Queen Bee is in the building

Okay, so hubby Jay Z hasn't won anything yet, so not much cause to celebrate as yet but we think the funereal look might be a bit premature Queen Bey.

Daughter Blue Ivy has got her eyes fixed firmly on the stage.

Best Country Award goes to...aka The Johnny Cash award.

This year it's gone to Chris Stapleton for his album From a Room Vol 1.

"It's a real joy to get to make music," said a humble Chris.

When he's not picking up awards Chris can be found these days helping Justin Timberlake with his country music re-brand.

DJ Khaled shouts his name a lot over Rihanna

Riri emerged from behind a pack of mannequins to sing her Carlos Santana-inspired track Wild Thoughts.

Bryson Tiller danced his way down the stairs to join in the fun.

All DJ K really contributed was reminding us what his name and the name of the event was.

But that's his thing, innit?

It was still fun though.

Bruno Mars is out of this world!

Already a three-time winner tonight, Bruno Mars gets funky fresh for the nineties with Finesse, a track from his multi-million selling album 24K magic.

The retro remix gives the Hawaiian star the perfect opportunity to show off his effortless dance skills, with his band The Smeezingtons dressed up in multi-coloured fluorescent hoodies.

But rap star Cardi B steals the show with her larger-than-life rap verses.

"I love that song," says Trevor Noah as the performance ends. "It takes me back... way back to when Donald Trump wasn't President."

Pink gets all emotional

Pink opts for a majorly stripped-back performance in comparison with earlier Grammy performances which have seem her hang literally from the roof.

Dressed in a vest and ripped jeans, her interpretation of her song Wild Hearts Can't be Broken is a lesson to all the solo artists tonight.

A rallyling cry for women, it is an amazing performance as she she is joined by a sign language interpreter.

There's not enough rope to tie me down / There's not enough tap to shut this mouth.

She apparently wrote the song for the 2015 film Suffragette.

"You have to fight for what’s rightly yours which is rights and respect and love and kindness and compassion and you have to be willing to die for it.”

Sometime the simplest performances are the most powerful.

Best Rap Album Award goes to Kendrick Lamar

Comedian Dave Chappelle has just presented the award for best rap album to... Kendrick Lamar.

Who else?

"It's special man" said the star, as he collected his fifth award of the night.

"Hip hop man... I said hip hop!

"Rap music is the thing that got me on the stage...to tour around the world and support my family.

"At first I thought it was about the girls and the clothes... But it's really about expressing yourself an putting that paint on the canvass for the next artist."

He then declared: "Jay for President", with a nod to Mr Z - who he beat in this category - down in the front row.

Childish Gambino gets funky

Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, was the wildcard entry in this year's best album category - taking a place many people felt would go to Ed Sheeran's Divide.

Sadly, his performance of Terrified doesn't do much to justify his place in the night's main category.

The star gives a low-key, funky rendition of the song, but it's followed (on US television, at least) by an iPhone advert featuring the superior cut Redbone. Will non-fans make the connection between the two songs?

In the end, the most interesting part of the performance is his facial hair... Glover has just finished filming the Han Solo spin-off movie, where he plays Lando Calrissisian. Is this part of his look?

Louis Fonsi brings sexy back- but is it appropriate?

How many times has Luis Fonsi performed Despacito in the last year? At least a thousand.

After the tough and conceptual opening performance by Kendrick Lamar; and the endless procession of ballads ever since this is the first song to really get the audience on their feet.

Still, on a night where #TimesUp and #MeToo have been given such a focus, the sight of so many scantily-clad dancing girls parading around Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (including actress Zuleyka Rivera, who starred in the video) leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Best Pop Solo Performance goes to Ed Sheeran for his Shape of You track who is not around to pick his award.  

Best New Artist goes to...Alessia Cara

She beat off competition from the likes of SZA and Khalid, to pick up the award once won by Sir Tom Jones. So well played.

"Holy cow! Wow, im shaking...," she said.

"I've been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kid in my shower..."

Well pretend no more.

She then went on to thank everybody under the sun, including her family, her team, the Grammys and of course the fans, before adding:

"There are some incredible artists out there making incredible music that don't always get acknowledged."

Perhaps a nod to Big Shaq? Who knows...

And Sam Smith brought the Gospel

Sam Smith is taking the unusual step of playing an album track - Pray, which closes his recent album The Thrill Of It All.

It's a song about the star's looming realisation that he needs to pay attention to politics and global affairs; delivered as an impassioned plea to God.

"That song came from me going to Iraq with War Child," he told the BBC last year.

"I went to four different refugee camps outside Mosul while ISIS were in Mosul. I experienced something really intense and incredible. I came back and I remember listening to my album like, ‘this is embarrassing’. I don’t have anything that is talking about the world, or what we’re going through.

"I think it’s important, when you’re living in a crazy, tumultuous time, to write about it. But I don’t want to write something super preachy. So that’s why Pray was good – it felt like it was my experience with the news and with the world."

Award for rap sung performance goes to Kendrick Lamar

For his song with Rihanna, Loyalty.

The Compton-born rapper follows up that amazing opening performance with his fourth Grammy of the night

"Hey man, this is love," he said on stage. "I appreciate every single last one of y'all," he said before paying tribute to co-star Rihanna.

"She came though and gassed me on that record, on my own song, so this really belongs to her."

Rihanna said Lamar had given her "an incredible opportunity," adding "you deserve this".

The award was presented by John Legend and Tony Bennett - who won his first Grammy 56 years ago

"What an honour," says John Legend, before quickly bursting out a few bars of New York, New York

Ethnicity joke by the host James Corden

Presenting the Grammy's for a second time, the Brit host poked fun at himself saying the nominees "are the most diverse list in Grammys history, presented by the least diverse host in Grammys history".

 

"This is for love and compassion", she said, "Even when you can't understand."

Declaring "Times Up," she burst into an impassioned performance of her Grammy-nominated single Million Reasons.

Lovely stuff.

Kendrick Lamar opens the show

"America, God bless you if it's good to you."

The opening bars of Kendrick Lamar's performance - against a backdrop of the US flag and marching troops, sets the tone for a politically-charged, purposely dark opening number.

He starts with XXX, seguing into DNA and later King's Dead. At the climax, he shoots his backing dancers dead (not literally) as he rhymes off: "Who am I? Not your father, not your brother / Not your reason, not your future... Not your people, not your neighbour / Not your baby, not your equal."

As Dave Chappelle notes, in an on-stage aside: "I just wanted to remind the audience that the only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America."

It'll be hard to follow that performance.

Wow. Just wow.

Early theme emerge

With the first 70 awards announced before the show begins, two artists are dominating proceedings: Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars.

As we said earlier (scroll down), Lamar has won three trophies so far: best rap song, music video and rap performance. Notably, he's beaten Jay-Z in all of those categories.

Bruno Mars has also won three: Best R&B album, best R&B song and best R&B performance (for That's What I Like).

The two artists are both up for the main prize: Album of the year. Who'll win? We'll find out soon.

Happy 60th to the Grammys

It nearly shows time folks, so last chance to get your snacks in.

Tonight, the Grammy award ceremony is eligible for a bus pass as it marks its 60th birthday.

The first ever one was held on 4 May 1959.

It was made up of two events on the same night; one at the Beverley Hilton hotel in California and the other at the Park Sheraton Hotel in NYC.

Among the winners were the late jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, who picked up two awards including best vocal performance (female) and best jazz performance.

She'd go on to influence the likes of Amy Winehouse,