Adele Turns Up Power at Oscars With 'Skyfall'

Adele Turns Up Power at Oscars With 'Skyfall'Shirley Bassey leads tribute to Bond franchise with 'Goldfinger' $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Adele brought a mix of classic elegance and sheer magnetism to her performance of "Skyfall" last night at the 85th Academy Awards, where she also won an Oscar for the song. Back by a string section on one side and a rock & roll combo on the other, the singer shimmied slightly as she performed for the first time since giving birth last fall. Adele's vocals sounded low in the mix at first, but she turned on the power as her theme song from last year's James Bond film built to a crashing finale. 

Oscars 2013: Academy Awards Red Carpet

She wasn't the only Bond singer in attendance last night. As part of a 50th-annivesary tribute to the spy franchise, Shirley Bassey gave her own powerhouse performance of "Goldfinger" from the 1964 film of the same name. 

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Adele Says She Will Release a New Song This Year

Adele performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele isn't "going on a break for that long," she tells the French radio network NRJ. Contrary to previous reports about an extended hiatus, the singer said she expects to have a "new song probably coming out at the end of the year."  

Don't expect a full album soon from the wildly successful singer, however. "I have to write another record, you know," she said. "If I didn't write my own songs, I'd be out next week with a new album. But because I write my own songs, I have to take time and live a little bit. There was a good two years between my first and second albums, so it'll be the same this time."

Adele added that she will not be intimidated by the phenomenal success of 21, which earned the singer six Grammy Awards and has sold over two million copies in the U.S. since its release. "I don't think I'll ever feel the pressure for my next record to be as big as the last one, because I know that's just not really possible," she explained. "What's happened with this one is very rare, anyway."

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Adele Says She Will Release a New Song This Year

Adele performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele isn't "going on a break for that long," she tells the French radio network NRJ. Contrary to previous reports about an extended hiatus, the singer said she expects to have a "new song probably coming out at the end of the year."  

Don't expect a full album soon from the wildly successful singer, however. "I have to write another record, you know," she said. "If I didn't write my own songs, I'd be out next week with a new album. But because I write my own songs, I have to take time and live a little bit. There was a good two years between my first and second albums, so it'll be the same this time."

Adele added that she will not be intimidated by the phenomenal success of 21, which earned the singer six Grammy Awards and has sold over two million copies in the U.S. since its release. "I don't think I'll ever feel the pressure for my next record to be as big as the last one, because I know that's just not really possible," she explained. "What's happened with this one is very rare, anyway."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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On the Charts: Bruce Springsteen Topples Adele

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Bruce Springsteen. The promotional strategy for his last few albums has been to flood the market – this time around, he's been streaming music online, opening the Grammys and covering Rolling Stone, and he'll be keynote-speaking tomorrow at South by Southwest, the prestigious music-business festival in Austin, Texas. So far, it's paid off. Springsteen's Wrecking Ball LP sold 196,000 copies in its first week and hit Number One on the Billboard album chart, ending Adele's 23-week run at the top. The not-so-good news is the same thing that's plagued rock stars from Van Halen to Coldplay – Springsteen's new singles, even the Grammy-opening "We Take Care of Our Own," are nowhere to be found on the charts. They're not even on the Ultimate Chart's Top 100, which is likely due to the fact that his single's YouTube views (a little more than 1.5 million total, if we're rounding up all the versions correctly) aren't even close to reaching Rihanna or Katy Perry levels.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Albums that were not on sale by anyone other than Springsteen and Adele. Google Play and AmazonMP3 sold some albums for 25 cents last week, and Billboard's chart guru Keith Caulfield calls the new Top 10 "a bit wonky" due to these slashes. The NOW 41 compilation was the primary beneficiary, jumping 235 percent with 152,000 in sales from Number Five to Number Four. Other crazy sales surges include Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto from Number 29 to Number Five, and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV from Number 37 to Number Eight. What would a non-wonky chart have looked like? Check out iTunes' top albums: Luke Bryan's Spring Break 4 . . . . Suntan City, the Project X soundtrack, Fun.'s Some Nights, Gotye's Making Mirrors and Andrew Bird's Break It Yourself. Oh, and remember our screed last week about the return of boy bands? Watch out for teen pied pipers One Direction, whose Up All Night hits Number Nine this week.

