The Grammy winner stayed on his feet as a parade of artists performed his hits — Childish Gambino kicked it off with “U Don’t Have to Call,” joined by Keke Palmer, who took the lead on “You Make Me Wanna…” Coco Jones appeared in the audience for a sultry rendition of “There Goes My Baby,” serenading Usher and his wife Jenn Goicoechea.

Summer Walker hit the stage for “Good Good,” Tinashe did “Nice & Slow,” Marsha Ambrosius tackled “Superstar” and Chlöe performed “Good Kisser.” Teyana Taylor and Victoria Monét teamed up for “Bad Girl,” mirroring Usher and Beyoncé’s choreography from their performance of the song. Latto brought the energy for “Yeah!” In some ways, the homage underscored the women that carried much of the night — dominating the performances.

After introductions by Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, Usher accepted the award from music executive L.A. Reid.

“Getting here has definitely not been easy, but it has been worth it,” Usher began his lengthy speech, reflecting on his career, which has spanned over three decades. He questioned the timing, saying, “I’m still running and gunning and I still love this (expletive) like I did when I was 8 years old,” he said.

Much of his speech couldn’t be heard to audiences at home because it was censored.

“I forgive each and every person who had anything to say negative about me because it only motivated me to be who I am,” he said at one point.

Earlier in the night, Will Smith stood in a circle of fire — joined by Fridayy and the gospel choir Sunday Service — to make the live debut of his latest single, “You Can Make It.”

“I don’t know who needs this right now,” Smith opened his set. “But I am here to tell you, you can make it.”

Mid-way through, Kirk Franklin joined, and then two rapped together. “Nobody gets an easy ride,” Smith, who is in the midst of his comeback from slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars two years ago, told the room. “There is wisdom in that fire. Dance in your darkest moments.”

The forthcoming presidential election was a huge topic of conversation throughout the show. After Childish Gambino presented Killer Mike with the album of the year award for “Michael,” the rapper used his acceptance speech to address his Grammys arrest and voting.

“Technically, I was not supposed to be here. I was put in handcuffs, and I was marched out of this building. But I want to tell you, look at God. ’Cause I’m back, baby. I’m back and I’m winning,” he said in his speech. Killer Mike was arrested at the Grammys earlier this year over a physical altercation he said was caused by an “over-zealous” security guard; he was not charged over the incident.

“They going to tell you who we vote for is important,” he continued his speech, “And it is who we vote for on the big stage. It’s important, but it’s more important you know who your city council person is, who your prosecutor is.”

Megan Thee Stallion opened the show by emerging from an egg — a metaphor for her a new musical rebirth — before diving into with an energetic medley of her new singles “Hiss” and “Boa.”

“BET, Where my girls at?” she said, shouting out Monét and Jones in the crowd before launching into “Where Them Girls At” — a track that’s been an immediate fan favorite since Friday’s release of her third studio album, “Megan.”

Taraji P. Henson hosted the show at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Her opening monologue was a performance, Henson rapping “It’s about us,” in a loose parody of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which he released in the midst of his reignited feud with Drake.

“No beef in here tonight,” she joked, “Can we say plant-based?”

Tyla, the Johannesburg , South African amapiano superstar, won two honors on the show, starting with best international act.

Later in the night, she’d take home the award for best new artist. “This is crazy,” she said. “I just want to dedicate this one to Africa.”

Monét, who earlier this year won the Grammy for best new artist, made her BET debut and set a high bar for performances, condensing a full set into a few mins with three costume changes and a pair of songs, “On My Mama” and “Alright.”

Then Sexyy Red took the stage, performing her smooth bedroom ballad “U My Everything” before moving to another stage and a costume change — tackling “Get It Sexyy” in front of an LED screen depicting the White House and dancers dressed like the Secret Service.

The show took a tonal shift when VanVan and Heiress Harris, two child rappers, their empowerment anthem “Be You” in a school room set. Harris is the daughter of rapper T.I. and singer Tiny Harris.

Best female R&B/pop artist went to SZA and best actress to Regina King, both of whom were not in attendance; the BET HER award went to Monét for “On My Mama.” She brought her mother up to accept it.

Country musician Tanner Adell brought her “Buckle Bunny” and her new song, “Cowboy Break My Heart.” GloRilla emerged from above, descending to join her dancers for “Yeah Glo!” and “Wanna Be” — the latter of which saw a surprise appearance from Megan Thee Stallion. Shaboozey kept the country coming with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and was joined by rapper J-Kwon, who appears on the track, creating an unexpected and rewarding collaboration across genres.

Lauryn Hill closed the night, beginning with “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” going into “Lost Ones,” before introducing her son YG Marley for his reggae tracks “Survival” and “Praise Jah In The Moonlight.” Best of all: Wyclef Jean appeared, and the trio — in front of a full-band — performed Fugees’ “Fu-Gee-La.” Pras, the third member of Fugees, was not present. The rapper, who was accused in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies, was convicted in April.

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His accolades began with the CMT performance of the year award for his gospel-assisted rendition of “Need a Favor” at the 2023 CMT Music Awards nearly a year ago to the day. It also was his first-ever awards show performance.

“In that last year you changed my life in every way I never thought my life could be changed,” the tattooed rapper-turned-country breakout star said in an emotional acceptance speech live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The show was broadcast live on CBS and Paramount+.

The music video for “Need A Favor” earned him male video of the year and the biggest award of the night, video of the year.

“I’m having one of the best nights of my life,” he said, before focusing his speech on people who are looking for “second chances,” specifically those in juvenile detention facilities. “I once heard a man say that ‘you don’t change until the pain to remain the same is greater than the pain it takes to change,’ and that’s what it takes. I love you, Texas.”

