Beyoncé became the most awarded artist in Grammys history as she won best dance/electronic album for her euphoric dance opus, Renaissance.
The boundary-pushing artist received nine nominations and won four Grammys at this year’s awards night in Los Angeles, to give her a total of 32 over the course of her career.
In doing so, Beyoncé overtook Hungarian-British conductor George Solti, whose record of 31 Grammys had stood for more than 20 years.
The artist won Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Renaissance, Best Dance/Electronic Recording for Break My Soul, Best R&B Song for Cuff It and Best Traditional R&B Performance for Plastic Off the Sofa.
“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” said the star, accepting her prize.
“I want to thank God for protecting me…Thank you God,” said the iconic singer as she paused with her eyes closed.
Beyoncé thanked her uncle Johnny who made her outfits before she became famous.
“I’d like to thank my uncle Johnny, who’s not here, but he’s here in spirit.”
Beyoncé thanked her parents, husband and three children before concluding, “I’d like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre.”
The award that put her over the top was a win for best dance/electronic album for “Renaissance.”
Beyoncé had missed some of the early presentations after getting stuck in gridlocked downtown Los Angeles.
“I’m surprised traffic could stop you,” joked host Trevor Noah. “I thought you travelled through space and time.”
Beyoncé however did not take away any of the nights major awards. It was her fourth nomination for Album of the Year, an award she has never won.
Harry Styles won Album of the Year, for Harry’s House. “I’ve been so, so inspired by every artist in this category with me,” he said, winning out over Beyoncé and Adele. “I think on nights like tonight it’s so important to remember there is no such thing as best in music … this doesn’t happen to people like me very often.” He also won the award for best pop vocal album.
Adele won best pop solo performance for Easy on Me. It was her 16th Grammy to date. Adele said she was just looking forward to being at the awards ceremony and then choked up when talking about her son.
Kendrick Lamar won best rap performance, best rap song and best rap album. “I would like to thank the culture for allowing me to evolve,” he said in his acceptance speech, referring to the album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers as one of his “toughest” projects.
Lizzo won Record of the Year for About Damn Time. “This is so unexpected,” she said. “I want to dedicate this award to Prince. When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music.” She also paid tribute to Beyoncé for changing her life, calling her “the artist of our lives”.
Bonnie Raitt beat out Adele, Styles, Lamar, Lizzo and Beyoncé to win Song of the Year for Just Like That. “I’m so surprised, I don’t know what to say,” she said before paying tribute to her friend and inspiration John Prine. “Thank you so much, I’m just totally humbled,” she added.
