Highlights of the Grammys 2017

After opening the ceremony with a spotless performance of "Hello" - which also won the song of the year award - Adele stopped during her tribute to George Michael, cursed, and asked to restart the song. "I'm sorry. I can't mess this up for him," she said. "Can we start again?" The big winner of the evening also picked up the two top Grammys: album and record of the year.

For her first stage appearance since announcing she was pregnant with twins, Beyonce wore a glittering gown and crown, performing an elaborate ode to motherhood. "Lemonade" won the Grammy for best urban contemporary album. She accepted the prize saying she hoped children could grow up in a beautiful, intelligent world - qualities that should be reflected in institutions such as the White House.

Beyonce actually had the most nominations - nine - but won only two awards. Many found it unfair that Adele beat out Beyonce in the two top categories - including Adele herself. "I can't possibly accept this award," she said, expressing her admiration to Beyonce. Adele later broke off the top of her Grammy to give half of it to Beyonce.

It was the Chicago rapper's big night: He won in the categories best new artist, best rap performance and best rap album for "The Coloring Book" - beating out other top performers, including Drake and Kanye West. Picking up the last award, he said he hadn't prepared anything to say, as he hadn't expected to win - but his acceptance speech was just as exhuberant as the previous ones.

A non-working mic had Metallica's singer James Hetfield screaming into Lady Gaga's instead at the beginning of their performance together. They sang "Moth Into Flame" from Metallica's "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct." Nominated for best rock song, the heavy metal band lost to David Bowie's "Blackstar."

His final album, "Blackstar," was released just days before his death on January 10, 2016. The album won all four categories for which it was nominated, including best alternative music album. The awards ceremony was filled with tributes to the music greats who passed away in 2016.

Mars offered an electrifying tribute to Prince with the song "Let's Go Crazy," celebrating the pop icon who died in April 2016 at the age of 57. The singer-songwriter and record producer also won a Grammy on Sunday night, for his production work on Adele's album.

She was the first artist of the evening to turn the event into a political showcase. Wearing a Hillary Clinton-inspired white pantsuit, Katy Perry took the stage to perform her newest song, "Chained to the Rhythm," which has lyrics like "We think we're free." Her act ended with a projection of the US Constitution.

Shortly before, the host of the evening launched the ceremony with his own comedic acknowledgment of the political changes in the country: "Live it all up, because this is the best / and with President Trump we don't know what comes next," rapped the British comedian and host of "Carpool Karaoke."

Although most artists avoided mentioning President Trump in their acceptance speeches, the hip hop group went head on when it took the stage. Busta Rhymes referred several times to Donald Trump as "President Agent Orange." The rappers chanted "We the people" throughout their performance and ended it with the rallying cry: "Resist! Resist! Resist!"