In some ways, it was déjà vu from the 2023 awards show, where Jelly Roll also took home three awards, winning over audiences for his larger-than-life personality and outsider songs.

Kelsea Ballerini hosted the awards for fourth time in a row, opening with a comedic sketch about reading the minds of country music’s biggest names that ended with Keith Urban hugging the beaver mascot of beloved Texas gas station chain Buc-ee’s.

Her many outfit changes were only the first of a few surprises, which also included Melissa Etheridge appearing on a duet of “Come to My Window” with Ballerini.

Early on, Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton won collaborative video of the year for their song, “We Don’t Fight Anymore.” She thanked Stapleton, who wasn’t in attendance, and “Fans, fans, fans, fans, fans!”

Ashley Cooke won breakthrough female video of the year for “Your Place,” her first-ever award. “I just won a CMT award, oh my god, good night!” she cheered as she headed off stage. Warren Zeiders took home the male equivalent for “Pretty Little Poison,” thanking God and his best friend: his dad.

Live performances were fast and furious. Three-time CMT award winner and Texas native Cody Johnson opened the 2024 show with his ode to the lone star state, “That’s Texas.” Jason Aldean performed “Let Your Boys Be Country” in front of the University of Texas at Austin, a less controversial choice than his radio hit “Try That in a Small Town.” Its music video was removed from CMT last year.

Wilson spent a lot time on stage, taking home female video of the year for “Watermelon Moonshine.” “Thank you for supporting women in country,” she told the audience.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland reunited on the CMT stage for the first time since 2011 in a collaborative performance with Little Big Town. The six voices teamed up for a cover of Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home.”

Trisha Yearwood was awarded the inaugural June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award, which honors musicians or industry veterans who demonstrate “an exceptional dedication to community and their fellow artists, embodying June’s spirit as a fierce advocate and initiator in paying it forward,” a statement said.

The country star was honored for her charitable contributions, including longstanding work with Habitat for Humanity and the annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Week Project.

“I don’t think anyone who’s ever gotten a humanitarian award has thought they deserve it,” she began, agreeing with the sentiment before turning her attention to the woman the award is named after.

“June Carter Cash was a force, and she was married to a force. I know a little bit about that,” she said, in reference to her husband Garth Brooks, before applauding Carter Cash’s ability to keep shining a light on her own successes. “She was strong in a very human way,” Yearwood said.

Later in the night, she debuted a new song from her forthcoming album, the acoustic ballad, “Put It in a Song.”

The emotional center of the award show no doubt came later, in an all-star tribute to the late Toby Keith, with Brooks & Dunn tackling Keith’s 1993 breakout hit, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” Sammy Hagar doing “I Love This Bar” and Lainey Wilson covering “How Do You Like Me Now.” They all were backed by Keith’s longtime band.

Keith, a hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans, died in February at 62 after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

In the crowd, artists including Ashley McBryde and Jelly Roll raised their red solo cups in a cheerful tribute to the singer, who immortalized the humble plastic cups in his 2011 hit, “Red Solo Cup.”

After the musical tributes on stage, Keith’s longtime friend and baseball star Roger Clemens, his eyes watering, thanked Keith’s wife and children in the audience for sharing their husband and father with the world.

Clemens led a toast to those on stage, in the crowd, and at home: “Repeat after me. ‘Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses,’” a reference to a comedic song by Keith featuring Willie Nelson.

It was a fitting homage: a little funny, with a whole lot of country heart.

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Megan Moroney brought her breakup anthem, “No Caller ID,” to the CMT stage and Parker McCollum teamed with Brittney Spencer for “Burn It Down.” NEEDTOBREATHE and Jordan Davis teased “CMT Crossroads” by tackling each other’s “Brother” and “Next Thing You Know,” respectively.

Lainey Wilson reminded the audience that “Country’s Cool Again,” leading into an outdoor performance of “Where It Ends” by Bailey Zimmerman. Veteran Keith Urban brought the first single of his forthcoming album, “Straight Line.”

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After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, including best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan.

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

“For better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” said Murphy in his acceptance speech. “I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.”

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, “Oppenheimer” also emerged — even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, “Barbie” – as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not.

Sunday’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon. Awards for the documentary winner, “20 Days in Mariupol,” and best international film, “The Zone of Interest,” brought geopolitics into the Oscar spotlight.

The most closely watched contest went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2017 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katharine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

“Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming,” said Stone, who fought back tears and a broken dress during her speech.

Sunday’s broadcast had razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the “Barbie” hit “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash and a sea of Kens who swarmed the stage.

But protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards. Late during the show, host Jimmy Kimmel read a critical social media post from former president Donald Trump.

“Thank you for watching,” said Kimmel. “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker. Addressing the crowd, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

“Imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater,” said Nolan, who shared the best-picture award with Emma Thomas, his wife and producer. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

Downey, nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”), also notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, ultimately won just one award: best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars’ arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar’ attention toward the ongoing conflict. Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the awards.

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination, spoke forcefully about Russia’s invasion.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” said Chernov. “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this (for) Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design. “Poor Things” fared second best to “Oppenheimer,” with a total of four awards.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with an monologue that emphasized Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023’s actor and writer strikes, drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress, for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature, a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his “Spirited Away” won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.

In adapted screenplay, where “Barbie” was nominated — and where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director — the Oscar went to Cord Jefferson, who wrote and directed his feature film debut “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks on young filmmakers like himself.

“Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on the story by Roald Dahl.

