The award ceremony began with presenter El El Cool Jay mourning the family of Whitney Houston and praying on stage for her.
The death of Houston at the age of 48 almost monopolized the discussions before the event while there were constant references to her during it.
Melanie Fiona, who won the award in the R&B category with the song Fool For You, said that the deceased was the source of her inspiration.
"I would not be standing here if it were not for you," he said.
Adele won in all the categories that had been nominated, including her for best album (for "21"), for best song of the year with "Rolling in the Deep", for best pop song solo, with " Someone Like You »
The 23-year-old singer, receiving the first prizes, thanked the surgeons who removed a polyp from her vocal cords.
Adele, who was "resting" her vocal chords in view of the big night, took the stage and sang Rolling in the Deep, arousing the spectators who applauded her standing up.
The rock band Foo Fighters was also among the big winners, winning a total of five awards, including one for Best Rock Performance with Walk.
The head of Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, pointed out that their last album was recorded not in a studio, "but in my garage, with a few microphones and a cassette player."
This "shows that the human element is important" in music, he added.
Source: news.in.gr, with information from ΑΠΕ / Reuters / French.