59th Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony: Bowie, Adele, Drake, Chance The Rapper, Simpson Win

Grammy Awards

The 59th GRAMMY AWARDS PREMIERE CEREMONY got underway this afternoon, with MARGARET CHO hosting, streaming live on grammy.com and CBS.com.  In all, some 75 awards were handed out before TONIGHT's televised ceremony, with DAVID BOWIE, ADELE, DRAKE, STURGILL SIMPSON, CHANCE THE RAPPER and, yes, even THE BEATLES, taking home statues.  ALL ACCESS will live blog THE GRAMMYS themselves right here, so stay tuned.

The late DAVID BOWIE's "Blackstar" was honored with four awards during the pre-telecast, included Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Performance and Best Engineered Album, his first three ever musical GRAMMYs, along with Best Recording Package, an art designer's award

Other big-name winners included ADELE, one of the evening's co-favorites, taking home both Best Pop  Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for "25." DRAKE took home a pair for "Hotline Bling," including Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song. Album Of The Year nominee STURGILL SIMPSON's "A Sailor's Guide To Earth," took home Best Country Album, with SIMPSON taking the stage to admit, "I guess the revolution won't be televised." 

CHANCE THE RAPPER seemed overcome by his victory for Best Rap Performance, presented to him by JIMMY JAM.

In a pair of huge upsets, WILLIE NELSON's GERSHWIN tribute album topped both BOB DYLAN and BARBRA STREISAND for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, while veteran WILLIAM BELL won Best Americana Album for his STAX/CONCORD comeback, "This Is Where I Love," besting the likes of the AVETT BROTHERS and KRIS KRISTOFFERSON.  Another feel-good moment was 83-year-old BOBBY RUSH's win the the BEST TRADITIONAL BLUES category.  CAGE THE ELEPHANT and MEGADETH won Best Rock and Metal Performance, respectively.

BOWIE topped all nominees with four wins, including one for his art director, while ADELE, DRAKE, LALAH HATHAWAY, TED NASH, JACOB COLLIER, SARAH JAROCZ, HILLARY SCOTT AND THE SCOTT FAMILY and KIRK FRANKLIN were among those who took home two awards apiece before the prime-time event.

Other winners included BEYONCE's "Formation" for Best Music Video, THE BEATLES, who beat out BEYONCE for Best Music Film for RON HOWARD's "Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years," CAROL BURNETT, who topped AMY SCHUMER, among others, for Best Spoken Word Album, PATTON OSWALT for Best Comedy Album, and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE for Best Song Written for Visual Media. THE CHAINSMOKERS won their first of the day for Best Dance Recording ("Don't Let Me Down" with DAYA). 

CHO came out dressed in a frizzy WEIRD AL wig, claiming she's lost out to him several times in the COMEDY category, and since he wasn't there today, she took the liberty to be him.  "We need music now more than we ever have," she said, setting the political tone for the day. "Don't read your acceptance speech off your phone," she counseled winners.

Among the performers were GRAMMY nominees THE O'CONNOR BAND with MARK O'CONNOR; ROBBIE COLTRANE AND THIRD COAST PERCUSSION and JUDY COLLINS. who sat down at the piano and told a story of how she first met LEONARD COHEN in her living room before launching into a scintillating "Suzanne." GRAMMY-nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album, NATIVE AMERICAN band NORTHERN CREE pounded out a spirited tribal drum circle before being joined by fellow nominee, LATIN star CARLA MORRISON.  GRAMMY perennial ZIGGY MARLEY then took the stage to sing "Amen," a track from his own self-titled album, which earned him yet another award for Best Reggae Album, his eighth, including those he won with his band THE MELODY MAKERS.

Keeping track, tonight's telecast will award nine of the 84 total GRAMMYs, including the top four categories along with Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Rap Album and Best Country Solo Performance. In a sign of the times, neither the Best Rock, Alternative, Pop or Country Album will be handed out on the prime-time show.

Here's a selected list of winners.  For the complete list go to www.grammy.com/nominees.

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM; ADELE, "25"

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM: WILLIE NELSON, "Summertime: WILLIE NELSON Sings GERSHWIN"

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE: ADELE, "Hello" (track from "25")

BEST ALTERNATIVE ALBUM: DAVID BOWIE, "Blackstar"

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE: DAVID BOWIE, "Blackstar" (track from "Blackstar")

BEST ROCK ALBUM: CAGE THE ELEPHANT, "Tell Me I'm Pretty"

BEST METAL PERFORMANCE: MEGADETH, "Dystopia"

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE, CHANCE THE RAPPER f/LIL WAYNE and 2 CHAINZ, "No Problem" 

BEST RAP/SUNG PERFORMANCE: DRAKE, "Hotline Bling"

BEST RAP SONG: "Hotline Bling" (AUBREY GRAHAM, PAUL JENNINGS)

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE: SOLANGE, "Cranes In The Sky"

BEST R&B SONG: HOD DAVID & MUSZE, "Lake By The Ocean" (MAXWELL)

