Beyonce and Charli xcx among early Grammy winners

The Grammy Awards are underway in Los Angeles in a celebration honouring the best of music while acknowledging the deadly wildfires that scarred a hub of the industry.

Leading nominee Beyonc?' won her first award for her song featuring Miley Cyrus, II Most Wanted. She took home the country duo/group performance during the Grammy's premiere ceremony, where a whopping 85 awards will be handed out.

First-time winners were abundant. Charli xcx won her first two Grammys, in the best pop dance recording category for Von Dutch and best dance/electronic album for BRAT.

Sierra Ferrell won her first Grammys for Americana performance, Americana roots song and Americana album.

She pulled an acceptance speech out of a scepter.

"Honestly this is kind of hilarious," she joked after returning to the stage for a third time.

As Los Angeles continues to recover from fires that destroyed more than 14,000 structures and displaced tens of thousands, the Recording Academy has reformatted its award show to benefit to help wildfire victims.

"We're also going to recognise the resilience of our community and celebrate our first responders and do our very best to lift up this city that we love," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said in his opening remarks.

Beyonce will also compete for the top Grammy prize of album of the year with her country record Cowboy Carter.

The superstar singer has never won the album trophy despite winning 32 career Grammys - more than any other musician.

Also in the running for album of the year are megastar Taylor Swift for The Tortured Poets Department and Billie Eilish for Hit Me Hard and Soft.

The main ceremony will be broadcast from 11am AEDT on Monday.

Who is sitting where at the 2025 #GRAMMYs? ? ? Find out which of your favorite artists are sitting next to each other during Music's Biggest Night: https://t.co/cBOWqKQ75Z pic.twitter.com/HZwznmfGuM? Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) February 2, 2025

Comedian Trevor Noah returns to host the telecast which will be part awards show, part fundraiser for musicians and others affected by the recent fires.

Hundreds of people in the music business were among those who lost homes in the disaster.

"It will be a little tricky to pull off but I'm starting to think they're going to be able to do it," said Paul Grein, awards editor at music publication Billboard.

With the fires under control, "people can take a breather and express gratitude and relief that we made it through that".

Eilish and best new artist nominees Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone and Teddy Swims are among the night's scheduled performers.

The show will feature a tribute to Quincy Jones, the legendary music producer who died in November.

with AP