WHERE THE CHARTS ARE GOING: To account for what may well be the future of the record business, Billboard is launching an On-Demand Songs chart that will tally up the top tracks streamed on services like Spotify, MOG, Rdio and Rhapsody. Interesting, but not earth-shaking, right? Well, for chart obsessives the big news is that Billboard's old-fashioned Hot 100 singles chart will also incorporate streaming data into its rankings. Nobody's saying what the formula will be, but presumably it will no longer be enough for Adele to sell 200,000 copies of "Rolling In the Deep" in order to top the chart; she'll also have to make a good showing on Spotify and the rest. It's hard to say how this will play out until the new charts are published, but here are Spotify's Top Five tracks as of about noon EST on Thursday: Fun.'s "We Are Young" (which already topped the Hot 100 last week), Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," The Wanted's "Glad You Came," Tyga's "Rack City" and Drake's "Take Care."

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On the Charts: Bruce Springsteen Topples Adele

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Bruce Springsteen. The promotional strategy for his last few albums has been to flood the market – this time around, he's been streaming music online, opening the Grammys and covering Rolling Stone, and he'll be keynote-speaking tomorrow at South by Southwest, the prestigious music-business festival in Austin, Texas. So far, it's paid off. Springsteen's Wrecking Ball LP sold 196,000 copies in its first week and hit Number One on the Billboard album chart, ending Adele's 23-week run at the top. The not-so-good news is the same thing that's plagued rock stars from Van Halen to Coldplay – Springsteen's new singles, even the Grammy-opening "We Take Care of Our Own," are nowhere to be found on the charts. They're not even on the Ultimate Chart's Top 100, which is likely due to the fact that his single's YouTube views (a little more than 1.5 million total, if we're rounding up all the versions correctly) aren't even close to reaching Rihanna or Katy Perry levels.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Albums that were not on sale by anyone other than Springsteen and Adele. Google Play and AmazonMP3 sold some albums for 25 cents last week, and Billboard's chart guru Keith Caulfield calls the new Top 10 "a bit wonky" due to these slashes. The NOW 41 compilation was the primary beneficiary, jumping 235 percent with 152,000 in sales from Number Five to Number Four. Other crazy sales surges include Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto from Number 29 to Number Five, and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV from Number 37 to Number Eight. What would a non-wonky chart have looked like? Check out iTunes' top albums: Luke Bryan's Spring Break 4 . . . . Suntan City, the Project X soundtrack, Fun.'s Some Nights, Gotye's Making Mirrors and Andrew Bird's Break It Yourself. Oh, and remember our screed last week about the return of boy bands? Watch out for teen pied pipers One Direction, whose Up All Night hits Number Nine this week.

WHERE THE CHARTS ARE GOING: To account for what may well be the future of the record business, Billboard is launching an On-Demand Songs chart that will tally up the top tracks streamed on services like Spotify, MOG, Rdio and Rhapsody. Interesting, but not earth-shaking, right? Well, for chart obsessives the big news is that Billboard's old-fashioned Hot 100 singles chart will also incorporate streaming data into its rankings. Nobody's saying what the formula will be, but presumably it will no longer be enough for Adele to sell 200,000 copies of "Rolling In the Deep" in order to top the chart; she'll also have to make a good showing on Spotify and the rest. It's hard to say how this will play out until the new charts are published, but here are Spotify's Top Five tracks as of about noon EST on Thursday: Fun.'s "We Are Young" (which already topped the Hot 100 last week), Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," The Wanted's "Glad You Came," Tyga's "Rack City" and Drake's "Take Care."

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BRIT Awards Organizers Apologize to Adele

Adele accepts the Best Album award during the BRIT Awards in London.

The producers of the BRIT Awards have issued an apology to Adele, whose acceptance speech for the Album of the Year award was cut short to make time for a closing performance by Blur. Adele, frustrated in the moment, raised her middle finger to the cameras as she was forced off the stage. The singer later clarified that the middle finger was directed at "the suits at the BRIT Awards," and not her legion of fans.

"We regret this happened and we send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short this evening due to the live show over-running," said a statement from BRIT Awards organizers. "We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award. It tops off what's been an incredible year for her."