BEST R&B ALBUM: LALAH HATHAWAY, "LALAH HATHAWAY Live"

BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE:LALAH HATHAWAY, "Angel" (track from "LALAH HATHAWAY Live")

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM: STURGILL SIMPSON, "A Sailor's Guide To Earth"

BEST COUNTRY DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE: PENTATONIX/DOLLY PARTON, "Jolene"

BEST COUNTRY SONG: LORI McKENNA, TIM McGRAW: "Humble & Kind"

MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM: "The Color Purple" (DANIELLE BROOKS, CYNTHIA ERIVO, JENNIFER HUDSON) 

COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA: 'MILES Ahead" (STEVE BERKOWITZ, DON CHEADLE, ROBERT GLASPAR)

SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIUM: JOHN WILLIAMS, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

SONG WRITTEN FOR VISUAL MEDIA: MAX MARTIN, SHELLBACK & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, "Can't Stop The Feeling" (track from "Trolls")

BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION: TED NASH, "Spoken At Midnight" (track from "Presidential Suite: Eight Variations On Freedom") 

BEST ARRANGEMENT INSTRUMENTAL OR A CAPPELLA: JACOB COLLIER, "You And I" (track from "In My Room")

BEST ARRANGEMENT INSTRUMENTS AND VOCALS: JACOB COLLIER, "Flinstones" (track from "In My Room")

BEST RECORDING PACKAGE: JONATHAN BAMBROOK (for DAVID BOWIE's "Blackstar") 

BEST BOXED OR LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE: GERARD LO MONACO ("EDITH PIAF: 1915-2015")

BEST ALBUM NOTES: KEN BLOOM & RICHARD CARLIN ("SISSLE AND BLAKE Sing Shuffle Along") 

BEST HISTORICAL ALBUM: STEVE BERKOWITZ, JEFF ROSEN & MARK WILDER (BOB DYLAN, "The Cutting Edge 1965-66: The Bootleg Series. Vol 12 [Collector's Edition])

BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, NON-CLASSICAL: DAVID BOWIE TOM ELMHIRST, KEVIN KILLEN & TONY VISCONTI ("Blackstar").

BEST REMIXED RECORDING: ANDRE ALLEN ANJOS (BOB MOSES' "Tearing Me Up")

BEST SURROUND SOUND ALBUM: ALEXANDER LIPAY/DIMITRIY LIPAY, "Dutilleux: Sur Le Même Accord; Les Citations; Mystère De L'instant & Timbres, Espace, Mouvement"

BEST NEW AGE ALBUM: WHITE SUN, "WHITE SUN II"

BEST GOSPEL PERFORMANCE/SONG: TAMELA MANN, KIRK FRANKLIN, "God Provides"

BEST CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC PERFORMANCE/SONG: HILLARY SCOTT & THE SCOTT FAMILY, BERNIE HERMS, HILLARY SCOTT & EMILY WEISBAND, "Thy Will" (track from "The Love Remains")

BEST GOSPEL ALBUM: KIRK FRANKLIN, "Losing My Religion"

BEST CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC ALBUM: HILLARY SCOTT & THE SCOTT FAMILY, "The Love Remains"

BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM: YO YO MA & THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE, "Sing Me Home"

BEST CHILDREN'S ALBUM: SECRET AGENT 23 SKIDOO, "Infinity Plus One"

BEST SPOKEN WORD ALBUM: CAROL BURNETT, "In Such Good Company: Eleven Years Of Laughter, Mayhem, And Fun In The Sandbox"

BEST MUSIC VIDEO: BEYONCE, "Formation"

BEST MUSIC FILM: THE BEATLES, "Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years"

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL: DAVID FROST

BEST CHAMBER MUSIC/SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE: STEVE REICH, "Third Coast Percussion"

BEST DANCE RECORDING: THE CHAINSMOKERS w/DAYA, "Don't Let Me Down"

BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM: PLUME, "Skin"

BEST CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM: SNARKY PUPPY, "Culcha Vulcha" 

BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM: GREGORY PORTER, "Take Me To The Alley" 

BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM: JOHN SCOFIELD, "Country for Old Men"

BEST ROOTS GOSPEL ALBUM: JOEY + RORY, "Hymns"

BEST AMERICAN ROOTS PERFORMANCE: SARAH JAROCZ, "House Of Mercy" (track from "Undercurrent")

BEST AMERICAN ROOTS SONG: VINCE GILL, "Kid Sister"

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM:WILLIAM BELL, "This Is Where I Live"

BEST TRADITIONAL BLUES ALBUM: BOBBY RUSH, "Porcupine Meat"

BEST FOLK ALBUM: SARAH JAROCZ, "Undercurrent"

BEST REGIONAL ROOTS MUSIC ALBUM: KALANI PE'A, "E Walea"

BEST COMEDY ALBUM: PATTON OSWALT, "Talking For Clapping"

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL: GREG KIRSTEN

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