Beyonce ties all-time Grammy wins record as she vies for best album award

LOS ANGELES, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pop superstar Beyonce tied the record for most career wins at the Grammy awards on Sunday, and was in the running for more, including the prestigious best album accolade.

Beyonce picked up three Grammys during the early awards, including best R&B song for "Cuff It," bringing her career total to 31. That tied the number of lifetime wins by late classical conductor Georg Solti.

The singer did not appear onstage to accept her milestone win. Host Trevor Noah said she was stuck in traffic.

Noah eventually handed Beyonce the award at her table during the official program after she came in late. 

She remained in contention for the night's top awards: song of the year, record of the year, and album of the year, an accolade she has never won.

Beyonce faces a formidable, wide-ranging field that includes Bad Bunny, Styles, singer and flutist Lizzo, British vocalist Adele and disco-era Swedish hitmaker ABBA.

Styles won best pop vocal album for "Harry's House," which also was in the race for album of the year.

"This album from start to finish has been the greatest experience of my life," Styles, 29, said as he held his Grammy trophy.

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny opened the show with a rousing Spanish-language medley surrounded by dozens of dancers.

"Every time I listen to him, I get hips I never knew I had," Noah said.

"I've never seen a room this stacked" with celebrities, he added, calling out Adele, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and others seated in an arena in downtown Los Angeles.

Noah joked that Lizzo would perform during the show at "bad bitch o'clock," quoting on her lyrics, and poked fun at Styles' wardrobe choices.

"Women throw their panties at this man, and he puts them on and looks better than them," Noah said.

Earlier, Viola Davis achieved EGOT status after winning a Grammy for her audio recording of her memoir "Finding Me." 

The honorees are chosen by roughly 11,000 members of the Recording Academy, which has faced complaints that it has not given Black talent proper recognition. The organization has worked to diversity its membership in recent years.

In the best new artist category, contenders include Italian rock band Maneskin, jazz artist Samara Joy, American bluegrass singer Molly Tuttle and TikTok phenom Gayle, who rose to fame with "abcdefu."

Taylor Swift's 10-minute version of her 2012 song "All Too Well" won best music video. Her latest album, "Midnights," was released after this year's eligibility window, which ran from October 2021 through September 2022.

Like other awards shows, the Grammys have seen their television audience decline in recent years. Last year's ceremony drew roughly 9 million viewers, the second-smallest on record. — Reuters