Lamar cleans up at Grammys, but Swift, Mars, Sheeran take top prizes

Lamar was the top nominee with 11 nods, including for the top categories of album and song of the year. He won the prizes for best rap album for To Pimp A Butterfly, for best rap performance and best rap song for Alright, best rap/sung collaboration for These Walls, and best music video for Bad Blood with Taylor Swift.

But the Los Angeles rapper's ambitious jazz-laced hip-hop remained a niche competitor, missing the top prizes despite stellar reviews.

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran won song of the year for Thinking Out Loud, while album of the year went to pop juggernaut Taylor Swift and her blockbuster album 1989.

The 26-year-old singer-songwriter became the first woman to win album of the year twice. Accepting the award, she made a pointed reference to the struggles she faced as a young woman in music.

"There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame," she said, addressing young women around the world.

"But ... someday, when you get where you're going, you will look around and know that it was you and the people who loved you who put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world," she said.

Swift also won for best pop vocal album for 1989, and best music video, shared with Lamar.

Pop starlet Meghan Trainor won the prize for best new artist, despite having already been nominated for two Grammys last year.

Record of the year went to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars for their radio hit Uptown Funk, which also won best duo/group performance.

US blues-rock outfit Alabama Shakes made a stellar Grammy debut, winning three awards: best rock performance and song for Don't Wanna Fight and best alternative album for Sound and Color.

Canadian R&B performer The Weeknd took two Grammys for best R&B performance for Earned It and best urban contemporary album for Beauty Behind the Madness.

Justin Bieber, Skrillex and Diplo won for best dance recording with Where Are U Now.

The annual awards gala of the US Recording Academy was hosted by rapper and actor LL Cool J, who opened the show with an appeal for unity.

"With all that divides us today, our shared love of music unites us, all of us," he said.

With most of the awards presented outside of the broadcast, there was plenty of room for music, in a cascade of the glittery performances, all-star tributes and cross-pollinated duets for which the Grammys are known.

Swift opened the show with an smoke-filled performance of her Out of the Woods. 

Lamar followed suit, scorching with an elaborate set and choreography that moved from a jailhouse to a giant bonfire onstage.

In stark contrast, Adele performed All I Ask from her record-breaking hit album 25, alone in a simple spotlight.

Despite being the biggest-selling album of the year, 25 was released outside of the qualification window for the 58th Grammys, and so will not be eligible until next year's awards.

But the evening's performances spent more time looking backward than forward - honouring some of the biggest names of music's past.

John Legend, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan and Meghan Trainor sang relays through a medley in honour of Lionel Richie, only to be joined by Richie himself to finish the number.

Lady Gaga sported Ziggy Stardust-red hair and a succession of David Bowie-inspired costumes and multimedia effects for a medley of the late artist's catalog, including Changes, Suffragette City and Heroes.

Stevie Wonder and the a cappella quintet Pentatonix honoured Earth Wind and Fire founder Maurice White, who died February 4, while singer-songwriter Jackson Browne joined the surviving members of the Eagles to perform their hit Take It Easy in honour of Eagles founding member Glenn Frey, who died in January.

Bonnie Raitt, Chris Stapleton and Gary Clark Jr performed a blistering, bluesy tribute to late bluesman BB King, with his signature song, The Thrill is Gone.

And the Hollywood Vampires, a rock and roll band made up of actor Johnny Depp, rocker Alice Cooper, and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, performed an unannounced tribute to late Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister in their television debut.

Amid the celebrations of music's past, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow and rapper Common came onstage to make a plea for its present.

They pointed out that streaming services pay artists "a fraction of a penny" per play, and asked fans to buy concert tickets and albums to keep music alive.