NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar stormed ahead at the Grammy Awards (Jan 29 morning, Singapore), winning three statuettes apiece in the pre-show prizes.
Lamar beat Jay-Z in all his three wins - best rap song, performance and music video for Humble.
Mars scored for R&B performance and song for That's What I Like and best R&B album for 24K Magic. The album also was named best engineered album, which recognises the work of sound engineers.
The awards were given out before the three-hour televised show got under way, as celebrities including Lady Gaga, Elton John and Lana del Rey made their way down the red carpet in New York.
Country singer Reba McEntire and Americana music band The Mavericks were among those wearing white roses as a symbol of solidarity with victims of sexual harassment, as the Time's Up movement spread from Hollywood to the music industry.
Lamar is expected to open the show which will also feature live performances by U2, Cardi B, Pink, Miley Cyrus, Sting, Sam Smith and many others.
Kesha, a best pop vocal album nominee who has been battling her former record producer Dr Luke for years in courts over allegations of sexual abuse, is expected to perform her emotional single Praying with Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels and a full choir.
Grammy nominees Alessia Cara, Khalid and Logic will take the stage with a group of suicide survivors to perform their song 1-800-273-8255, the telephone number of the National Suicide Prevention hotline.
And country artists Brothers Osborne, Eric Church and Maren Morris, who appeared at the Las Vegas country music festival where 51 people were killed and more than 500 were wounded last October, will honour the victims of gun violence and extremist attacks at music events.
Mars, Jay-Z, Lamar and Gambino are also nominated for record of the year but so too is Latin dance hit Despacito by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and featuring Justin Bieber.
The single last summer broke records as the most-streamed global track of all time, with more than 4.6 billion plays across leading platforms.
Ahead of the show, Mr Ross Scarano, vice-president of content at Billboard magazine, gave Despacito the edge. "It appealed to a lot of people. It also speaks to the more global sound of pop this year, the emphasis on Latin music," he noted.
