It's Adele & the Foos

LOS ANGELES

- Adele won six Grammys, including song of the year, record of the year and album of the year, and Foo Fighters captured five at a Grammy ceremony that had the difficult task of celebrating music's best while mourning the loss of one of their greatest.

Whitney Houston's death on the eve of the awards forced a delicate balance between the exuberance of the show's winners and performances with the loss.

Adele, who owned the year's best-selling album with "21," was triumphant in her first performance since vocal-cord surgery forced the cancellation of a tour and months of vocal rest. As the world wondered whether her voice would still soar, she answered with her performance of her hit "Rolling in the Deep," and received a sustained standing ovation from the crowd.

"I can't believe I'm getting emotional already," she said after picking up the award for best solo pop performance. "And seeing as it's a vocal performance, I need to thank my doctors, I suppose, who brought my voice back."

Adele's CD "21" also won best pop vocal album. The night's other big winners, the Foo Fighters, noted that they made their album "Wasting Light" in a garage.

"To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of making music is what's most important. Singing into a microphone, learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that's the most important thing for people to do," Dave Grohl said as the band accepted their best rock performance trophy for "Walk." "It's not about being perfect. It's not about sounding absolutely correct. It's not about what goes on in a computer. It's about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on here [your head]. . . . Long live rock 'n' roll!"

Among the evening's performances was a dance-heavy number by Chris Brown, a performance by Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, who kicked off the show by performing his new song "We Take Care of Our Own," a rousing song that references the troubles of the nation.

Justin Vernon, whose band Bon Iver beat Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry, J. Cole and Skrillex for best new artist, accepted the award with admittedly mixed emotions.

"It's really hard to accept this award. Well, there's so much talent out here, like on this stage. There's a lot of talent that's not here tonight. It's also hard to accept because when I started to make songs I did it for the inherent reward of making songs, so I'm a little bit uncomfortable up here," Vernon said.

The Grammys did their best to keep a tone that balanced the many moods of the night: The Foo Fighters performed in a tent outside the Staples Center, where the awards were being held, amid a throng of bouncing fans; but moments earlier, Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt paid tribute to Etta James, the legend who died last month.

There was also a tribute to the recently reunited Beach Boys that featured Maroon 5, Foster the People and Mike Love, Al Jardine and Brian Wilson, the three remaining members of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame band.