Renowned guitarist Carlos Santana has taken to social media to “clarify” what he meant when he said Beyonce was “beautiful to look at,” but Adele was the real “singer”.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday the 69-year-old said his comments had been intended to “congratulate” the British artist, who scooped five awards at the Grammys on Sunday.

Earlier in the week he gave his opinion on why Adele’s 25 beat Beyonce’s politically charged Lemonade in the contest for best album, telling the Australian Associated Press: “She (Adele) can sing, sing… with all respect to our sister Beyonce, Beyonce is very beautiful to look at and it’s more like modelling kind of music – she’s not a singer, singer.”

Carlos Santana – I would like to clarify a comment that… | Facebook

Adele, he added, “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”.

After he was heavily criticised for his remarks, he wrote in a statement that his words were “regretfully taken out of context”.

Declaring his admiration for the American singer, he wrote: “I have the utmost respect for her as an artist and a person. She deserves all the accolades that come her way.”

Carlos will perform in Australia in April as part of a global tour.