2017 Grammys: Beyonce, David Bowie win early awards
LOS ANGELES -- Beyonce is now a 21-time Grammy winner, picking up an award for best music video, while the late David Bowie won an award for his final album, beating out Prince.
Beyonce won for the hit “Formation,” but lost best music film (“Lemonade”) to the Ron Howard-directed “The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years.” Bowie won best engineered album, non-classical as one of the engineers listed on “Blackstar,” released two days before he died of cancer last year.
Justin Timberlake was also an early winner: “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” -- which is nominated for an Oscar -- won best song written for visual media. His No.1 hit is from the “Trolls” soundtrack.
The honors were awarded in the pre-telecast ceremony early Sunday, where most of the awards will be given away.
Beyonce is nominated for seven more trophies and is the overall top nominee. There are few things the pop diva has not conquered, and the Grammy for album of the year is one of them.
For the third time, Beyonce is nominated for the coveted trophy, an award given to few R&B-based performers and only two hip-hop acts in the Grammy’s 59-year history.
She was nominated for the top prize in 2010 with “I Am ... Sasha Fierce” (losing to Taylor Swift) and in 2015 with “Beyonce” (Beck was the surprise winner). Her “Lemonade” album is competing Sunday, along with its hit “Formation” for record and song of the year.
Beyonce has lost record of the year four times, and she’s marking her third nomination for song of the year (she won in 2010 with “Single Ladies”).
Beyonce’s main competition is Adele, who won album, song and record of the year in 2012 with “21” and “Rolling In the Deep.” While some critics argued that Beyonce’s “Lemonade” was more artistic and had a stronger impact on culture, Adele’s “25” marked her comeback and became a multiplatinum juggernaut, setting a record when it sold over 3 million units in its first week.
Their competition for album of the year includes Drake’s multihit “Views”; Justin Bieber’s redemption album “Purpose”; and country music rebel Sturgill Simpson’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.”
Beyonce’s other nominations include bids in the rock, pop, R&B and rap categories. Adele is nominated for five awards. Both artists will perform at the Grammys, as will Simpson, Lukas Graham, Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry.
The Grammys will be broadcast live on CBS and CBS All Access starting at 8 p.m. EST Sunday.