The win for “Oppenheimer” offered Hollywood a chance to celebrate despite swirling storm clouds in the film industry. Nolan’s film debuted last year just as actors joined screenwriters in a prolonged strike over streaming economics and artificial intelligence. The actors’ strike ended in November, but little of Hollywood’s unease subsided. Streaming has proved less lucrative for most studios not named Netflix.

But “Barbenheimer” was the kind of unplanned phenomenon Hollywood needs more of. The two films could also give a lift to the Oscar telecast, which has historically benefitted from having big movies in contention. The Academy Awards’ largest audience ever came when James Cameron’s “Titanic” swept the 1998 Oscars.

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Several women earned their very first Grammys, including Miley Cyrus, best new artist Victoria Monét, country artist Lainey Wilson and Karol G — also the first woman to win in best música urbana, a moment that may reflect changing perceptions of reggaetón and Latin hip-hop as exclusively “men’s music.”

“You know, I feel a lot of responsibility about that. As a woman, I have to say, like in my experience, it was tough, like so many things, to be a girl in this industry, in the music that I do, in urban music,” the “Mañana Será Bonito” artist told The Associated Press backstage, saying she also reflected “women in the world fighting to represent” themselves.

Paramore became the first rock band fronted by a woman to win best rock album. And Taylor Swift, of course, not only made history by becoming the first artist to win album of the year four times — but she also is still the only woman to ever win more than twice.

“First of all, I think it is just wonderful to see so many women at the top,” Dua Lipa told the AP on the red carpet, moments before she opened the show with a fiery pop medley.

“What we want is just an equal space in the industry and to be seen equally on equal levels — not just on the creative side but on the business side — so hopefully the equality in the industry will kind of level things out a little,” she added. “I think we’re still kind of figuring that part out. But we’re getting there, slowly.”

The evidence points to what Lipa is referencing: Only 19.5% of all songwriters across the Billboard Hot 100 songs in 2023 were women, according to analysis from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Women still make up a fraction of producers and engineers.

But at the Grammys, where much of the focus is on performers, it appeared like women were ruling the industry.

Phoebe Bridgers of boygenius won her first Grammys last night, taking home more than any other performer last night, with four.

In the week leading up to the Grammys, Bridgers told the AP there was some significance to the band’s recognition because “it was only a couple of years ago now that that (expletive) who is now being accused of sexual violence said women need to step it up if they want to be nominated.”

She was referring to former Recording Academy President Neil Portnow, who, in 2018, said women need “to step up” if they wanted to receive Grammys and then issued an apology. He stepped down in 2019. In November 2023, Portnow was sued by a woman who said he had drugged and raped her in 2018, an allegation his representative has called “completely false.”

Bridgers renewed her critique backstage at the Grammys, telling the media room, as she held one of her four trophies, that she hopes he’ll “rot.”

The Recording Academy has made considerable changes to their programming in the post-Portnow years, attempting to better reflect the current musical climate. Recently, more than 2,400 music creators joined the voting bloc — of those new additions, 50% are people of color, 46% are under the age of 40, and 37% are women.

In January, Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason jr. theorized the number of women nominated was “a direct result of a lot of the changes that we’ve been making at the academy,” something echoed by Swift while accepting her first award of the night.

“I know that the way the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,” she said.

The question then becomes: Was this year a fluke? The result of an all-star year of women who couldn’t be ignored? A correction? Symbolic of some systemic shift? Or something else entirely?

The only real televised criticism came from Jay-Z, the lone man awarded solo on the telecast (Finneas also won a televised Grammy, alongside his sister, Billie Eilish). His acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award began by shouting out the rap legends that came before him — the ones who worked to bring hip-hop to the preeminent music award show, only to have rap categories not make the official broadcast Sunday.

“We want you all to get it right,” Jay Z said in his speech. “At least get it close to right.”

The he switched focus to Beyoncé, who last year became the most decorated artist in Grammy history, with 32 trophies.

“Most Grammys, never won album of the year. How does that work?” he said of his wife. “Even by your own metrics it doesn’t work.”

Emily Lordi, a Vanderbilt University professor whose focus is African American literature and Black popular music, says there is value in examining the intersections of race and feminism at the Grammys.

This year, two women — SZA, for her critically acclaimed and groundbreaking “SOS,” and Janelle Monae, for her innovate treatise on sensuality and freedom “The Age of Pleasure,” were up for album of the year. If one of them had taken it home, the winner would have become the first Black woman to do so since Lauryn Hill with “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” in 1999.

Lordi says that record “suggests a residual and highly flawed view of Black women’s music as ‘niche,’” despite the fact that “Black women have foundationally influenced every genre of American music, so that Billie Eilish’s vocal style is a direct descendant of Billie Holiday’s aesthetic, just as Miley is made possible by Tina Turner, and Taylor by Tracy Chapman.”

Janelle Monae, who has 10 career nominations, did not win a Grammy — and never has. SZA, who led nominations with nine, took home three awards — but was completely shut out of the general field categories.

There’s much to celebrate about the 2024 Grammys, including its focus on female performers — something that wouldn’t have seemed possible as recently as 2011, when the Grammys still had gender-specific awards.

But, Lordi notes, “as we champion the representation of women, we also need to keep thinking intersectionally and critically about which women are being honored and for what?”

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She began her speech by thanking her producer and friend Jack Antonoff and added, “I would love to tell you this is the happiest moment of my life,” she told the crowd, but said she feels this happy when she creates music and plays shows.

Earlier in the night, Taylor Swift used her 13th Grammy win on Sunday to announced her new album, “Tortured Poets Department,” will arrive April 19.

“I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,” she said while accepting the best pop vocal album award. “So, I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ I’m gonna go and post the cover right now backstage.”

One of the night’s biggest awards, record of the year, went to Miley Cyrus for “Flowers,” her second-ever Grammy and second of the night.

