Beyonce finally wins top album at Grammys

Beyonce on Sunday finally won the Grammy for the year's best album for her culture-shaking "Cowboy Carter," as rapper Kendrick Lamar posted a clean sweep on a night that served as a love letter to fire-ravaged Los Angeles.

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Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Doechii and Sabrina Carpenter emerged as big winners at the performance-heavy gala, while heavyweights Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish went home empty-handed.

Beyonce's win for "Cowboy Carter" now makes her the most nominated, most decorated artist at the awards show ever as well as the first black woman to claim the top prize in this century. The triumph was all the more relevant as the 43-year-old’s ambitious, historically rooted album elevated and showcased the work of black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

“I just feel very full and very honored,” she said, her husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy cheering from the crowd of Alisters at Crypto.​com Arena.

She dedicated the prize to Linda Martell, a pioneering black country musician featured on the album.

“I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors,” Beyonce said.

The win brought Beyonce’s total Grammys on the night to three: she also won for her collaboration with Miley Cyrus and snagged the best country album trophy.

“I really was not expecting this,” she said as she accepted that prize, 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 added.