Beyonce has secured the prestigious album of the year Grammy Award for her chart-topping country album Cowboy Carter. The US superstar had been nominated on four previous occasions but failed to secure the prize with 2008’s I Am… Sasha Fierce, 2013’s Beyonce, 2016’s Lemonade and 2022’s Renaissance. The recognition alongside earlier wins on Sunday of best country album and the country duo/group performance award for her song featuring Miley Cyrus, titled II Most Wanted, has extended her lead as the most-awarded artist in Grammys history to 35 awards.

Collecting the album of the year award at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the 43-year-old said: “I just feel very full and very honoured. “It’s been many, many years and I want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all of the hard work. “I want to dedicate this to Ms (Linda) Martell, and I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors. God bless y’all. Thank you so much.”.

The singer, who was joined on stage by her daughter Blue Ivy, also praised the firefighters for “keeping us safe” during the Los Angeles wildfires. Earlier in the night, fellow album of the year nominee Taylor Swift presented a stunned Beyonce with the best country album award. The singer admitted she was “not expecting” to win the award and praised the “incredible country artists” who accepted her album, adding: “I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent.”.

Ahead of releasing the album last year, she said in a social media post that the record had been born out of an experience where she “did not feel welcomed”, but this prompted her to “dive into the history of Country music”. The major wins come after Beyonce was snubbed at the Country Music Awards last year, despite the Texas-born star becoming the first black woman to top Billboard’s country music chart with the album’s lead single Texas Hold Em’.

Her husband Jay-Z used his winner’s speech for the global impact award at the Grammys last year to address his wife Beyonce never winning the top prize. The US rapper, real name Shawn Carter, is currently fighting a US lawsuit which alleges he raped a 13-year-old girl along with Sean “Diddy” Combs, an allegation he has vehemently denied and has claimed is a “blackmail attempt” by the claimant’s lawyer.

Ahead of the ceremony, the singer announced she would be taking Cowboy Carter on tour with an Instagram post featuring a light-up billboard. US rapper Kendrick Lamar scooped up two of the other top awards – record of the year and song of the year – for his “diss” track Not Like Us which is reportedly directed at Canadian rapper Drake. The song also picked up a slew of early prizes including best music video, best rap performance and best rap song.

Lamar dedicated the record of the year award to his hometown Los Angeles after the city was devastated by wildfires. The Compton-born artist added: “This is my neck of the woods that held me down since a young pup, since I was in the studio scrapping to write the best raps and all that…. “I can’t give enough thanks to these places that I rolled around since high school. Most importantly the people and the families out in the Palisades and Altadena. This is a true testament that we can continue to restore the city.”.

This year’s award ceremony is raising funds for wildfire relief following wind-driven blazes that swept through parts of the Californian city last month, destroying neighbourhoods and killing at least 28 people. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga offered her support to the transgender community as she collected her award after the new Trump administration issued executive orders rolling back transgender rights.

Accepting the best pop duo/group performance prize for her collaboration with Bruno Mars on Die With A Smile, Gaga said: “It is a privilege to be a songwriter and a producer, a musician, such an honour to sing for all of you. “And I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love. Thank you.”. Chappell Roan called for the music industry to provide a “liveable wage and healthcare for artists” as she collected her first Grammy award.

After the 26-year-old US star secured the coveted best new artist prize, she revealed she had told herself she would demand that labels and the industry would protect artists more if she ever won a Grammy. She recalled feeling “betrayed” and “dehumanised” when she struggled to find work and afford health care during the pandemic after getting dropped by her first label as a young artist when she had given “everything” to them.