Grammys 2017: Bowie wins his first music Grammy while Beyonce picks up Best Music Video

The year opened as it meant to go on, by taking the life of David Bowie in January (Reuters)

David Bowie won two posthumous Grammys on Sunday ahead of a televised ceremony where pop superstar Beyonce is expected to make her first public outing since announcing she is pregnant with twins.

Bowie, who died in January 2016, won the Grammys for recording package and non-classical engineering for his final album “Blackstar,” which was released days before his death at age 69 of cancer.

Sunday's wins marked the first music Grammys for Bowie, who received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2006 and one for a 1985 video but had never won in his lifetime for an individual album or song.

The British singer also is up for three other Grammy nominations but was left out of the top award, album of the year, which will be given out toward the end of the three-hour ceremony.

Beyonce, 35, is expected to perform at the show, where she had a leading nine nominations going, is vying for what would be her first ever album of the year win for “Lemonade,” her powerful visual album about race, feminism, betrayal and empowerment.

Before the televised show started, she started off the night by winning the best music video Grammy for her politically charged single “Formation.”

Beyonce announced her pregnancy on Feb. 1 with a message and an elaborate photo shoot proudly displaying her baby bump that broke social media records.

Other performers at the ceremony include Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Adele, Demi Lovato, best new artist nominee Chance the Rapper, A Tribe Called Quest, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys and album of the year Americana music nominee Sturgill Simpson.

Beyonce is competing head on with Britain's Adele, the only other artist to be nominated for all three top awards — album, song and record of the year — for her comeback release “25”.

But the 2017 Grammys will also be as much about absent friends as those taking part in Sunday's show.

Tributes are planned for music greats Prince and George Michael, who both died unexpectedly in 2016. Jazz musician Al Jarreau, 76, who won seven Grammys, died in Los Angeles on Sunday hours before the awards ceremony began.

Some of music's biggest current acts will also be missing.

Frank Ocean didn't submit his critically acclaimed “Blonde” for Grammy consideration because he considers the organization out of touch with young black artists; Justin Bieber, in the best album race for “Purpose,” and Kanye West, who has kept a low profile since a mental health crisis last fall, are not expected to attend for similar reasons despite multiple nominations; and Canadian rapper Drake, whose “Views” was the biggest selling album worldwide in 2016, and who has eight Grammy nominations, is on tour in England.

Hosted by James Corden, the Grammy Awards, chosen by artists, producers and other members across all genres of the music industry, will be shown live on CBS television starting at 8 p.m. EST.

Reuters