock album: Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

Pop duo: Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse – Body and Soul

Pop vocal album: Adele – 21

Rap album: Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Pop instrumental album: Booker T Jones – The Road From Memphis

Dance recording: Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Dance/electronica album: Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Traditional pop vocal album: Tony Bennett & Various Artists – Duets II

Rock performance: Foo Fighters – Walk

Hard rock/metal performance: Foo Fighters – White Limo

Rock song: Foo Fighters (songwriters) – Walk

Alternative music album: Bon Iver – Bon Iver

R&B performance: Corinne Bailey Rae – Is This Love

Traditional R&B performance: Cee Lo Green and Melanie Fiona – Fool for You

R&B song: Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim, Jack Splash (songwriters) – Fool for You

R&B album: Chris Brown – FAME

Rap performance: Jay-Z and Kanye West – Otis

Rap/sung collaboration: Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie – All of the Lights

Rap song: Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter and Kanye West (songwriters) – All of the Lights

Country solo performance: Taylor Swift – Mean

Country duo/group performance: The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

Country song: Taylor Swift (songwriter) – Mean

Country album: Lady Antebellum – Own the Night

New age album: Pat Metheny – What's It All About

Improvised jazz solo: Chick Corea – 500 Miles High

Jazz vocal album: Terri Lyne Carrington and various artists – The Mosaic Project

Jazz instrumental album: Corea, Clarke and White – Forever

Large jazz ensemble album: Christian McBride Big Band – The Good Feeling

Gospel/contemporary Christian music performance: Le'Andria Johnson – Jesus

Gospel song: Kirk Franklin (songwriter) – Hello Fear

Contemporary Christian music song: Laura Story (songwriter) – Blessings

Gospel album: Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear

Contemporary Christian music album: Chris Tomlin – And If Our God Is for Us…

Latin pop, rock or urban album: Mana – Drama y Luz

Regional Mexican or Tejano album: Pepe Aguilar – Bicentenario

Banda or Norteno album: Los Tigres Del Norte – Los Tigres Del Norte and Friends

Tropical Latin album: Cachao – The Last Mambo

Americana album: Levon Helm – Ramble at the Ryman

Bluegrass album: Alison Krauss and Union Station – Paper Airplane

Blues album: Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator

Folk album: The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

Regional roots music album: Rebirth Brass Band – Rebirth of New Orleans

Reggae album: Stephen Marley – Revelation Pt. 1: The Root of Life

World music album: Tinariwen – Tassili

Children's album: Various Artists – All About Bullies ... Big and Small

Spoken word album: Betty White – If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)

Comedy album: Louis CK – Hilarious

Musical theatre album: The Book of Mormon

Short-form music video: Adele – Rolling in the Deep

Long-form music video: Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters: Back and Forth

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You can watch highlights of the 54th Grammy Awards at 12:30am on Tuesday 14 February, Channel 4.