Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar the big winners at Grammy Awards

(VNF) - R&B artist Bruno Mars wins six awards including album of the year, while rappers Kendrick Lamar takes home five awards.

Mars won the top prize at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Jan 28), denying Lamar and Jay-Z the honor of becoming the first hip-hop artist in 14 years to win the coveted album of the year award.

Lamar, 30, regarded as one of the most innovative rappers of his generation, won five prizes mostly in rap categories, for his album "DAMN." and single "Humble".

Bruno Mars receives his third Grammy for Album of the Year during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards show on Jan 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo: Timothy A. CLARY/AFP)

Mars, meanwhile, won every award he was nominated for, including Record Of The Year for the song ’24K Magic’ and Album Of The Year for the album of the same name. Kendrick Lamar – the second-most nominated artist of the year – took home five trophies including Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for ‘Humble’, and Best Rap Album for ‘Damn’.

Lamar's victories came at the expense of veteran Jay-Z and his soul-baring album "4:44". Jay-Z won none of his eight nominations and chose not to perform at the three-hour show.

Canada's Alessia Cara, who rose from making YouTube videos in her bedroom to becoming a socially conscious pop singer, won the Grammy for Best New Artist.

"I've been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kid in my shower," Cara told the audience at Madison Square Garden in New York, thanking her fans.

"You are the reason I don't have to win Grammys in my shower any more."

She urged the industry not to forget the many "incredible artists making incredible music that need to be acknowledged, who don't always get acknowledged because of popularity contests and numbers games".

"I just wanted to encourage everyone to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot," Cara added.

The Best Dance Recording award was the first to be handed out at the pre-telecast ceremony, hosted by Paul Shaffer and during which the bulk of the winners will be revealed. The prize went to LCD Soundsystem for ‘Tonite’, beating Bonobo, Camelphat & Elderbrook, Gorillaz, and Odesza to the trophy.

Other early winners at the 2018 Grammy Awards include The Rolling Stones (Best Traditional Blues Album for ‘Blue & Lonesome’), and Carrie Fisher for Best Spoken Word Album.

WHITE ROSES ARE THE MOTIF, WOMEN'S EQUALITY THE MESSAGE

On the red carpet, dozens of musicians wore or held white roses to signal support for women's equality and freedom from sexual harassment, a theme that was echoed on stage in an emotional performance by Kesha of her single "Praying".

The roses - worn or held by both sexes on the red carpet outside New York's Madison Square Garden - were a sign of solidarity with the Time's Up movement, spreading from Hollywood to the music industry.

Lady Gaga, nominated for best pop vocal album for "Joanne" showed up in a Goth-inspired Armani gown in midnight black with a high Victorian collar, sparkling lace and a voluminous train. Perched high on her shoulder was a demure nosegay of white rose buds.

60^th Annual Grammy Awards – Show – New York, U.S., 28/01/2018 – Nick Jonas and Kelly Clarkson present the Best New Artist award. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

Kelly Clarkson held a long-stemmed rose in her hand as she chatted on the carpet, its white contrasting with her black gown which included elaborate gold embroidered sleeves.

The rose, Clarkson said, "represents hope and peace and sympathy and peace, and I thought those are very lovely things for any human being to encompass."

The roses were not just for the women. Nominee Khalid wore a white rose on a cool white jacket worn over a turtleneck in chartreuse, while Sam Smith's flower contrasted with his emerald green suit.

Sting, accompanied by musician Shaggy, looked dapper with a jaunty silk ascot, pink shirt and white handkerchief folded to resemble a rose in the pocket of his black jacket.

GRAMMY PERFORMERS REMEMBER LAS VEGAS VICTIMS

Three country artists who performed at the Las Vegas festival that became the bloody setting of America's deadliest mass shooting reunited on stage at the Grammy Awards.

Country singers the Brothers Osborne, Eric Church and Maren Morris all performed at the Route 91 country music festival before gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, fired into the crowd on Oct. 1, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Paddock also killed himself.

60^th Annual Grammy Awards – Show – New York, U.S., 28/01/2018 – Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris and Eric Church perform "Tears in Heaven" during the in memoriam tribute. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

On Sunday, the singers performed a haunting version of Eric Clapton's ballad "Tears in Heaven" seated side by side in front of a backdrop lit up with the names of the victims.

"(We) are here to honour the memory of the beautiful music-loving souls all so cruelly taken from us," said Morris, paying tribute to not only the victims of the Las Vegas shooting but also the 22 people killed when a suicide bomb was detonated at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May.

The tribute prompted a wave of appreciation on social media, including from gun control advocates. Former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt, tweeted:

"Thank you @MarenMorris, @brothersosborne, and @ericchurch for shining a light on our gun violence epidemic. We all need to do our part to make our communities safer. #Grammys #CourageToFight

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