You can watch a clip of Adele's brief acceptance speech below.

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BRIT Awards Organizers Apologize to Adele

Adele accepts the Best Album award during the BRIT Awards in London.

The producers of the BRIT Awards have issued an apology to Adele, whose acceptance speech for the Album of the Year award was cut short to make time for a closing performance by Blur. Adele, frustrated in the moment, raised her middle finger to the cameras as she was forced off the stage. The singer later clarified that the middle finger was directed at "the suits at the BRIT Awards," and not her legion of fans.

"We regret this happened and we send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short this evening due to the live show over-running," said a statement from BRIT Awards organizers. "We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award. It tops off what's been an incredible year for her."

You can watch a clip of Adele's brief acceptance speech below.

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Blur, Adele Win Big at BRIT Awards

Blur, Adele Win Big at BRIT AwardsJon Furniss/Dave J Hogan/Getty

Adele's hugely popular, multiple Grammy-winning album 21 received yet more honors last night at the BRIT Awards in London, where she took home the prizes for female solo artist and Album of the Year. "Nothing makes me prouder than coming home with six Grammys and then coming to the BRITs and winning album of the year," the singer said in her acceptance speech. "I'm so, so proud to be British and to be flying our flag, and I’m so proud to be in the room with all of you."

With that, Adele was rushed off the stage to clear time in the program for an 11-minute closing performance by Blur, who accepted an award for outstanding contribution to music earlier in the evening. After being asked to leave the stage, Adele shrugged and raised her middle finger while saying, "Can I just say then, goodbye, and I’ll see you next time round, then?"

Other winners at the BRIT Awards last night include singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who won for male solo artist, and Lana Del Rey, who won the award for international breakthrough act. Coldplay won for British music group, Foo Fighters won for international music group and One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" was honored as the British single of the year.

You can watch Blur's closing performance, including renditions of their songs "Tender" and "This Is A Low," below.

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On the Charts: 730,000 New Adele Fans

Adele performs at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Adele. Remember last week, when we suggested after a day's worth of data that the only star receiving a post-Grammy sales bump was Whitney Houston? Turns out our estimates were on the conservative side! Adele dramatically eclipsed an average week, selling a ridiculous 730,000 copies of 21, the most since it came out a year ago. It's also the biggest Grammy bump of the past 21 years, easily outdoing Norah Jones' Come Away with Me (621,000 in 2003) and Carlos Santana's Supernatural (583,000 in 2000). Plus, the album has sold more than 2 million downloads on iTunes, making it the first to hit that mark, and more than 7 million overall. Which leads us to wonder how massive Adele would be if the record industry hadn't collapsed over the past decade. Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill sold 16 million after its release in 1995, and we could easily imagine an alternate universe where 21 gets up to Thriller territory. Oh, and Adele's first album, 19, shot up to Number Four with 87,000 sales.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Chris Brown. For obvious reasons – "DON'T ABUSE WOMEN" being the major one. First, the man who punched Rihanna in the eye before the 2009 Grammys gets not one but two showcase slots on the most prominent awards show in years, then his (female) fans respond by inexplicably doing this. We'll refrain from blaming the victim, although, as the New York Times opined, it seems like marketing forces were far more at play in these collaborations than personal ethics and morality. Rihanna collaborated with her scumbag-of-an-ex-boyfriend on two songs, a remix of her own "Birthday Cake," from 2011's Talk That Talk, and a remix of Brown's new single, "Turn Up the Music." It's too early to gauge sales, since they haven't landed yet on Billboard or BigChampagne's Ultimate Chart, but Rihanna's remix is up to about 1.4 million YouTube views. Brown's remix is harder to estimate – the YouTube posts are all over the place.

