This past Tuesday, British group Florence + the Machine took to the stage at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. Led by front-woman Florence Welch, the BRIT Award-winning and Grammy-nominated performed a selection of tracks during the 60 minute show, incorporating fan favourites from debut LP ‘Lungs’ as well as new music from 2011′s follow-up LP ‘Ceremonials’.

The concert was streamed live on YouTube in partnership with HP Live, attracting a worldwide audience on top of the thousands present in the Hall. Welch commenced with the band’s well-known cover of The Source and Candi Staton’s ‘You Got the Love’ and then moved into ‘Only If for a Night’, the first track from ‘Ceremonials’.

Despite Welch and her bandmates being known for soaring sounds and anthemic beats, every track was performed with a certain degree of restrained understatement, fitting for the venue and for the melancholic nature of the charity of which they were supporting. Welch, however, kept things light and was happy to engage with the audience.

It’s so amazing to be here tonight. Thank you so much … It’s just this space and the people and for this cause, it really means so much to me, so thank you. I’ve never been so nervous in my life! Even while I’m singing, it’s just looking up and seeing thing, and then it’s like, ‘Oh! I’ve got to remember the words and keep singing! Don’t get distracted by the beautiful arches!’.

As the show went on, Welch switched seamlessly between her back catalogue, from the ethereal ‘Between Two Lungs’ to piercingly vivid ‘Cosmic Love’. She joked repeatedly that she was ‘trying to practise being poised and … orchestral’, but from the audience’s perspective she was doing just fine.

With her tall, lean frame, and her simple, elegant dress, Welch fit right in with the classical aura, and might very well find herself fielding offers from the BBC Proms next year, considering how well she adapted to the evening’s proceedings while in the middle of an arena-filling world tour.

For her encore, Welch returned to the stage and belted out ‘Shake It Out’, the lead single from ‘Ceremonials’. This was an incredibly apt track on which to end to concert, as it speaks about new beginnings, letting go of the past, and looking to the future – a message suited well to the teenagers benefiting directly from the proceeds of this event. The organisation’s mission statement is:

We don’t believe that teenagers should have to stop being teenagers, just because they have cancer. So we fund and build specialist units for young people in NHS hospitals. Our units bring teenagers with cancer together with loads of new friends of their own age so they can support each other … Teenage Cancer Trust aims to ensure that every young person with cancer and their family receive the best possible care and professional support throughout their cancer journey.

For more information, visit their website. Meanwhile, ‘Florence + the Machine”s full concert can be viewed on HP Live’s YouTube channel.

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The Grammy Awards confirmed that 2011 truly was the year of Adele.  The 23 year-old singer was honored with 6 Grammy Awards, including “Record of the Year,” “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year,” tying the record held by Beyoncé for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in a single year.

This brings Adele’s career Grammy total to 8.  Viewers who tuned into the live ceremony, which took place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles earlier, witnessed Adele deliver a breathtaking rendition of “Rolling in the Deep,” her first public performance since she underwent vocal surgery in November.  Adele took home honors in the following categories:

Record of the Year (“Rolling in the Deep”)
Album of the Year (“21″)
Song of the Year (“Rolling in the Deep”)
Best Pop Solo Performance (“Someone Like You”)
Best Pop Vocal Album (“21″)
Best Short Form Music Video (“Rolling in the Deep”)

Adele’s sophomore album 21 was the biggest selling album of 2011 with over 18 million units sold worldwide.  Entertainment Weekly declared it “that rarest pop commodity: timeless,” and the Associated Press affirmed that Adele “created more than just an album with good songs: she’s crafted a masterpiece.”

In addition to being named Billboard’s “Artist of the Year,” Adele had the best-selling US single of the year, “Rolling in the Deep,” certified 6x Platinum, as well as the best-selling music DVD of the year, “Live at The Royal Albert Hall,” certified 7x Platinum. She has broken countless records – including becoming the first-ever artist to lead the Billboard 200 while concurrently having 3 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles from the same parent album (“Rolling in the Deep,” “Someone Like You,” and “Set Fire to the Rain”).

21 has spent 19 nonconsecutive weeks, to date, at #1 on the Billboard Top 100, surpassing records held by Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Some Gave All” and 1998′s “Titanic” soundtrack.

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