'Happy' Pharrell, Beyonce win early Grammys
Pop giants Pharrell Williams and Beyonce won early Grammys on Sunday.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Pop giants Pharrell Williams and Beyonce won early Grammys on Sunday, but fresh-faced British singer Sam Smith still had a chance to make history.
The music industry s biggest night kicked off with some of the top names in pop music -- including Madonna, Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West -- slated to perform to a global audience from Los Angeles.
Among dozens of awards announced in a smaller ceremony beforehand, Williams won for Best Urban Contemporary Album and for Best Video for "Happy," his viral ode to happiness that spawned hundreds of imitations around the world.
Williams, 41, has emerged as a star in his own right with "Happy" after years on the sidelines as a producer.
Last year, he enjoyed Grammy nominations for his work both on Robin Thicke s lustful "Blurred Lines" and with the French electronic duo Daft Punk, who were 2014 s big winners.
"Life is a carousel," Williams said as he walked the red carpet at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in a gray Adidas shorts suit.
Beyonce won for Best R&B Song with "Drunk In Love," her tale of marital bliss sung with her husband Jay-Z, and for the more technical Best Surround Sound Album.
With the latest honor, Beyonce has won 19 Grammys -- topping Aretha Franklin for the woman with the second biggest all-time haul, although still well behind the country star Alison Krauss at 27.
The 33-year-old singer offered some of her most personal work on her latest, self-titled album, which she recorded in secret and released with no previous publicity in December 2013.
Beyonce and Williams are both nominated in six categories, as is Sam Smith, the British soul singer who just a couple of years ago was working as a bartender in London.
Smith has enjoyed a phenomenal rise with "Stay With Me" -- a ballad about a one-night stand marked by his rich, soulful tenor voice.
The 22-year-old is up for Grammys in the four most closely watched categories -- Album of the Year; Record of the Year, which honors the top tune; Song of the Year, which recognizes the composer; and Best New Artist.
Only one artist has previously won all four categories at once -- Christopher Cross, whose 1981 triumph heralded a decade of soft rock as he controversially beat out Pink Floyd s now-classic "The Wall."
Also up for Album of the Year are Beck, the innovative Los Angeles rocker who has enjoyed two decades of critical acclaim, and British newcomer Ed Sheeran.
With all but the top awards given out, the night s leader so far was Roseanne Cash -- the daughter of folk legend Johnny Cash -- who won in three Americana categories.
The Grammys were her first since 1985 when she won a country award. The 59-year-old singer and guitarist used her Grammy appearance to press her campaign for reforms to help musicians in a rapidly changing industry.
"There are many musicians who feel that they cannot make a living anymore," she told reporters. "If you wouldn t steal an apple from a store, why would you steal an album?"
Aphex Twin, the elusive British DJ known for his abstract compositions and breakbeat style, won in the dance/electronic category for "Syro," his first studio album in 13 years.
Los Angeles was full of parties ahead of the Grammys including one in the heart of Hollywood that turned violent late Saturday when at least two suspects opened fire outside a nightclub, killing an unidentified man, according to police.
The venue, supperclub, had earlier said on Twitter that revelers included hip-hop star Snoop Dogg as well as two younger artists nominated for Best Rap Album -- Schoolboy Q, a self-proclaimed gangsta rapper, and Wiz Khalifa.
Neither won the award, which went to Eminem for "The Marshall Mathers LP 2." It is the record sixth time that Best Rap Album has gone to Eminem, the top-selling hip-hop artist of all time.
Other contenders in the Best Rap Album category included Iggy Azalea, a white Australian who has become a cultural flashpoint for performing in an African American accent.
Azalea is still up in two of the main categories including Best New Artist.
Performers at the Staples Center will include McCartney, who last year took part in a reunion of surviving Beatles with relatives.
This year, McCartney is scheduled to perform in a very different venture -- a collaboration with rapper West and R&B singer Rihanna.
Other performers will include Madonna, who made an unannounced appearance at the 2014 Grammys as part of a mass wedding set to "Same Love," the gay rights anthem by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
Award presenters will include music legends Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the elusive Prince.
