Superstar Beyonce won the "Album of the Year" award for her album "Cowboy Carter" at this year's 67th Grammy Awards, finally becoming the winner of the most important award at the festival.
Beyonce, who is both the most awarded and most nominated artist in Grammy history, has previously been in the running for the top award four times.
By winning the award for her album "Cowboy Carter," Beyoncé became the first African-American woman to win the top prize since 1999, when Lauryn Hill won for "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill." Previous winners include Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston.
The award was presented to Beyonce by members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, and the main theme of the evening was the recent fires in that city, in which thousands of homes were destroyed.
"It's been many, many years," Beyonce said in her speech.
The win came 25 years after her first Grammy nomination while in the R&B group Destiny's Child. She went on to become the most awarded artist in Grammy history with 35 awards, but the top prize had eluded her until last night.
To win it over, he needed to change the genre. Focusing on country music and American tradition, "Cowboy Carter" is the second part of a trilogy that examines the American musical tradition and reveals the contributions of black artists.
Her album also won the Grammy for Best Country Album, to Beyoncé's apparent surprise.
In one of the most memorable moments of the evening, Taylor Swift presented Beyoncé with the award for best country album. Beyoncé is the first black woman to ever win a Grammy in that category.
Kendrick Lamar won song and record of the year for his track "Not Like Us." The rap hit won all five awards in which it was nominated, including song of the year, best rap song and best music video.
"We're going to dedicate this to the city," said Lamar, who is from Los Angeles, calling out the names of various neighborhoods in the city that were affected by the fires.
Čapel Roan won the award for best new artist.
Beyoncé was also the most nominated artist for this year's Grammy Awards ceremony, with eleven nominations.
The impact of the fires was the main theme of the ceremony, which also raised more than $7 million for those affected by the fires.
Comedian Trevor Noah, who hosted the ceremony, admitted that just a few weeks earlier they weren't sure the Grammy Awards would even take place.
"Thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters, the fires were contained and despite all the devastation, the spirit of the city emerged," said Trevor Noah.
A number of firefighters were invited to a ceremony to honor their efforts and mingled with music's biggest stars on the red carpet.
On a stage designed to resemble the Los Angeles mountains, Billie Eilish, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, and her brother and collaborator Phineas performed her hit "Birds of a Feather." It was one of several ways to pay tribute to the city.
Will Smith gave an introduction to pay tribute to the late legendary producer Quincy Jones, who died last November at the age of 92.
The Beatles' "Now and Then," which used AI technology, won the award for best rock performance. Sean Lennon accepted the award on behalf of his father, John Lennon.
"As far as I'm concerned, they're the greatest band of all time," said the young Lennon, speaking of the Beatles.
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