“This award is amazing. But I really hope that it doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday,” she said in her speech.

Victoria Monét won best new artist. “Thank you to the champagne-servers tonight,” Monét started her acceptance speech. “Thanks to my mom, a single mom raising this really bad girl.” Then she started to cry, telling the room that this award was “15 years in the making.”

Billie Eilish won song of the year for writing the “Barbie” hit, “What Was I Made For?”

“Thank you to Greta Gerwig for making the best movie of the year,” Eilish said during her acceptance speech.

It was just one of several standout moments from Sunday’s show, broadcast live from Cypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

Karol G made Grammy history Sunday by becoming the first female performer to win best música urbana album for her blockbuster “Mañana Será Bonito” record.

“This is my first time at the Grammys,” she told the audience in English. “And this is my first time holding my own Grammy.”

Performances were many. Olivia Rodrigo brought her bloodsucking ballad “vampire” – or in this case, bloodletting, as red liquid dripped from the walls behind her. Joni Mitchell, 80, made Grammy history by performing “Both Sides Now” from her 1969 album “Clouds”; Travis Scott did a medley of “My Eyes,” “I Know?,” and “Fein.” Burna Boy was joined by Brandy and 21 Savage and did “On Form,” “City Boys,” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World.”

A long and touching In Memoriam segment celebrated many of the musical greats lost in the year. Stevie Wonder performed “For Once in My Life” and “The Best Is Yet To Come” in honor of Tony Bennett; Annie Lennox delivered “Nothing Compares 2 U” for Sinéad O’Connor. “Artists for ceasefire, peace in the world,” Lennox said at the end of the song, her fist extended in the air.

Jon Batiste did a medley of “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean On Me,” and finally “Optimistic” with Ann Nesby for the late great music exec Clarence Avant. Oprah introduced a fiery Tina Turner tribute of “Proud Mary” by Fantasia Barrino and Adam Blackstone.

SZA also took the stage – performing a medley of her larger-than-life hits “Snooze” and “Kill Bill,” joined by dancers wielding katanas. Later, she’d take home the trophy for best R&B song — for “Snooze,” handed to her by Lizzo. SZA ran to the stage and gave a charming, out of breath speech because she was “changing, and then I took a shot,” before starting to tear up and saying, “Hi Taylor… I’m not an attractive crier. Have a good evening.”

Mariah Carey presented the night’s first award, for best pop solo performance, to Miley Cyrus for “Flowers.” It was also the singer’s first ever Grammy.

Afterward, Luke Combs’ delivered a heartfelt rendition of “Fast Car” with Tracy Chapman – his cover of the Chapman classic has dominated country radio and won him song of the year at the 2023 CMAs. In 1989, Chapman won best pop vocal performance, female for the song.

Dua Lipa opened the show with a high-octane medley: first, a tease of her forthcoming single, “Training Season,” then, her most recent single, “Houdini,” and finally, her disco-pop “Barbie” hit “Dance the Night.”

Eilish and Finneas brought their “Barbie” ballad to the Grammys stage with live string accompaniment, the second of two songs from the blockbuster film in one hour. They were followed by Cyrus, who performed “Flowers” for the first time live on television – moments after receiving her first ever Grammy.

“Why are you acting like you don’t know this song?” she teased the crowd — John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen were among those in the audience who got up to dance — and later cheered mid-song, “I just won my first Grammy!”

Four-time Grammy host — and two time nominee — Trevor Noah greeted an excited crowd, starting things off with a kiss on the cheek from Meryl Streep. “The Grammys are gonna win as Oscar,” he joked about the moment.

Best country album went to Lainey Wilson for “Bell Bottom Country,” — her very first Grammy — as presented by Kacey Musgraves. “I’m a fifth-generation farmer’s daughter,” she told the crowd, adding that she’s a “songwriting farmer,” and that’s where the musical magic came from.

Jay-Z was awarded the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award and used his speech to talk about the hip-hop greats that came before him – and heavily suggesting at the Grammys history of placing rap on the backburner – or at the very least, not in the televised version of the show. (This year, there were no rap categories on screen, but two pop, one Latin, one country and one R&B.)

“We want you all to get it right,” he said. “At least get it close to right,” before switching focus to Beyoncé. “Most Grammys, never won album fo the year. How does that work?”

Bridgers took an early lead at the Grammys, quickly winning four trophies ahead of the main telecast, with her and her boygenius bandmates bringing an infectious energy to the Premiere Ceremony.

Songwriter Justin Tranter gave her the first award Sunday, best pop duo/group performance, which went to SZA and Bridgers for “Ghost in the Machine.”

Jack Antonoff took home producer of the year, non-classical for a third year in a row, tying Babyface as the only other producer to do so consecutively. “You need the door kicked open for you,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Taylor Swift kicked that (expletive) door open for me,” referencing their work together.

The first of three new categories in 2024, best pop dance recording, was given out shortly afterward and went to Kylie Minogue for “Padam Padam” — her first win in 18 years.

About 80 Grammys were handed out pre-broadcast. Regional Mexican star Peso Pluma won his first Grammy for his first and only nomination, for best música Mexicana album for his “Genesis.”

Best African music performance, a new category which aims to highlight regional musical traditions and recognizing “recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent,” went to South African singer Tyla for her ubiquitous hit, “Water.”

“I never thought I’d say I won a Grammy at 21 years old,” she said in her acceptance speech. “Last year God decided to change my whole life.”

Killer Mike won three awards in quick succession Sunday night, but somehow ended up in police custody before the main Grammys ceremony began. Police spokesperson Officer Mike Lopez said Mike being detained stemmed from an altercation inside the arena around 4 p.m.