MORE GRAMMY BUMPS: More than 39 million viewers tuned in February 12th to watch the Grammy Awards tribute to Whitney Houston, who died at 48 the previous day, and came away intrigued by a bunch of new albums – particularly Adele's 21, as mentioned. In addition, Bruno Mars, whose pompadoured performance was a low-key broadcast highlight, sold 38,000 copies last week of his Doo-Wops & Hooligans album, which hit Number Eight on Billboard's album charts, an increase of 22 spots; the Civil Wars, the folk-country duo that made a charming joke about the McCartney kid from Liverpool being its opening act, sold 36,000, jumping from Number 41 to Number 10; and the 2012 Grammy nominees album had 85,000 sales, rising from Number Eight to Number Five. Other sales gains, for albums and digital songs, came from winners and performers Coldplay, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Foo Fighters, Mumford and Sons, Taylor Swift, Bon Iver and Skrillex. As for Houston, the late pop megastar wound up with seven albums on the charts, notably Whitney – The Greatest Hits, which had 175,000 sales and finished at Number Two. Because it was an old-school sales week, we'll use an old-school cliché: The rising tide lifted all the boats.

LAST WEEK: Van Halen Jump Ahead

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On the Charts: 730,000 New Adele Fans

Adele performs at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Adele. Remember last week, when we suggested after a day's worth of data that the only star receiving a post-Grammy sales bump was Whitney Houston? Turns out our estimates were on the conservative side! Adele dramatically eclipsed an average week, selling a ridiculous 730,000 copies of 21, the most since it came out a year ago. It's also the biggest Grammy bump of the past 21 years, easily outdoing Norah Jones' Come Away with Me (621,000 in 2003) and Carlos Santana's Supernatural (583,000 in 2000). Plus, the album has sold more than 2 million downloads on iTunes, making it the first to hit that mark, and more than 7 million overall. Which leads us to wonder how massive Adele would be if the record industry hadn't collapsed over the past decade. Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill sold 16 million after its release in 1995, and we could easily imagine an alternate universe where 21 gets up to Thriller territory. Oh, and Adele's first album, 19, shot up to Number Four with 87,000 sales.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Chris Brown. For obvious reasons – "DON'T ABUSE WOMEN" being the major one. First, the man who punched Rihanna in the eye before the 2009 Grammys gets not one but two showcase slots on the most prominent awards show in years, then his (female) fans respond by inexplicably doing this. We'll refrain from blaming the victim, although, as the New York Times opined, it seems like marketing forces were far more at play in these collaborations than personal ethics and morality. Rihanna collaborated with her scumbag-of-an-ex-boyfriend on two songs, a remix of her own "Birthday Cake," from 2011's Talk That Talk, and a remix of Brown's new single, "Turn Up the Music." It's too early to gauge sales, since they haven't landed yet on Billboard or BigChampagne's Ultimate Chart, but Rihanna's remix is up to about 1.4 million YouTube views. Brown's remix is harder to estimate – the YouTube posts are all over the place.

MORE GRAMMY BUMPS: More than 39 million viewers tuned in February 12th to watch the Grammy Awards tribute to Whitney Houston, who died at 48 the previous day, and came away intrigued by a bunch of new albums – particularly Adele's 21, as mentioned. In addition, Bruno Mars, whose pompadoured performance was a low-key broadcast highlight, sold 38,000 copies last week of his Doo-Wops & Hooligans album, which hit Number Eight on Billboard's album charts, an increase of 22 spots; the Civil Wars, the folk-country duo that made a charming joke about the McCartney kid from Liverpool being its opening act, sold 36,000, jumping from Number 41 to Number 10; and the 2012 Grammy nominees album had 85,000 sales, rising from Number Eight to Number Five. Other sales gains, for albums and digital songs, came from winners and performers Coldplay, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Foo Fighters, Mumford and Sons, Taylor Swift, Bon Iver and Skrillex. As for Houston, the late pop megastar wound up with seven albums on the charts, notably Whitney – The Greatest Hits, which had 175,000 sales and finished at Number Two. Because it was an old-school sales week, we'll use an old-school cliché: The rising tide lifted all the boats.

LAST WEEK: Van Halen Jump Ahead

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Blur, Adele Win Big at BRIT Awards

Blur, Adele Win Big at BRIT AwardsJon Furniss/Dave J Hogan/Getty

Adele's hugely popular, multiple Grammy-winning album 21 received yet more honors last night at the BRIT Awards in London, where she took home the prizes for female solo artist and Album of the Year. "Nothing makes me prouder than coming home with six Grammys and then coming to the BRITs and winning album of the year," the singer said in her acceptance speech. "I'm so, so proud to be British and to be flying our flag, and I’m so proud to be in the room with all of you."

