Beyonce took home the most awards of any female performer that evening with six Grammys, including song and record of the year for “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” while album of the year went to rival diva Taylor Swift for the platinum-selling “Fearless.”
Swift was pleased when she learned that she had won four trophies despite stiff competition from Beyoncé, the Dave Matthews Band, Lady Gaga, and the Black Eyed Peas.
“Oh wow – thank you so much! I just hope that you know how much this means to me … that we get to take this back to Nashville,” said Swift, whose “Fearless” was last year’s best-selling album of any genre.
Beyonce may not have won record of the year (that went to Kings of Leon’s “Use Someone”), but she still walked away with the most trophies that night.
After tying Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, and Alison Krauss with five Grammys for her debut album “Dangerously in Love” in 2004, Beyoncé surpassed that mark on Sunday en route to setting a new record. As far as we know, she is the first person to accomplish this feat twice.
She won best R&B contemporary album for “I Am… Sasha Fierce” and split the song of the year award with three songwriters for “Single Ladies.”
When the Kings of Leon picked up their third trophy of the night for record of the year, they made it a bit more of an event.
“I’m not going to lie, we’re all a little drunk. But we’re happy drunks,” said lead singer Caleb Followill.
Lady Gaga won two Grammys during the pre-telecast ceremony but didn’t get a chance to show her multitude of outrageous dresses during the primetime show, losing out on record, song and album of the year. But she made her presence felt when she kicked off the night with a sequined green leotard with massive shoulders as she sang her Grammy-nominated hit “Poker Face,” then brought out Elton John as they melded her song “Speechless” and his classic “Your Song” together in a performance that featured dueling pianos and glitter-painted faces.
Swift, who was second to Beyonce in Grammy nominations with eight nods, also won best country album among her other awards. The victory capped an amazing run for Swift, whose “Fearless” is only her second album. Her self-titled debut was a platinum success, but “Fearless,” with songs like “You Belong With Me,” took her into the superstar stratosphere as she won accolades across genres.
Another country act to take a top award was the Zac Brown Band, which won best new artist.
The Black Eyed Peas also had three trophies, as well as Jay-Z, who won for best rap solo performance and two awards for “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye West.
Maxwell, up for six awards, also won his first Grammys – best R&B male vocal for the ballad “Pretty Wings” and best R&B album for “BLACKsummers’ night.” The album marked the R&B crooner’s return after an absence of eight years from the music business.
