The songbird's comeback

The Grammys in recent years have targeted young audiences even as older acts won key awards to the surprise of some music fans, but tonight's honours will shine its spotlight on Adele, whose popularity crosses all age boundaries.

The soulful British singer, whose album 21 has spawned massive hits like Rolling in the Deep and topped charts for 19 weeks, enters music industry's biggest awards with six nominations, second only to rapper Kanye West with seven.

But all ears will be tuned in to Adele, 23, who is scheduled to give a Grammy performance that is her first since undergoing throat surgery late last year. And everybody — young and old — wants to know if 2011's top-selling performer has recovered.

In years past, the Grammys have often seen relative newcomers in top categories like album of the year face off against veteran acts, only to see the older performers win, shocking the youth-driven industry.

That won't happen at tonight's ceremony. Competing for album of the year are Adele with 21, Lady Gaga for Born This Way, Rihanna with Loud, Bruno Mars for Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Foo Fighters for Wasting Light.

Indeed, many of the major categories are dominated by younger pop stars like Adele, Gaga, Katy Perry and Rihanna. Traditional rockers are largely missing, with the exception of legends Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen who are both set to perform at tonight's show in Los Angeles.

But in an ironic twist, Adele gained stardom precisely because she has appealed to so many audience groups with her soulful ballads such as Someone Like You that sound like a throwback in an industry dominated by electronic dance music.