The rapper won his first first Grammy in 21 years, for best best rap performance went to Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane for “Scientists & Engineers.” Soon afterward, they won for “best rap song.” Killer Mike also took home best rap album for “Michael,” cheering, “It is a sweep! It is a sweep!”

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Accepting the Grammy for best pop vocal album, Taylor said she’d been keeping a secret for two years.

“My brand-new album comes out April 19. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department. I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage,” she announced.

And so she did.

On her Instagram, Swift posted a black-and-white image of her reclining across pillows. The top half of her face and lower half of her legs are cut off in the low-contrast image.

“All’s fair in love and poetry…” her caption read. In a little over an hour, the Instagram post alone had amassed nearly 7 million likes.

“And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink,” read what appeared to be handwritten lyrics posted after the album cover.

Swift had provoked mass speculation earlier in the night when her site seemed to go down. Some theorized she was gearing up to release “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” but cryptic clues on the “crashed” site indicated that might be a misdirect.

And so it was.

The site’s back up now, focused around the upcoming album, with preordering and merchandise options. This will be Swift’s 11th studio album, not counting her re-recordings. Her last original album was “Midnights,” released in October 2022. Since then, she’s launched the billion-dollar Eras Tour and released “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

Swift was accepting the Grammy for “Midnights” when she made the surprise announcement. As she walked the red carpet, she paid homage to her album title, donning a choker with a small clock embedded. And yes, the time was set to the midnight — even if the viewer had to tilt their head to see the hands pointing to “12.”

While a nod to the album — and reminiscent of the “tick, tick, tick” in “The Tortured Poets Department” post — the watch seemed particularly apt, given the superstar’s seemingly packed schedule over the next week. Swift is set to head back out on her Eras Tour this week, performing for four nights in Tokyo. She still will be able to make it back to the U.S. later in the week to catch her boyfriend Travis Kelce playing in the Super Bowl.

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The leading artists — superstars like SZA, Taylor Swift, and Olivia Rodrigo — reflect an incredible diversity of skill with acclaimed albums that mine all corners of the human experience.

One such corner: divorce.

An influx of new releases from Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus and Kelsea Ballerini reimagine the divorce album in all its complexity. While the music industry has long been youth-obsessed, there may be something to the fact that these musicians are all women in their 30s and 40s and consequently possess a kind of self-assuredness and rich, emotional maturity. In a culture where relatability is currency, relationship stories with the weight and wisdom of age register as fresh. If all popstars are teenaged, where does that leave the rest of us? Perhaps the depth of a breakup ballad is felt more acutely when a public split plays out in tabloid headlines — and there’s a lot more to lose.

Cyrus’ malleable pop “Flowers,” one of AP’s picks for best songs of 2023, is a pep talk-turned-empowerment banger — the sound of a woman learning about herself again after a decadelong relationship ended in divorce. She’s raked in five nominations, including album of the year for “Endless Summer Vacation.”

Then there’s Clarkson’s “Chemistry” — a big-belter release she’s described as a “relationship album” that’s up for best pop vocal album.

And in the world of country, which has a long tradition of women performing songs about divorce and domesticity, Ballerini’s “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” is up for the genre’s best album.

These records vary greatly but share a similar emotional core: They were written while grappling with marriages falling apart.

In 2020, Cyrus split from actor Liam Hemsworth and Kelly Clarkson ended her marriage to Brandon Blackstock. Two years later, Ballerini and her husband Morgan Evans divorced.

Musically, those endings opened up new realities. Clarkson pursued courageous ballads that stretched her elastic vocal range, Ballerini experimented with pop production and Cyrus wielded her weather-worn voice like a weapon. Their albums came out of painful periods in which each performer was redefining herself.

Ballerini is part of a long lineage of women in country making music about divorce and heartbreak — running the gamut in tone from vengeful to celebratory. Marissa R. Moss, author of “Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be,” points to Loretta Lynn’s groundbreaking 1973 hit “Rated X” as setting the precedent for future musicians.

What’s interesting, now, is the modern ways in which divorce is articulated on these records.

Ballerini’s album — particularly the song “Penthouse” — challenges stereotypical domestic roles and “demonstrates financial power,” Moss said.

“I bought the house with the fence, enough room for some kids,” Ballerini sings. Later, her home becomes claustrophobic, an allegory for her marriage: “And I thought that would make it all better, and maybe forever wouldn’t feel like the walls closing in.”

The record gets at the idea that even when women attain financial autonomy and remake traditional marriages roles, they’re still not necessarily able to find freedom within its confines.

“I don’t think a quote-unquote divorce album is the first time that I have felt like it’s different being a woman in country music, that’s for sure,” Ballerini told The Associated Press, about gender expectations in the genre.

Men, too, have long written about marriages ended, but in the current moment, women lead the charge. Other artists writing in and around divorce include Adele,Kacey Musgraves, and Carly Pearce, another 2024 Grammy nominee.

Ballerini, for her part, understands why people relate deeply to the songs on her album that deal with divorce.

“It’s something that was taboo to talk about, especially from a woman’s perspective, for a really long time,” she said. It goes “back to like giving a voice to myself and validating my own feelings and my own life and my own journey and hoping that other women feel that too and feel validated.”

People often expect divorce records to contain exclusively sad songs. While Ballerini, Clarkson and Cyrus exorcise grief on their albums, they express gratitude as well. These records are sad and empowering, often both at once.

“The feeling people seem to have is that sad music is expressing their own sadness, not the sadness of the artist — but you feel like the artist is trying to express your sadness,” Joshua Knobe, a Yale professor and researcher, said. He led a team of academics whose 2023 study found that listeners are drawn to melancholic music for similar reasons as they’re compelled by sad conversations — because they are seeking connection.

