Grammys 2021: Beyonce makes history, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish win top honours

Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish won the top prizes at the Grammy Awards on Sunday in a ceremony that also saw Beyonce become the most awarded female artist in Grammy history.

Swift's surprise lockdown record Folklore was named album of the year and Eilish's 'Everything I Wanted' won record of the year. Sunday's win made Swift, 31, the first woman to take home the album of the year three times.

Beyonce's four Grammys on Sunday took her total career wins to 28, surpassing the previous record for a woman set by bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

British singer Dua Lipa won best pop vocal album for her dance-y Future Nostalgia.

The writers of "I Can't Breathe" by R&B artist H.E.R won song of the year. It was written in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States last summer.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion was named best new artist and the 26-year-old known for promoting women`s empowerment won two more Grammys for her rap performance of single 'Savage', featuring Beyonce.

Hosted by Trevor Noah, the hybrid ceremony was packed with pre-recorded and live performances by the likes of Lipa, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Cardi B, DaBaby, Black Pumas and Mickey Guyton.

It took place both indoors and outdoors in Downtown Los Angeles but mostly without the elaborate sets and special effects that traditionally mark the highest honours in the music business.

K-Pop band BTS lost in the best pop duo or group performance against Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for their single 'Rain on Me' but performed their hit English-language single 'Dynamite' from South Korea at the close of the show.

Check out the list of winners below:

Record Of The Year: EVERYTHING I WANTED - Billie Eilish (Finneas O'Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas O'Connell, engineers/mixers; John Greenham, mastering engineer)

Album Of The Year: FOLKLORE - Taylor Swift (Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Jonathan Low & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer)

Song Of The Year: I CAN'T BREATHE - Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)

Best New Artist: MEGAN THEE STALLION

Best Pop Solo Performance: WATERMELON SUGAR - Harry Styles

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: RAIN ON ME - Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: AMERICAN STANDARD - James Taylor

Best Pop Vocal Album: FUTURE NOSTALGIA - Dua Lipa

Best Dance Recording: 10% - Kaytranada Featuring Kali Uchis (Kaytranada, producer; Neal H. Pogue, mixer)

Best Dance/Electronic Album: BUBBA - Kaytranada

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL - Snarky Puppy

Best Rock Performance: SHAMEIKA - Fiona Apple

Best Metal Performance: BUM-RUSH - Body Count

Best Rock Song: STAY HIGH - Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)

Best Rock Album: THE NEW ABNORMAL - The Strokes

Best Alternative Music Album: FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS - Fiona Apple

Best R&B Performance: BLACK PARADE - Beyoncé

Best Traditional R&B Performance: ANYTHING FOR YOU - Ledisi

Best R&B Song: BETTER THAN I IMAGINED - Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello)

Best Progressive R&B Album: IT IS WHAT IT IS - Thundercat

Best R&B Album: BIGGER LOVE - John Legend

Best Rap Performance: SAVAGE - Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé

Best Melodic Rap Performance: LOCKDOWN - Anderson .Paak

Best Rap Song: SAVAGE - Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe & Anthony White, songwriters (Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé)

Best Rap Album: KING'S DISEASE - Nas

Best Country Solo Performance: WHEN MY AMY PRAYS - Vince Gill

Best Country Duo/Group Performance: 10,000 HOURS - Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber

Best Country Song: CROWDED TABLE - Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)

Best Country Album: WILDCARD - Miranda Lambert

Best New Age Album: MORE GUITAR STORIES - Jim "Kimo" West

Best Improvised Jazz Solo: ALL BLUES - Chick Corea, soloist Track from Trilogy 2 (Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade)

Best Jazz Vocal Album: SECRETS ARE THE BEST STORIES - Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Pérez

Best Jazz Instrumental Album: TRILOGY 2 - Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: DATA LORDS - Maria Schneider Orchestra

(With inputs from Reuters)