UPDATE: On Tuesday night, Santana walked back his comments against Beyoncé in a Facebook post: "I would like to clarify a comment that was reported when I was doing an interview for some upcoming shows in Australia & New Zealand. My intent was to congratulate Adele on her amazing night at the Grammies. My comment about Beyonce was regretfully taken out of context. I have the utmost respect for her as an artist and a person. She deserves all the accolades that come her way. I wish Beyonce and her family all the best."
Beatrice Verhoeven,The Wrap
The overwhelming consensus since Sunday night is that Beyonce was robbed at the Grammys. But according to legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, Queen Bey deserved the surprising upset that saw Adele’s “25” beat Beyonce’s “Lemonade” to win Album of the Year. Santana, weighing in on the matter this week, for some reason, declared about Adele that “she can sing,” while Beyonce, he says, is “not a singer.”
“I think that Adele won because she can sing, sing,” Santana told the Australian Associated Press, via the New Zealand Herald.
He added, “With all respect to our sister Beyonce, Beyonce is very beautiful to look at and it’s more like modelling kind of music – music to model a dress – she’s not a singer, singer, with all respect to her.”
Santana and Beyonce performed together at the pre-game festivities before the Super Bowl in 2003.
For what it’s worth, even Adele thought Beyonce was robbed.
“I can’t possibly accept this award,” Adele said in her acceptance speech at the end of the Grammy Awards. “I’m very humbled and I’m very grateful and gracious, [but] the artist of my life is Beyonce, and the album to me, the “Lemonade” album, was so monumental, and so well thought out. And so beautiful and soul-bearing and we all got to see another side of you that you don’t always let us see, and we appreciate that.”
Beyonce also lost to Adele in the categories “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Best Pop Solo Performance.” However, Beyonce didn’t walk away empty-handed: She won “Best Urban Contemporary Album” for her album “Lemonade” and best music video for “Formation.”
And she ultimately won the night with her goddess-like performance — about which Santana also had something to say.
“Adele can sing, sing. She doesn’t bring all the dancers and props, she can just stand there and she just stood there and sang the song and that’s it, and this is why she wins,” Santana said.
Naturally, the Beyhive lost it. See some reaction tweets to Santana’s comments below.