Or, as Ballerini said, listeners want to feel validated.

“People like success. They like talking with people who succeed,” Knobe continued. “But that’s not the thing that makes people feel a profound connection to another human being.”

If negative emotions register as more complex than positive ones, perhaps that makes for more opportunities to connect. Divorce records often traverse a spectrum of feelings, with Cyrus, Ballerini and Clarkson’s songs allowing the listener to experience the full breadth of the artists’ love and pain. That is no doubt noteworthy.

Or perhaps award-worthy.

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If awards season has been building toward a second match-up of Barbenheimer, this round went to “Oppenheimer.” The film also won best director for Nolan, best drama actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and for Ludwig Göransson’s score.

“I don’t think it was a no-brainer by any stretch of the imagination to make a three-hour talky movie — R-rated by the way — about one of the darkest developments in our history,” said producer Emma Thomas accepting the night’s final award and thanking Universal chief Donna Langley.

Along with best comedy or musical, “Poor Things” also won for Emma Stone’s performance as Bella, a Victorian-era woman experiencing a surreal sexual awakening.

“I see this as a rom-com,” said Stone. “But in the sense that Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently.”

Lily Gladstone won best actress in a dramatic film for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone, who began her speech speaking the language of her native tribe, Blackfeet Nation, is the first Indigenous winner in the category.

“This is a historic win,” said Gladstone. “It doesn’t just belong to me.”

The Globes were in their ninth decade but facing a new and uncertain chapter. After a tumultuous few years of scandal, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dissolved, leaving a new Globes, on a new network (CBS), to try to regain its perch as the third biggest award show of the year, after the Oscars and Grammys. Even the menu (sushi from Nobu) was remade.

“Golden Globes journalists, thank you for changing your game, therefore changing your name,” said Downey in his acceptance speech.

It got off to a rocky start. Host Jo Koy took the stage at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom in Beverly Hills, California . The Filipino American stand-up hit on some expected topics: Ozempic, Meryl Streep’s knack for winning awards and the long-running “Oppenheimer.” (“I needed another hour.”)

After one joke flubbed, Koy, who was named host after some bigger names reportedly passed, also noted how fast he was thrust into the job.

“Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?” said Koy. “I wrote some of these and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”

Downey’s win, his third Globe, denied one to “Kenergy.” Ryan Gosling had been seen as his stiffest competition, just one of the many head-to-head contests between “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” The filmmakers faced each other in the best director category, where Nolan triumphed.

It was two hours before “Barbie,” the year’s biggest hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, won an award Sunday. Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” took best song, and swiftly after, “Barbie” took the Globes’ new honor for “cinematic and box office achievement.” Some thought that award might go to Taylor Swift, whose “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” also set box-office records. Swift, though, remains winless in five Globe nods.

Margot Robbie, star and producer of “Barbie,” accepted the award in a pink gown modeled after 1977’s Superstar Barbie.

“We’d like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth: the movie theaters,” said Robbie.

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” two blockbusters brought together by a common release date, also faced off in the best screenplay category. But in an upset, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won for the script to the French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall.” Later, Triet’s film picked up best international film, too.

Though the Globes have no direct correlation with the Academy Awards, they can boost campaigns at a crucial juncture. Oscar nomination voting starts Thursday, and the twin sensations of Barbenheimer remain frontrunners.

Other contenders loom, though, like “Poor Things” and “The Holdovers.”

Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph both won for Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” Giamatti, reuniting with Payne two decades after “Sideways,” won best actor and Randolph won for her supporting performance as a grieving woman in the 1970s-set boarding school drama.

“Oh, Mary you have changed my life,” Randolph said of her character. “You have made me feel seen in so many ways that I have never imagined.”

Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won best animated film, an upset over “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The final season of “Succession” cleaned up on the television side. It won best drama series for the third time, a mark that ties a record set by “Mad Men” and “The X-Files.” Three stars from the HBO series also won: Matt Macfadyen, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin.

“It is bittersweet, but things like this make it rather sweeter,” said “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong.

Hulu’s “The Bear” also came away with a trio of awards, including best comedy series. Jeremy Allen White won for the second time, but this time he had company. Ayo Edebiri won her first Globe for her leading performance in the Hulu show’s second season. She thanked the assistants of her agents and managers.

“To the people who answer my emails, you’re the real ones,” said Edebiri.

“Beef” won three awards: best limited series as well as acting awards for Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.

The Globes also added a new stand-up special award. That went, surprisingly, to Ricky Gervais, who didn’t attend the show he so often hosted. Some expected Chris Rock to win for “Selective Outrage,” his stand-up response to the Will Smith slap.

A few years ago, the Golden Globes were on the cusp of collapse. After The Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA had no Black members, Hollywood boycotted the organization. The 2022 Globes were all but canceled and taken off TV. After reforms, the Globes returned to NBC last year in a one-year deal, but the show was booted to Tuesday evening. With Jerrod Carmichael hosting, the telecast attracted 6.3 million viewers, a new low on NBC and a far cry from the 20 million that once tuned in.

The Golden Globes were acquired by Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which Penske Media owns, and turned into a for-profit venture. The HFPA (which typically numbered around 90 voters) was dissolved and a group of some 300 entertainment journalists from around the world now vote for the awards.

Questions still remain about the Globes’ long-term future, but their value to Hollywood studios remains providing a marketing boost to awards contenders. (The Oscars won’t be held until March 10.) This year, because of the actors and writers strikes, the Globes are airing ahead of the Emmys, which were postponed to Jan. 15.

