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LOS ANGELES : R&B diva Beyonce stole a march on her rivals at the 52nd Grammy Awards here Sunday, dominating the early honours with wins in four categories as the music industry extravaganza got under way.
The 28-year-old superstar - who topped the nominations with 10 nods - picked up awards for best female R&B vocal for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," and best traditional R&B vocal performance with the song "At Last."
The former Destiny's Child singer also earned Grammys for best R&B song for "Single Ladies" and best contemporary R&B album for her chart-topping "I Am ... Sasha Fierce."
The main section of the awards show - the music industry's equivalent of the Oscars - begins at around 5:00pm (0100 GMT) before a star-studded audience at the Staples Center.
Beyonce will be vying for honours in several major categories including the coveted record of the year and album of the year awards, where she faces stiff competition from young country star Taylor Swift.
Swift, who is up for eight honours on Sunday including album, record and song of the year, won the first Grammys of her career in two junior categories.
The 20-year-old scooped best female country vocal performance Grammy for her single "White Horse" and followed it up moments later with victory in the best country song category for the same track.
"This is my first Grammy you guys, I mean this is a Grammy," a delighted Swift beamed as she accepted her award.
"Thank you to anyone who was a Grammy voter who decided it might be a good idea to vote for me because I'm so happy."
Swift, who enjoyed success last year at the American Music Awards and Country Music Awards, has rocketed to fame over the past two years.
Nielsen SoundScan reported earlier this month that Swift was the top-selling digital artist in music history with over 24.3 million digital tracks to date.
Elsewhere Sunday, oddball New York singer Lady Gaga picked up two Grammys with her smash hit single "Poker Face" taking best dance recording of the year and "The Fame" winning best dance album.
The 23-year-old singer, famous for her outlandish outfits, was not on hand to collect the honors. The singer is also nominated in three other categories to be decided later Sunday -- song, record and album of the year.
Pop band the Black Eyed Peas also enjoyed early success, picking up three Grammys for best short form music video, best pop performance by a duo or group and best pop vocal album.
Indian composer A.R. Rahman was also another early winner, scooping two Grammys for his music from the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire."
Rahman won in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture category before his "Jai Ho" won in the best motion picture song category moments later.
"This is insane, god is great again," Rahman said as he accepted his second award before a VIP audience.
The Grammy success comes after Rahman earned two Oscars for his music in "Slumdog Millionaire" at last year's Academy Awards.
Sunday's show are the first Grammy Awards since Michael Jackson's death last year and will feature an extended tribute to the late "King of Pop."
The tribute will include a 3-D film clip made before his death as well as performances from Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson and Usher.
- AFP/il
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