LOS ANGELES, Feb 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Grammys gala opened with

electrifying performances Sunday including a revenge fantasy from top nominee
and triple winner SZA, as Taylor Swift notched a win and kept her eye on
history.

Legend Tracy Chapman delivered a moving rendition of her 1988 classic "Fast
Car" with country star Luke Combs, who found streaming success with a cover
of the track.

It was a rare public appearance from Chapman, whose crystal-clear vocals had
many audience members swaying and singing along, including Taylor Swift --
who looked statuesque in a white Schiaparelli gown with black opera gloves --
and Oprah Winfrey.

Billie Eilish gave a soft performance of her moving, Grammy-winning hit off
the "Barbie" soundtrack "What Was I Made For?" wearing 1950s-style cat-eye
sunglasses and a scarf over her bright red locks.

The first awards of the gala were also doled out, with Miley Cyrus taking
home the Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for her song "Flowers."

"Oh my God, I just got stuck in the rain and traffic and thought I was going
to miss this moment!" she exclaimed in accepting the award from pop icon
Mariah Carey.

SZA seized three prizes on the night so far, including best R&B song, best
progressive R&B album and best pop duo or group performance with Phoebe
Bridgers.

Swift, who could make history with an Album of the Year win, won for Best Pop
Vocal Album for "Midnights" -- and announced that she will drop a new album
on April 19.

And Karol G won the prize for Best Musica Urbana for "Manana Sera Bonito" --
recognition that some industry watchers said wasn't enough given that Latinos
were excluded this year from the major categories.

- boygenius wins big -

The broadcast gala -- in which just nine total awards are presented --
followed the hours-long pre-show, in which the vast majority of the more than
90 gramophones were distributed.

The supergroup boygenius cleaned up in the rock categories.

Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker -- the members of boygenius -- were
giddy with delight as they ran onstage to accept three trophies.

"I feel kinda like a kid, because that was the last time that something like
this felt possible," said Dacus, with Baker adding: "This band is my family,
I love them."

But it's anyone's guess who will take home the evening's major prizes later
on, with the indomitable Swift in contention in one of the more eclectic
nomination fields in recent memory.

Women make up the vast majority of the contenders for the top Album and
Record of the Year prizes, with just one man, the jazz polymath Jon Batiste,
in the running.

- History for Taylor? -

An Album of the Year win for Swift would be her fourth -- the most for any
artist, a new record that would break the tie she is currently in with Frank
Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

It would be a cherry on top for the 34-year-old, who is already the toast of
the music world.

She makes headlines with every breath, not least for her romance with NFL
star Travis Kelce, who can't make it to the ceremony as he's tied up
preparing for next weekend's Super Bowl.

That seven of eight nominees in the Album and Record of the Year categories
are women or gender fluid is a sea change many industry watchers see as long
overdue.

Music from "Barbie" won two awards during the pre-show -- one for best
compilation soundtrack for visual media and another to Eilish for best song
written for visual media.

Eilish called "Barbie" the "most incredible, most beautiful empowering movie"
in her acceptance speech alongside her brother and co-writer, Finneas
O'Connell.

Music from the film has more changes to win during the broadcast gala.

The rapper Killer Mike won big in the rap categories, taking home three
trophies for music off his album "Michael."

"I consciously set out to tell the story of a young Black boy growing up on
the west side of Atlanta so that the world can see that our narrative isn't
just victimization and losing, but we can win, we can thrive and prosper," he
told journalists backstage.

But his wins were overshadowed as his reported detention by police went
viral.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to a query from
AFP about the situation.

Joni Mitchell beamed as she accepted the honor for best folk album for "Joni
Mitchell At Newport," a live recording of her performance at the storied
festival that came just years after an aneurysm led to fears she might never
play again.

"We had so much fun at that concert, and I think you can feel it on the
record," she said onstage wearing long, silky patterned robes and her
signature beret.

She is set to perform during the gala broadcast ceremony for the first time,
more than half-a-century after winning her first Grammy.