Beyoncé's six appeal dominates the Grammys

R&B diva Beyoncé dominated the 52nd Grammys with six awards, edging out US country star Taylor Swift who finished the music industry extravaganza with four prizes.

Beyoncé – who had topped the nominations with 10 nods – won the prestigious Song of the Year award for her hit Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It), which also earned her the best female R&B award.

The former Destiny's Child singer late Sunday also snagged Grammys for best R&B song for Single Ladies and best contemporary R&B album for her chart-topping I Am… Sasha Fierce, as well as best traditional R&B vocal performance for At Last.

"Wow thank you so much. This has been such an amazing night for me," Beyoncé said after collecting the best female pop vocal performance, her sixth award of the night at the Staples Centre.

However Beyoncé – who dazzled the audience with an electrifying performance – was forced to share the honours in the other blue riband categories of Record of the Year and Album of the Year.

Swift scored a stunning victory in Album of the Year for Fearless while the Kings of Leon looked as surprised as anyone else when they were named winners of Record of the Year for Use Somebody.

"Oh my god," Swift said after winning Album of the Year. "I just hope that you know how much this means to me. Oh my god.

"Our families are freaking out right now."

Swift's Fearless also won her best country album.

"I just keep thinking back to when you're in second grade and you sing at your talent show and people say 'Maybe we'll see you at the Grammys one day' and it feels like an impossible dream," the 20-year-old said. "I just feel like I'm standing here accepting an impossible dream right now."

Swift, who had received eight nominations also won for best female country vocal performance for her single White Horse and followed it up with victory in the best country song category for the same track.

Meanwhile, the Kings of Leon were wrong-footed by their Record of the Year success. "I'm not going to lie we're a little drunk, but we're happy drunk," said frontman Caleb Followill.

Elsewhere, 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, had brought the curtain up on the show in a wacky duet with legendary songwriter Elton John where the couple performed a medley of Speechless and Your Song.

Pop powerhouses the Black Eyed Peas also enjoyed 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 AR 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.

One of the most popular segments of the show was a tribute to tragic King of Pop Michael Jackson, which saw Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson and Usher give a rendition of his track Earth Song.

The performance saw the star-studded audience rise to their feet for an ovation before Jackson's two eldest children Prince Michael and Paris appeared to accept a lifetime achievement award on behalf of their late father.

Meanwhile Rihanna enjoyed a triumph of sorts after winning in the best rap/sung collaboration category for Run This Town with Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Rihanna was assaulted before last year's Grammy ceremony by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, an incident which largely overshadowed the awards.

"I just want to thank Kanye and Jay-Z for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful song," she said. (AFP)