The 54th annual Grammy Awards were dominated by two soulful pop divas: Adele -- whose six prizes included record, song and album of the year -- and Whitney Houston, whose death the day before the show became a recurring motif throughout the three-plus hour broadcast.

On stage to accept her final award of the night, album of the year, the British singer cried and thanked her 'mum.'

Ms. Houston's death Saturday afternoon presented the awards show's producers and hosts with the challenge of adding last-minute tributes to the pop legend, while not letting the program become maudlin.

The broadcast opened with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing a high-energy new song, 'We Take Care of Our Own.'

Immediately afterward, emcee LL Cool J acknowledged Ms. Houston's memory, saying: 'We've had a death in our family.' He offered a brief prayer, then pivoted to a more upbeat tone. 'The Grammy Awards were one of Whitney Houston's greatest joys,' he said. 'Let's all celebrate with joy.'

The rapper's remarks set a tone that held for much of the show. Performers and presenters made brief, heartfelt references to Ms. Houston without dwelling on the loss. In the midst of singing 'Princess of China' with Coldplay, Rihanna exhorted the audience at the Staples Center: 'Make some noise for Whitney!'

Awards including album of the year, song of the year for 'Rolling in the Deep' and best pop solo performance for 'Someone Like You' went to Adele. Best rap performance. went to 'Otis,' by Jay-Z and Kanye West, who weren't on hand to accept.

The award for best rock performance went to Foo Fighters for 'Walk,' distributed by Sony's RCA records, beating industry darlings Coldplay. Highlighting the difficulty of keeping straight the shifting landscape of the challenged music industry, Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl expressed gratitude to a corporate entity that no longer exists, thanking 'all the people at Sony BMG.'

That joint venture ceased to exist in 2008, when Sony bought out its partner, Germany's Bertelsmann AG, and renamed the company Sony Music Entertainment.

There were so many planned tributes to musicians alive and dead that at times it felt as if there wasn't enough room in the show to memorialize Ms. Houston. Both the Beach Boys and Glen Campbell were the recipients of homages by multiple acts -- then took the stage themselves to show the younger artists how it's done. Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys sang 'Sunday Kind of Love' to memorialize the recently deceased soul great Etta James.

A video montage of performers who had died in the past year, including Amy Winehouse, froze on an image of Ms. Houston. R&B singer Jennifer Hudson emerged in a spotlight and sang, accompanied by a single piano, Ms. Houston's biggest hit, 'I Will Always Love You,' altering the final line to 'We will always love you.'

The proceedings weren't without levity. Coming on soon after Paul McCartney, roots-music duo the Civil Wars thanked 'all our opening acts -- especially the promising bloke from Liverpool.' And Bon Iver singer Justin Vernon thanked voters for the 'sweet hookup' represented by the best-new-artist prize he'd won.

Rapper Kanye West came into the show with the most nominations, seven. But there was a widespread sense that the night belonged to British pop star Adele, whose performance of 'Rolling in the Deep' drew long, enthusiastic applause. Mr. West, by contrast, wasn't even present.

To make room for a genre that wouldn't necessarily lend itself to the staid confines of a sit-down, black-tie event, the producers staged an electronic-dance-music medley in a 'club' outside Staples Center.

That location allowed the producers to position a young, energetic crowd in front of DJs like Skrillex, David Guetta and Deadmau5, who performed wearing his trademark oversized rodent mask.

The medley -- billed as a 'mash-up' -- also included performances by Foo Fighters and Chris Brown.

Paul McCartney closed the show with a rollicking rendition of the 'Golden Slumbers'/'Carry That Weight'/'The End' medley from 'Abbey Road.' An all-star guitar jamboree ensued, with Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Mr. McCartney trading exuberantly noisy riffs on 'Carry That Weight.'

Ethan Smith

• annual [´ænjuəl] a.每年的 n.年刊 (初中英语单词)
• singer [´siŋə] n.歌手，演唱者 (初中英语单词)
• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
• program [´prəugræm] n.说明v.为...安排节目 (初中英语单词)
• celebrate [´selibreit] vt.庆祝；表扬；赞美 (初中英语单词)
• dwelling [´dweliŋ] n.住所；寓所 (初中英语单词)
• audience [´ɔ:diəns] n.听众；观众；接见 (初中英语单词)
• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)
• gratitude [´grætitju:d] n.感激，感谢 (初中英语单词)
• venture [´ventʃə] n.投机 v.冒险；敢于 (初中英语单词)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
• hudson [´hʌdsn] n.哈得孙河 (初中英语单词)
• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
• promising [´prɔmisiŋ] a.有希望的；有为的 (初中英语单词)
• contrast [´kɔntrɑ:st] n.对比 v.使对比(照) (初中英语单词)
• houston [´hju:stən] n.休斯顿 (高中英语单词)
• broadcast [´brɔ:dkɑ:st] v.&n.散布 a.广播的 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• landscape [´lændskeip] n.风景；景色；风景画 (高中英语单词)
• enthusiastic [inθju:zi´æstik] a.热情的，热心的 (高中英语单词)
• applause [ə´plɔ:z] n.鼓掌；欢呼；称赞 (高中英语单词)
• necessarily [´nesisərili] ad.必定，必然地 (高中英语单词)
• location [ləu´keiʃən] n.定位；位置；地方 (高中英语单词)
• widespread [´waidspred] a.广布的；普遍的 (英语四级单词)
• energetic [,enə´dʒetik] a.精力旺盛的；有力的 (英语四级单词)
• beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
• guitar [gi´tɑ:] n.吉他，六弦琴 (英语六级单词)