Beyonce wins top country album honors at Grammys

LOS ANGELES, United States — Beyonce on Sunday won the Grammy for the year's best country album for her culture-shaking "Cowboy Carter," a record that served as an indictment of the Nashville-centered industry long accused of sidelining Black artists.

It was the second prize of the night for the most decorated artist in Grammys history, with four more opportunities to go at the marquee music awards gala in Los Angeles, including the top album and record prizes that have eluded her.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar and pop singer Charli XCX each won three prizes during a pre-show where dozens of golden gramophones were handed out.

"I really was not expecting this," said Beyonce onstage, her voice audibly shaking. "Sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists."

"I just want to encourage people to do what they're passionate about and to stay persistent," she told the crowd packed with A-listers, with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy applauding from the audience.

"I still am in shock. Thank you so much for this honor."

The coveted prize for Best New Artist went to Chappell Roan, capping a meteoric year for the Midwestern artist who went from struggling singer to music's It girl seemingly overnight.

But that wasn't her experience -- in her acceptance speech, she recounted how she was dropped from her label during the pandemic and struggled to find work.

"I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists," she said.

"It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized," she said.

"Labels, we got you, but do you got us?"

Last year's winner Victoria Monet presented that trophy after a rollicking medley from some of Roan's fellow nominees including Doechii, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey and Raye.

Sabrina Carpenter won the prize for best pop vocal album, her second award of the night that followed a slapstick, Old Hollywood-inspired performance of her nominated hits "Espresso" and