With movie ticket sales still 20% off the pre-pandemic pace and the industry facing a potentially perilous 2024 at the box office, Hollywood needed the Golden Globes as much as it ever has.

The most comical evaluation on the Globes came from presenters Will Ferrell and Kristin Wiig, who blamed the awards body for the constant interruption of a song they found irresistible while otherwise solemnly presenting best actor in a drama.

A furious, dancing Ferrell shouted: “The Golden Globes have not changed!”

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Though worlds away from Oscar bait, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s anarchic ballet of everything bagels, googly-eyed rocks and one messy tax audit emerged as an improbable Academy Awards heavyweight. The indie hit, A24’s second best-picture winner following “Moonlight,” won seven Oscars in all.

Fifty years after “The Godfather” won at the Oscars, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” triumphed with a much different immigrant experience. Its eccentric tale about a Chinese immigrant family – just the second feature by the Daniels, as the filmmaking duo is known – blended science fiction and alternate realities in the story of an ordinary woman and laundromat owner.

“Everything Everywhere,” released all the way back in March 2022, helped revive arthouse cinemas after two years of pandemic, racking up more than $100 million in ticket sales. And despite initially scant expectations of Oscar glory, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” toppled both blockbusters (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water”) and critical darlings (“Tar,” “The Banshees of Inisherin”).

Yeoh became the first Asian woman to best actress, taking the award for her lauded performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The 60-year-old Malaysian-born Yeoh won her first Oscar for a performance that relied as much on her comic and dramatic chops as it did her kung fu skills. She’s the first best actress win for a non-white actress in 20 years.

“Ladies, don’t let anyone ever tell you you’re past your prime,” said Yeoh, who received a raucous standing ovation.

In winning best director, the Daniels — both 35 years old — won for just their second and decidedly un-Oscar bait feature. They’re just the third directing pair to win the award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (“West Side Story”) and Joel and Ethan Coen (“No Country for Old Men”). Scheinert dedicated the award “to the moms of the world.”

Best actor went to Brendan Fraser, culminating the former action star’s return to center stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb. reclusive professor in “The Whale.” The best-actor race had been one of the closest contests of the night, but Fraser in the end edged Austin Butler.

“So this is what the multiverse looks like,” said a clearly moved Fraser, pointing to the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” crew.

The former child star Quan capped his own extraordinary comeback with the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in the indie hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Quan, beloved for his roles as Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and Data in “Goonies,” had all but given up acting before being cast in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

His win, among the most expected of the night, was nevertheless one of the ceremony’s most moving moments. The audience — including his “Temple of Doom” director, Steven Spielberg — gave Quan a standing ovation as he fought back tears.

“Mom, I just won an Oscar!” said Quan, 51, whose family fled Vietnam in the war when he was a child.

“They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I can’t believe it’s happening,” said Quan. “This is the American dream.”

Minutes later, Quan’s castmate Jamie Lee Curtis won for best supporting actress. Her win, in one of the most competitive categories this year, denied a victory for comic-book fans. Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) would have been the first performer to win an Oscar for a Marvel movie.

It also made history for Curtis, a first-time winner who alluded to herself as “a Nepo baby” during her win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She’s the rare Oscar winner whose parents were both Oscar nominees, something she emotionally referenced in her speech. Tony Curtis was nominated for “The Defiant Ones” in 1959 and Janet Leigh was nominated in 1961 for “Psycho.” Curtis thanked “hundreds” of people who put her in that position.

The German-language WWI epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” — Netflix’s top contender this year — took four awards as the academy heaped honors on the craft of the harrowing anti-war film. It won for cinematography, production design, score and best international film.

Though Bassett missed on supporting actress, Ruth E. Carter won for the costume design of “Wakanda Forever,” four years after becoming the first Black designer to win an Oscar, for “Black Panther.” This one makes Carter the first Black woman to win two Oscars.

Ruth E. Carter accepts the award for best costume design for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,” said Carter. “She endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.”

Carter dedicated the award to her mother, who she said died last week at 101.

The telecast, airing live on ABC, opened traditionally: with a montage of the year’s films (with Kimmel edited into a cockpit in “Top Gun: Maverick”) and a lengthy monologue. Kimmel, hosting for the third time, didn’t dive right into revisiting Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at last year’s ceremony.

The late-night comedian struggled to find lessons from last year’s incident, which was followed by Smith winning best actor. If anyone tried any violence this year, Kimmel said, “you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech.”

But Kimmel, hosting for the third time, said anyone who wanted to “get jiggy with it” this year will have to come through a fearsome battalion of bodyguards, including Michael B. Jordan, Michelle Yeoh, Steven Spielberg and his show’s “security guard” Guillermo Rodriguez.

After landmark wins for Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), no women were nominated for best director. Sarah Polley, though, won best adapted screenplay for the metaphor-rich Mennonite drama “Women Talking.”

“Thank you to the academy for not being mortally offended by the words ‘women’ and ‘talking,’” said Polley.

Daniel Roher’s “Navalny,” about the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, took best documentary. The film’s win came with clear overtones to Navalny’s ongoing imprisonment and Vladimir Putin’s continued war in Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya joined the filmmakers on the stage.

“My husband is in prison just for telling the truth,” said Navalnaya. “Stay strong my love.”

Some big names weren’t in attendance for other reasons. Neither Tom Cruise, whose “Top Gun: Maverick” is up for best picture, nor James Cameron, director of best-picture nominee “Avatar: The Way of Water,” were at the ceremony. Both have been forefront in Hollywood’s efforts to get moviegoers back after years of pandemic.

“The two guys who asked us to go back to theater aren’t in the theater,” said Kimmel, who added that Cruise without his shirt on in “Top Gun: Maverick” was “L. Ron Hubba Hubba.”

