Lady Gaga was an early winner at the 2019 Grammys, picking up three prizes, including best pop duet for Shallow.

Holding back tears, the star thanked Bradley Cooper, her co-star and director in A Star Is Born, who missed the show to attend The Baftas.

She used her speech to highlight the film’s mental health message, telling the audience: “If you see someone that’s hurting, don’t look away.”

Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and recording artist Childish Gambino also took home major awards.

Dua won best new artist – one of the night’s four main awards – becoming the first British artist to receive the honour since Sam Smith in 2015.

She thanked “all the incredible female artists” she’d been nominated with, adding: “I guess this year we’ve really stepped up.”

The comment was a dig at Grammys president Neil Portnow, who – last year – tried to deflect criticism of the lack of female winners by saying women needed to “step up” if they wanted to be considered.

He later apologised for his comments and announced a task force to tackle gender imbalance at the Grammys.

“When I found out I was pregnant, my album was not complete,” she said. “So I was like, ‘I have to get this album done so we can shoot these videos while I was not showing.'”

Obama surprise

Pop star Camila Cabello opened the ceremony with a colourful – and expensive – staging of her smash hit Havana.

“The performance is based off of my grandma’s childhood, and I have my family in the performance,” she said on the red carpet. “I definitely have severe butterflies.”

The sizzling performance also included fellow Latin performers Ricky Martin and J Balvin, as well as a full Cuban salsa band.

Dozens of awards were handed out before the televised ceremony kicked off, with The Greatest Showman, winning best soundtrack; and Childish Gambino’s incendiary, scathing attack on racial politics and gun control, This Is America, taking home best video.

Dua Lipa won her first Grammy for the Silk City collaboration Electricity, which got best dance recording. The British star is up for best new artist later in the show.

Is Quincy immortal?

At the age of 85, country star Willie Nelson won best traditional pop vocal album for My Way. He’s far from being the oldest-ever Grammy winner, though. That accolade is held by Pinetop Perkins, who won best traditional blues album in 2011, when he was 97.

Elsewhere, Quincy Jones was honoured in the best music film category, for the Netflix film Quincy.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake lead this year’s nominations, with eight and seven respectively.

They are both up for album of the year, alongside Cardi B, H.E.R., Post Malone and Janelle Monae.