Beyonce has won the Grammy Award for best country album for Cowboy Carter at a ceremony that served as a love letter to host city Los Angeles following the devastating wildfires that scarred a hub of the music business.
The superstar US singer said she was "in shock" to take the country award for her first venture into the genre. The Beyonce album was snubbed by voters for the Country Music Awards in their nominations in September.
"Really I was not expecting this," Beyonce said after she was handed the Grammy trophy by presenter Taylor Swift.
"I want to thank God that I'm able to still do what I love after so many years."
Cowboy Carter was in the running for the night's top Grammy prize of album of the year. Beyonce has never received the album trophy despite going into Sunday's ceremony with 32 career wins, more than any other musician.
Chappell Roan nudged aside Sabrina Carpenter to win the Grammy for best new artist, capping a remarkably explosive rise to fame for an artist dropped by her last record label.
Roan, who is openly queer and taps into drag culture, was the sassy toast of the pop world in 2024 with tracks that include Good Luck, Babe!, Red Wine Supernova and Hot To Go! from her 2023 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
In her speech, she called for record labels to give a livable wage and health care, especially for developing artists.
“It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanised,” Roan said.
Earlier Carpenter won best pop vocal album Short n' Sweet, minutes after she performed hits Please Please Please and Espresso on the Grammys stage.
"This is my first Grammy so I'm going to cry," Carpenter said as she accepted the trophy.
Doechii became the third woman in Grammys history to win best rap album for Alligator Bites Never Heal. As she accepted the award, she offered words of encouragement to Black women and girls.
"Anything is possible," Doechii said as she held her trophy. "Don't allow anyone to project any steroptypes on you."
Beyonce and Miley Cyrus won the trophy for best country duo or group peformance for II Most Wanted.
This year's Grammy festivities were revamped to be part awards show and part fundraiser for people affected by the wildfires, which were contained on Friday after killing 29 people and displacing thousands including many musicians.
The show opened with an all-star rendition I Love LA featuring Altadena-based band Dawes backed by John Legend, Brad Paisley, St Vincent and Brittany Howard.
"Tonight, we decided we are not just celebrating our favourite music. We are also celebrating the city that brought us so much of that music," host Trevor Noah said.
The major question for the awards was whether Beyonce would finally land the top prize.
At last year's Grammys, Beyonce's husband and rapper Jay-Z argued that voters had not given proper recognition to Black artists including his wife. Grammy winners are chosen by the 13,000 singers, songwriters, producers, engineers and others who make up the Recording Academy.
Cowboy Carter was viewed by experts and fans as a reclamation and homage to an overlooked legacy of Black Americans within country music and culture. It became the first album by a Black woman to land at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart when it was released last spring.
The Beyonce album was snubbed, however, by voters for the Country Music Awards in their nominations in September.
with AP
