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Beyonce becomes the biggest Grammy winner in history

The biggest prize of the night, album of the year, went to Harry Styles for his third album Harry’s House.

Michael Bedigan
Monday 06 February 2023 06:40 GMT
Beyonce (AP)
Beyonce (AP) (AP)

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Beyonce has become the most decorated Grammy artist of all time, collecting her 32nd trophy at this year’s ceremony.

The pop superstar, 41, made history as she won the best dance/electronic music album award for her house music-sampling album Renaissance.

This took her one higher than the previous record, held by Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who died in 1997.

“I’m trying not to be too emotional, I’m trying to just receive this night,” she said after taking to the stage.

She thanked her husband Jay-Z, their children, God and her uncle Jonny, who introduced her to queer dance music, saying he “is not here but he is here in spirit”.

In reference to her album, which drew on the history of LGBTQ culture, she added: “I’d like to thank the queer community – you invented the genre.”

The award was presented by British TV host James Corden, who said it was an “honour” to be given the duty.

“We are witnessing history tonight,” he said, before announcing the result.

Beyonce arrived late to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and missed accepting one of her awards in person.

Host Trevor Noah jokingly assured the audience she was “on her way” before later handing the prize directly to her at her table, where she was sat with husband Jay-Z.

Her wins on the night also included best R&B song, best dance/electronic recording and best traditional R&B performance – but she missed out of scoring any of the major prizes.

The biggest gong – album of the year – went to Harry Styles for his third album Harry’s House.

Accepting the trophy from one of his fans, who he embraced, Styles said “there was no such thing as best” and that he had been inspired by all the other artists in the category.

“This is so kind, this doesn’t happen to people like me very often and it’s so nice,” he added.

There were unexpected winners elsewhere, with Lizzo beating Beyonce, Adele and Styles to record of the year with About Damn Time.

The US singer singled out Beyonce in her acceptance speech, telling her that she had “changed my life” and also paid tribute to late music star Prince.

A shocked Bonnie Raitt took home the Grammy for song of the year, which was presented by US First Lady Jill Biden.

“This is just an unreal moment, thank you for honouring me,” the 73-year-old blues singer and guitarist said after beating household names and pop heavyweights to the prize.

Despite missing out on the major prizes, Adele did scoop the Grammy for best pop solo performance, for her hit song Easy On Me, dedicating it to her son Angelo.

Adele said her partner, Rich Paul, had told her “not to cry” when accepting her prize, but became visibly emotional anyway.

American jazz singer Samara Joy was named best new artist, beating British indie duo Wet Leg and Italian Eurovision champions Maneskin to the prize.

Elsewhere on the night, Sam Smith and Kim Petras won the Grammy for best pop duo performance for their collaborative song Unholy, making Petras the first transgender woman to win the award.

“Sam, I love you so much and this song has been such an incredible journey for me,” she said.

Kendrick Lamar won the Grammy for best rap album, for Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, while best country album went to Willie Nelson for A Beautiful Time.

Fellow country star Shania Twain, wearing a bright red wig, both presented and accepted the award on behalf of the veteran singer, 89, who was absent from the event.

Migos rapper Takeoff, Christine McVie and Jeff Beck were among the famous faces remembered in the in memorium section.

Musical accompaniment came from Kacey Musgraves, Mick Fleetwood, Sheryl Crow and Quavo.

Quavo gave a rendition of his emotional song Without You, penned recently in tribute to his late nephew, who was fatally shot in November 2022.

In the opening minutes of the show, Adele was given the chance to meet one of her heroes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Host Noah revealed that the unlikely pair were big fans of each other, before making the introduction.

“Adele meet The Rock, The Rock meet Adele,” he said, to laughter from the audience.

A red-faced Adele laughed and embraced Johnson, who appeared behind her to surprise her.

The awards kicked off with an explosive performance by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.

Multiple members of the audience got to their feet to dance, including famous faces such as Taylor Swift.

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