Foo Fighters and Adele winning big at Grammys

LOS ANGELES — The Foo Fighters captured five Grammys and Adele won four, including the song of the year trophy for "Rolling in the Deep," 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.

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.

The song also won her one of the night's most prestigious awards, song of the year, as well as one for best pop solo performance.

"I can't believe I'm getting emotional already," she said after picking up the latter award. "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," he 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.

But the evening's most moving moment came as Jennifer Hudson — who has called Houston an inspiration and one of her biggest idols — emerged to sing one of Houston's signature songs, "I Will Always Love You." Dressed in black, with only the accompaniment of a piano, Hudson appeared to fight back tears as she sang the song, ending with the line, "Whitney, we will always love you."