With that, Adele was rushed off the stage to clear time in the program for an 11-minute closing performance by Blur, who accepted an award for outstanding contribution to music earlier in the evening. After being asked to leave the stage, Adele shrugged and raised her middle finger while saying, "Can I just say then, goodbye, and I’ll see you next time round, then?"

Other winners at the BRIT Awards last night include singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who won for male solo artist, and Lana Del Rey, who won the award for international breakthrough act. Coldplay won for British music group, Foo Fighters won for international music group and One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" was honored as the British single of the year.

You can watch Blur's closing performance, including renditions of their songs "Tender" and "This Is A Low," below.

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Adele: I'm Heading Back to the Studio

Adele arrives at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele has played down her remarks in the latest issue of Vogue about planning a five-year hiatus in a blog post on her official site. "I've a few days off now, and then it’s the Brit Awards here at home and then I’m straight into the studio. BOYYAHH! 5 years? More like 5 days!," she wrote. The singer's U.K. spokesperson also shot down the Vogue soundbite, telling the BBC that it was "just an offhand comment."

Aside from addressing her fans on her blog, Adele has avoided speaking to the press in the wake of her sweep at the Grammys over the weekend. Her manager, Jonathan Dickens, spoke on her behalf to Billboard yesterday, saying they will need to "ease her back" into performing live. "While she's fully recovered, like any injury you need to build your strength back up," Dickens said. "I'm gonna let her enjoy this moment and not drive her mad. We'll sit down and work out what we're doing going forward. It's a long-term thing."

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Adele: I'm Heading Back to the Studio

Adele arrives at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele has played down her remarks in the latest issue of Vogue about planning a five-year hiatus in a blog post on her official site. "I've a few days off now, and then it’s the Brit Awards here at home and then I’m straight into the studio. BOYYAHH! 5 years? More like 5 days!," she wrote. The singer's U.K. spokesperson also shot down the Vogue soundbite, telling the BBC that it was "just an offhand comment."

Aside from addressing her fans on her blog, Adele has avoided speaking to the press in the wake of her sweep at the Grammys over the weekend. Her manager, Jonathan Dickens, spoke on her behalf to Billboard yesterday, saying they will need to "ease her back" into performing live. "While she's fully recovered, like any injury you need to build your strength back up," Dickens said. "I'm gonna let her enjoy this moment and not drive her mad. We'll sit down and work out what we're doing going forward. It's a long-term thing."

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Grammys 2012: Adele Wins Big While Stars Mourn Whitney Houston

Adele poses in the Media Center during the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele swept the top categories at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, taking home five top awards including Album of the Year for her blockbuster smash 21, Record and Song of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep" and Pop Solo Performance for "Someone Like You." The British singer also won for Pop Vocal Album and returned to the stage after months of medical issues for a rousing, vibrant rendition of "Rolling in the Deep." Paul Epworth, producer of 21, also won for Producer of the Year.

While it was very much Adele's night, Whitney Houston's death yesterday cast a shadow over the entire ceremony, with host LL Cool J opening the show by offering a brief prayer for the late superstar. "There's no way around this," the rapper and actor said. "We've had a death in the family." Later in the show, Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to Houston by performing her own rendition of "I Will Always Love You," the singer's signature hit.

Houston wasn't the only music legend being mourned at the ceremony. Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys paid homage to Etta James with a cover of her hit "A Sunday Kind of Love," and Questlove honored Don Cornelius before Foo Fighters, Deadmau5, David Guetta and Lil Wayne performed a tribute to electronic dance music. The Band Perry and Blake Shelton paid tribute to the still-living Glenn Campbell, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, but  nevertheless hit the stage for a flawless rendition of his classic "Rhinestone Cowboy."

Bon Iver took home awards for Alternative Album and Best New Artist, beating out stiff competition from Nicki Minaj, Skrillex and the Band Perry. "It's really hard to accept this award," said Bon Iver songwriter Justin Vernon. "When I started to make songs, I did it for the inherent reward of making songs." He did, in fact, accept the award.

