Beyoncé makes history at Grammy Awards; Harry Styles wins album of the year

Harry Styles won album of the year at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, taking home the top honor on a night that Beyoncé dominated and became the ceremony’s most-decorated artist.

Beyoncé won her 32nd award, breaking a 26-year-old record. But as in years past, the album of the year honor eluded her. Styles took home three awards Sunday.

Still, Beyoncé stands alone on her Grammy throne and had the support of the room throughout the night, with winners frequently referencing her and her influence on them.

“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” the superstar said as her husband Jay-Z stood and applauded her. The singer thanked her late uncle, her parents, Jay-Z and her children for supporting her. “I’m just trying to receive this night. I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank you, God.”

The superstar singer has now collected 32 awards after she won for best R&B song for “Cuff It,” dance-electric music recording for “Break My Soul,” traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and dance-electric music for her seventh studio album “Renaissance,” which is also nominated for album of the year.

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Lizzo won record of the year for “About Damn Time,” delivering a rousing speech that brought many in the audience, including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Adele, to their feet.

“Me and Adele were having a good time, rooting for our friends. This is an amazing night. This is so unexpected,” Lizzo said. “I want to dedicate this award to Prince. When we lost Prince, I decided my life to make positive music.”

She continued: “I wanted to make the world a better place, so I had to be that change to make the world a better place. Now, I look around and see these songs are about loving your body and feeling comfortable in your skin and feeling good.”

Jazz singer Samara Joy won best new artist, shrugging off challenges by such acts as Wet Led, Anitta and Maneskin. The New Yorker was virtually in tears when she collected the award and noted that her little brother was her date. “I’m so, so grateful. Thank you.” She has released two albums as a lead artist and also won the Grammy for best jazz vocal album earlier in the night.

Beyoncé missed the milestone of her tying Solti’s record, which stood since 1997. Host Trevor Noah said she was on her way to the ceremony but blamed Los Angeles traffic for not being in person to accept it. The song was written by several writers including Beyoncé , The-Dream, Nile Rodgers and Raphael Saadiq.

Once Beyoncé finally arrived, Noah presented her with the best R&B song award at her table which included her husband Jay-Z and The-Dream. In that category, she extended her record as the artist with most wins in the category with five wins.

Bad Bunny opened the Grammy Awards with a festive, high-energy performance that brought many of the audience including Taylor Swift who rose to her feet and danced near her table.

Noah introduced Bunny calling him a “global force” who is the most streamed and listened to artist in the world.

By the time the show started on CBS, Beyoncé had already won two Grammys. She entered Sunday’s ceremony as the leading nominee including album, song and record of the year. If she wins in any of those major categories, it’ll be her first since since she received the song of the year honor for “Single Ladies” in 2010.

Styles won the main telecast’s first award for best pop vocal album for “Harry’s House,” which included his fun-filled, massive hit “As It Was.” The singer said recording the song was one of the “greatest experiences of my life. It’s been my greatest joy.”

Sam Smith and Kim Petras won best pop duo-group performance for their song “Unholy.” Petras said Smith wanted Petras to make the acceptance speech because “I’m the first transgender woman to win this award.”

Muni Long – a best new artist candidate – beat out Beyoncé in the best R&B performance category for her song, “Hrs. and Hrs.”

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Viola Davis is now an EGOT – a term for those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – after she wins for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording. The actor gave an emotional speech and emphatically said “I just EGOT” after she marched on stage to collect her award.

“Oh, my God,” she said. “I wrote this book to honour the 6-year-old Viola, to honour her, her life, her joy, her trauma, everything,” Davis said. “It has just been such a journey.”

Tattered streetwear, T-shirts and denim mixed with blinged-out couture, wild patterns and plenty of skin on the Grammys carpet. Lizzo wowed in a bright orange Dolce & Gabbana robe adorned with flowers and a huge hood while Taylor Swift wore a long two-piece sparkly skirt with a high-neck and long-sleeve crop top in midnight blue.

Brandi Carlile made a rare appearance during the pre-telecast for a major artist. The singer showed up after her song “Broke Horses” won for best rock performance and best rock song, a songwriter’s award, and best Americana album.

“It’s rock `n’ roll, man,” said a smiling Carlile, who jogged on stage with a couple of her band members. “I cannot tell you how much this means to us. We’re born and raised in Seattle. When I met these guys 22 years ago we decided to get into a band.”

Carlile co-wrote “Broken Horses” with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth.

“Oh my God, this is amazing,” she said. “Oh, I’ll never be the same.”

Kendrick Lamar extended his record in the best rap performance category with his sixth career trophy for “The Heart Part 5,” which also recognized his songwriting as a victor for best rap song.

The Tennessee State University Marching Band beat out the likes of Willie Nelson to win best roots gospel album for “The Urban Hymnal.” The band’s nomination marked the first time a college marching band had been nominated in the category.

Sir the Baptist accepted the award for the band, using his acceptance speech to highlight how underfunded historically Black colleges and universities like Tennessee State are, saying he had to “put my last dime in order to get us across the line.”

This year’s show marks a return to Los Angeles after the pandemic first delayed, then forced the Grammys to move to Las Vegas last year. Noah hosted the ceremony as well, which saw Jon Batiste take home album of the year.