CULTURE
Grammy Awards: Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Beyonce early winners
Baku, February 11 (AZERTAC). Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West were early Grammy winners on Sunday as music`s biggest night got under way, announcing winners in more than 60 categories before the televised show.
The top categories are dominated this year by male artists, with British folk band Mumford & Sons, indie-pop trio FUN. and R&B singer Frank Ocean going into the show with six nominations each, including Album of the Year.
The 55th Grammy Awards will hand out their gramophone-shaped trophies in more than 80 categories, but only a handful of winners are announced during the three-hour live telecast airing on CBS.
Country-pop singer Taylor Swift won a Grammy for her collaboration with T-Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars on the song "Safe and Sound" from "The Hunger Games" movie soundtrack.
"I really want to thank Suzanne Collins for writing `The Hunger Games` and to Jennifer Lawrence for portraying a character that was so fun to write a perspective from," Swift said in her acceptance speech.
Jay-Z and Kanye West picked up two awards - Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for their collaboration "N****s in Paris." Jay-Z`s wife, Beyonce, won Best Traditional R&B Performance for "Love on Top."
DJ Skrillex, who won three Grammy awards last year, picked up three more this year, including Best Dance/Electronica Album for "Bangarang."
"We support music and a forward-thinking attitude," Skrillex said on stage.
Rihanna and British DJ Calvin Harris picked up the Best Short Form Music Video award for "We Found Love." The electronic dance track was one of the biggest chart-sellers of 2012, and the dark video featured drug abuse and violence.
Dozens of performers including U.S. rockers The Black Keys, who received five nominations, and former White Stripes frontman Jack White, who has three nominations, will grace the Grammy stage on Sunday.