Other big winners were Foo Fighters, who swept the rock categories and took home Rock Album for Wasting Light, and Kanye West, who won for Rap Album for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, took two awards for the single "All of the Lights" and shared Rap Performance with Jay-Z for "Otis." Neither West or Jay-Z were on hand to accept their honors. Skrillex may have been shut out for Best New Artist, but cleaned up in the electronic dance categories with Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

The show included several memorable performances, including an over-the-top production of Nicki Minaj's new track "Roman Holiday" that relied heavily on Catholic iconography, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's energetic run through their new hit "We Take Care of Our Own," a collaboration between Coldplay and Rihanna on the song "Princess of China," and the debut of a new song by Katy Perry in which she slams her ex-husband Russell Brand after what had seemed like amicable divorce agreement.

The Civil Wars made the most of a brief spot before Taylor Swift's elaborate production number for "Mean" with a truncated version of their song "Barton Hollow," and the Foo Fighters ripped through a no-frills rendition of their Grammy-winning hit "Walk" on an outdoor stage. Paul McCartney played the pop standard "My Valentine" midway through the show, and closed it with an energetic run through the closing medley of the Beatles' Abbey Road.

The strangest performance of the night was no doubt the Beach Boys reunion, which began with Maroon 5 and Foster the People running through pitchy takes on "Surfer Girl" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" before assisting the newly reunited band on "Good Vibrations." Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Foster the People's Mark Foster seemed to be overjoyed by this opportunity, but Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson appeared to be totally befuddled by the situation, giving confused, vaguely horrified looks to the camera, and shuffling off stage as soon as the song ended.

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Adele Returns to Singing at Grammys

Adele performs at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

Having already collected an armload of Grammys on a night that was destined to be hers, Adele capped one of the biggest individual years in pop in ages by returning to the stage at the awards show. Fully recovered from the vocal cord surgery that sidelined her at the end of last year, the singer performed her blockbuster hit "Rolling in the Deep," allowing herself a little giggle when she finished. The star-studded audience gave the powerful singer an extended ovation, with Rihanna and Paul McCartney, among others, leading the cheers.   

Later in the show, she accepted the Grammy for Record of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep." She thanked the radio programmers who made the song ubiquitous across several formats: "People just seem to really, really enjoy it," she said, in a wee bit of understatement.

Moments later, she walked on stage yet again, this time to collect the award for Album of the Year. "Mom, girl did good!" she blurted, dabbing at tears.

Adele's 21 has sold more than 6 million copies to date and is certain for another big boost following her big night at the Grammys. The album has spent a total of 19 (nonconsecutive) weeks at number one. One more week, coincidentally, would tie the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, which featured the late Whitney Houston, as one of the all-time leaders in the category.

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Adele on Vocal Troubles: 'It Felt Like Something Popped in My Throat'

Adele performs at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles.

Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony will mark Adele's first vocal performance since her career-saving laser throat surgery last fall – and the evening will also include her first interview since the dramatic operation.

Adele's interview with 60 Minutes, set to air at 7 p.m. EST on CBS, will include her first words about the health scare. "It felt like someone put a curtain over my throat," the 23-year-old soul star tells Anderson Cooper, according to Us Weekly. "It felt like something popped in my throat." The damage came from a hemorrhaged polyp on her vocal cords, which Adele fears could happen again under similar career strain: "If I decide to go on a 200-date world tour, it would happen again," she says.

The British singer managed to find ways to amuse herself during the recovery process, though. "I had an application on my phone that you type the words into it and then it speaks it, but the great thing is I love to swear," she tells Cooper. "Most of [the apps] you can't swear on, but I found this one app where you can swear, so I'm still really getting my point across."

Adele is nominated for six awards at Sunday's Grammys, including Best Pop Vocal Album for 21 and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep."

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Adele on Vocal Troubles: 'It Felt Like Something Popped in My Throat'

Adele performs at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles.

Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony will mark Adele's first vocal performance since her career-saving laser throat surgery last fall – and the evening will also include her first interview since the dramatic operation.

Adele's interview with 60 Minutes, set to air at 7 p.m. EST on CBS, will include her first words about the health scare. "It felt like someone put a curtain over my throat," the 23-year-old soul star tells Anderson Cooper, according to Us Weekly. "It felt like something popped in my throat." The damage came from a hemorrhaged polyp on her vocal cords, which Adele fears could happen again under similar career strain: "If I decide to go on a 200-date world tour, it would happen again," she says.