After last year’s Oscars, which had stripped some categories from being handed out in the live telecast, the academy restored all awards to the show and leaned on traditional song and and dance numbers. That meant some show-stopping numbers, including the elastic suspenders dance of “Naatu Naatu” from the Telugu action-film sensation “RRR,” an intimate, impassioned performance by Lady Gaga of “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” and an Super Bowl follow-up by Rihanna. Best song went to “Naatu Naatu.”

It also meant a long show. “This kind of makes you miss the slapping a little bit, right?” Kimmel said mid-show.

The night’s first award went to “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” for best animated film. That handed Netflix its first Oscar in the category.

After last year’s slap, the academy created a crisis management team to better respond to surprises. Neither Rock, who recently made his most forceful statement about the incident in a live special, nor Smith, who was banned by the academy for 10 years, attended.

The Academy Awards is attempting to recapture some of its old luster. One thing working in its favor: This year’s best picture field was stacked with blockbusters. Ratings usually go up when the nominees are more popular, which certainly goes for “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Neither won much, though. “The Way of Water,” with more than $2.28 billion in box office, won for best visual effects. The “Top Gun” sequel ($1.49 billion), took best sound.

Last year, Apple TV’s “CODA” became the first streaming movie to win best picture. But this year, nine of the 10 best picture nominees were theatrical releases. After the movie business cratered during the pandemic, moviegoing recovered to about 67% of pre-pandemic levels. But it was an up and down year, full of smash hits and anxiety-inducing lulls in theaters.

This year, ticket sales have been strong thanks to releases like “Creed III” and “Cocaine Bear” — which made not one but two cameos at Sunday’s show. But there remain storm clouds on the horizon. The Writers Guild and the major studios are set to begin contract negotiations March 20, a looming battle that has much of the industry girding for the possibility of a work stoppage throughout film and television.

The Oscars, too, are seeking steadiness. Last year’s telecast drew 16.6 million viewers, a 58% increase from the scaled-down 2021 edition, watched by a record low 10.5 million.

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‘Everything’ wins best picture, is everywhere at Oscars

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The Grammys spread its top awards among other artists, leaving Beyoncé off stage at the end of the night. But the superstar was a constant presence throughout the night, even when she wasn’t in the room, especially once she won her 32nd award and surpassed late composer Georg Solti in all-time wins.

“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” the superstar said after her historic win 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 Grammys stage at the end of the night has eluded Beyoncé since 2010, when she won song of the year for “Single Ladies.” She added four trophies to her collection for her album “Renaissance.”

Styles was emotional accepting his album of the year award, saying he was inspired by everyone in the category. “A lot of different times of my life, I’ve listened to everyone in these categories. It’s so important to remember that there is no such thing as best.”

The British singer-actor took home three awards Sunday. “It feels like validation that you’re on the right path,” said the singer backstage. “When we get in the studio and begin the record, we just make the music we want to make. It feels really nice to feel like ‘Oh, that’s the right thing to do.’”

Beyoncé missed being in the room when she tied Solti’s record early in the telecast. 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.

Once Beyoncé — the night’s leading nominee — finally arrived, Noah presented her with the best R&B song award at her table.

Beyoncé 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 album for “Renaissance,” which was nominated for album of the year.

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, dedicating her award to Prince.

“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.

Veteran singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt shrugged off big-name rivals like Adele, Swift and Beyoncé to win the song of the year award. “I’m so surprised. I don’t know what to say,” a visibly stunned Raitt said, adding that the song “Just Like That” explores organ donation. It capped a night when Raitt won two other Grammys — for best Americana performance and best American roots song.

A who’s who of hip-hop royalty took the stage for an epic, rousing 15 minute tribute to the genre’s 50th anniversary. The performance included Grandmaster Flash doing part of his seminal hit “The Message,” Run DMC, Chuck D and Flavor Flav along with Ice-T, Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes and Nelly all taking the stage.

It ended with everyone on the stage and LL Cool J shouting “multi-generational! Fifty years!”

The performance was a crowd-pleasing moment for a ceremony that has long had a shaky history of not recognizing rap.

Bad Bunny opened the show with a festive, high-energy performance that brought many of the audience including Swift who rose to her feet and danced near her table at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.

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.”

“I want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” said Petras, who made a reference to friend and Grammy-nominated musician Sophie, who died after an accidental fall in Athens, Greece in 2021. “You told me this would happen. I always believed in me. Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music.”

Petras thanked Madonna for being a tremendous supporter of LGBTQ rights.

“I don’t think I could be here without Madonna,” Petras said. “My mother, I grew up next to a highway in nowhere Germany. And my mother believed me that I was a girl. I wouldn’t be here without her and her support.”

During the in memoriam segment, the Grammys recognized the lives of Loretta Lynn, Migos rapper Takeoff and Christine McVie with several star-studded performers paying them homage. The touching performances included Kacey Musgraves singing “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to Lynn; Quavo and the Maverick City Music hit the stage to honor his nephew Takeoff with the song “Without You;” and Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt performed “Songbird” to remember McVie.

Kendrick Lamar won sixth career trophy for best rap performance for “The Heart Part 5” and also won best rap album for his studio offering, “Mr. Morales & The Big Steppers.”

“You know, as entertainers, we say things to provoke thoughts and feelings and emotions,” he said. “So making this record is one of my toughest. … I would like to thank the culture for allowing me to evolve in order to make this. I finally found imperfection with this album.”

Viola Davis emerged from Sunday’s show an EGOT — a term for those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — after her win 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 honor the 6-year-old Viola, to honor her, her life, her joy, her trauma, everything,” Davis said. “It has just been such a journey.”

The show made its 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.

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