24K Magic upsets Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z in album category, as Mars wins all six prizes he was nominated for

Bruno Mars pulled off a clean sweep of album, record and song of the year categories at the 2018 Grammy awards on Sunday night, upsetting odds-favorites Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z to take home the evening’s three most prestigious awards.

The 24K Magic singer won all six awards he was nominated for, while Lamar went home with five and Jay-Z, who had the most nominations of any performer with eight, was left empty-handed.

Q&A Who were the biggest winners at the Grammys? Show Hide Album of the year

24K Magic – Bruno Mars Record of the year

24K Magic – Bruno Mars Song of the year

That’s What I Like – Bruno Mars Best rap album

Damn – Kendrick Lamar Best pop solo performance

Shape of You – Ed Sheeran Best new artist

Alessia Cara Read the full list of winners.

The night reached a towering emotional summit when Kesha, joined by Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Andra Day, Julia Michaels and members of the Resistance Revival Chorus, performed her ballad Praying.

The performance was the culmination of a years-long comeback for the singer, who accused the producer Dr Luke of sustained emotional abuse and rape and was involved in a protracted defamation suit with him. Kesha was introduced to the stage by Janelle Monáe, who gave a rousing call for the music industry to do its part in ending sexual abuse: “Just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that does not do us well.”

Play Video 1:37 A night of protest at the Grammys 2018 – video

Lamar, the second most nominated artist of the night, kicked off the ceremony with a medley of songs from his album Damn. Lamar, who has nabbed a nomination in at least one category for six consecutive Grammys, was joined by Dave Chappelle and Bono, who features on Lamar’s song XXX.

“The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America,” said Chappelle, who returned to present Lamar with the award for best rap album, in a preamble to the rapper’s performance. “Is this OK? On CBS?”

The ceremony was not without its gimmicks, too, most notably a recorded segment that featured the host James Corden auditioning various celebrities to narrate the audio version of Michael Wolff’s bombshell book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. John Legend, DJ Khaled, Cardi B and Cher all made cameos, but none were more surprising than that of Hillary Clinton, who read a line from the bestselling exposé aloud, much to the chagrin of the UN ambassador, Nikki Haley.

Play Video 0:59 Hillary Clinton mocks Trump in Fire and Fury Grammys skit – video

Many of those attending walked the red carpet with white roses to honor the victims of sexual abuse, a piggyback off the Time’s Up pin badges celebrities wore to the Golden Globe awards this month. A group called Voices in Entertainment, led by Meg Harkins of Roc Nation and Karen Rait of Interscope Records, spearheaded the initiative.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Miley Cyrus arrives for the 60th Grammy awards. Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

“As we are inspired by the #TimesUp campaign, we are encouraging the artists that we work with and our colleagues attending the 60th annual Grammy awards in New York City to wear a white rose to the ceremony,” wrote the women in an email. “We choose the white rose because historically it stands for hope, peace, sympathy and resistance.”



Bringing to an end an evening sprinkled with moments of protest was a powerful performance by Logic and Alessia Cara, who dedicated their song 1-800-273-8255 to those who had attempted or lost their lives because of suicide.

Standing next to survivors selected by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Logic said: “To all the beautiful countries filled with culture and diversity and thousands of years of history, you are not shithole countries. And lastly, on the behalf of those who fight for equality in a world that is not equal, not just and not ready for the change we are here to bring, I say up to you, bring us your tired, your poor and any immigrant that seeks refuge for together we can build not just a better country but a world that is destined to be united.”

Cara, nominated in four categories, beat SZA and Khalid to take the coveted best new artist award, past recipients of which include Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse. SZA was the most nominated female artist of the year, up for awards in five categories for three songs, but won none.

Ed Sheeran, who won in the two categories for which he was nominated (best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album), was a no-show at Madison Square Garden, a decision that peeved fans who felt he had triumphed over more deserving (and present) competitors such as Lady Gaga, Kesha and Pink, each of whom performed.

Even without appearances from Grammy mainstays such as Adele, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Drake and Taylor Swift – Beyoncé, who did not perform or present, arrived in the middle of the ceremony – the lineup of performers was high-profile. Rihanna cavorted alongside DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller to their song Wild Thoughts; Childish Gambino did a falsetto-heavy performance of his song Terrified; Elton John and Miley Cyrus duetted to Tiny Dancer; and Jon Batiste and Gary Clark Jr teamed up for an impressive tribute to Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.

Noticeably missing from the line-up was Lorde, the only woman nominated for album of the year, the night’s most prestigious award. Two days before the ceremony, the Melodrama singer’s mother Sonja Yelich tweeted a photo of a New York Times article delineating the historic gender disparities in Grammy nominees. It was rumored that Lorde had been offered a spot in the Tom Petty tribute, rather than a solo performance, but had declined.

U2 (@U2) “Blessed are the Shithole Countries, for they gave us the American Dream”#Grammys pic.twitter.com/5z3u6L4FBD

In another memorable moment, the Havana singer Cabello shouted out to the Dreamers in her introduction to a politically charged performance by U2. “I’m a proud Cuban-Mexican immigrant, born in eastern Havana, standing in front of you on the Grammy stage in New York City, and all I know is, just like dreams, these kids can’t be forgotten and are worth fighting for,” said Cabello.

Cameras then panned toward a barge along the Hudson river by the Statue of Liberty, the site of U2’s rendition of their song Get Out of Your Own Way. “Blessed are the shithole countries, for they gave us the American Dream,” said Bono.