The British singer managed to find ways to amuse herself during the recovery process, though. "I had an application on my phone that you type the words into it and then it speaks it, but the great thing is I love to swear," she tells Cooper. "Most of [the apps] you can't swear on, but I found this one app where you can swear, so I'm still really getting my point across."

Adele is nominated for six awards at Sunday's Grammys, including Best Pop Vocal Album for 21 and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep."

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Adele Will Return to Live Performance at the Grammys

Adele performs at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele will make her return to the stage with an appearance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The singer, who has been recuperating from surgery on her vocal cords, is nominated for six awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep" and Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 21.

Since Adele was forced to cancel a sold-out tour of the United States in order to treat her vocal condition, this will be the singer's first public performance in over five months. She joins a lineup of performances that includes Coldplay and Rihanna, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Glen Campbell and the Band Perry, Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters. The ceremony will be hosted by LL Cool J and will air live on CBS.

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Adele Will Return to Live Performance at the Grammys

Adele performs at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Adele will make her return to the stage with an appearance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The singer, who has been recuperating from surgery on her vocal cords, is nominated for six awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep" and Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 21.

Since Adele was forced to cancel a sold-out tour of the United States in order to treat her vocal condition, this will be the singer's first public performance in over five months. She joins a lineup of performances that includes Coldplay and Rihanna, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Glen Campbell and the Band Perry, Bruno Mars and the Foo Fighters. The ceremony will be hosted by LL Cool J and will air live on CBS.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Beyonce, Adele, Chris Brown Up for NAACP Image Awards

Beyonce Knowles attends the Beyonce Pulse fragrance launch at Macy's Herald Square in New York City.

Beyoncé, Adele, Chris Brown, Bruno Mars and Cee Lo Green are all in the running for top music awards at the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards on February 17th. Beyoncé is nominated for Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Album for her record 4, while Mars, Brown, Green and Common are all up for Outstanding Male Artist. Jennifer Hudson, Lupe Fiasco, Ledisi and Mary J. Blige are also nominated for Outstanding Album alongside Beyoncé.

Though the NAACP is traditionally designed to honor "the accomplishments of people of color," Adele is nevertheless nominated for Outstanding Song and Music Video for her smash hit "Someone Like You."

Photos: Random Notes

The complete music nominations for the NAACP Image Awards are as follows. The ceremony will be broadcast on NBC on February 17th at 8 p.m. ET.

Outstanding Song
"Best Thing I Never Had" - Beyonce
"Fool for You" feat. Melanie Fiona - Cee Lo Green
"I Smile" - Kirk Franklin
"So In Love" feat. Anthony Hamilton - Jill Scott
"Someone Like You" - Adele

Outstanding Album
4 - Beyonce
F.A.M.E.  - Chris Brown
I Remember Me - Jennifer Hudson
Lasers - Lupe Fiasco
The Light of the Sun - Jill Scott

Outstanding New Artist
Committed
Diggy Simmons
Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
Mindless Behavior
Wynter Gordon

Outstanding Male Artist
Anthony Hamilton
Bruno Mars
Cee Lo Green
Chris Brown
Common

Outstanding Female Artist
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Jill Scott
Ledisi
Mary J. Blige

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
Boyz II Men
Cee Lo Green feat. Melanie Fiona
Mary J. Blige feat. Drake
Sounds of Blackness
The Roots

Outstanding Music Video
"25/8" - Mary J. Blige
"Hear My Call" - Jill Scott
"I Was Here" - Beyoncé
"Someone Like You" - Adele
"Where You At" - Jennifer Hudson

Outstanding Jazz Album
Chano y Dizzy - Terence Blanchard and Poncho Sanchez
Friends - Stanley Jordan
Guitar Man - George Benson
Legacy - Gerald Wilson
Road Show Vol. 2 - Sonny Rollins

Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)
Becoming - Yolanda Adams
Church on the Moon - Deitrick Haddon
Hello Fear - Kirk Franklin
Something Big - Mary Mary
The Journey - Andrae Crouch

Outstanding World Music Album
Afrodiaspora - Susana Baca
Carnival Fever - Brother B
Live at 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - Boukman Eksperyans
Sounds of Blackness - Sounds of Blackness
The First Grader  - Alex Heffes

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