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Jet, Feb 23, 2004

Beyonce ruled the 46th Annual Grammy Awards telecast, taking home five of the prestigious statuettes at ceremonies held in Los Angeles and televised on CBS.

The sexy songstress was nominated for six awards. She ties Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones and Alicia Keys for the most wins by a female in a single year. She opened the show with a red-hot performance with Prince.

Hot on Beyonce's heels was Luther Vandross, who won four awards. Vandross, still recovering from a severe stroke, was too ill to attend, but sent a video message to the crowd that said: "When I say goodbye, it's not for long." He then went on to sing a line from his hit single The Power of Love: "... because I believe in the power of love." A vocal tribute was paid to him by Alicia Keys and Celine Dion. It was hosted by Patti LaBelle.

Beyonce won in the categories of best female R&B artist for Dangerously In Lave 2; best R&B duo or group far The Closer I Get to You with Luther Vandross; best R&B song, Crazy In Love; best contemporary R&B album, Dangerously In, Love and best rap/sung collaboration, Crazy in Love with Jay-Z.

Vandross nailed the prestigious Song of the Year, a songwriter's award, for Dance With My Father, along with co-writer Richard Marx. He also was named best male R&B artist for that song, as well as best R&B duo or group for The Closer I Get to You with Beyonce. He also nabbed best R&B album.

Other multiple winners were OutKast, who won top honors in the category of Album of the Year for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. That album was also named best rap album. The hot duo also won as best urban/alternative performance for Hey Ya!

Wayne Shorter garnered two awards as well. He won as best jazz instrumental album, duo or group for Alegria and best instrumental composition for Sacajawea.

Jay-Z nabbed two awards for his collaboration with Beyonce on Crazy In Love--best R&B song and best rap/sung collaboration.

50 Cent, the top-selling artist of the past year, was totally shut out of the awards. He had been considered a shoo-in for best new artist. However, the award went to Evanescence.

When that pop group went on stage to get the award, 50 Cent took to the stage and jokingly joined them as members were making their speeches. He then went down the steps back to his seat.

Band-member Amy Lee told reporters: "I expected him to win just as he did. I think it (his taking the stage) was a statement." Other members jokingly just said that the rapper was onstage because he was a former band member.

Other Black winners included: Aretha Franklin, best traditional R&B vocal performance, Wonderful; Missy Elliott, female rap solo performance, Work It; Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee, rap performance by duo or group, Shake Ya Tailfeather; Mary J. Blige & Sting, pop collaboration with vocals, Whenever I Say Your Name; Buddy Guy, traditional blues album, vocal or instrumental, Blues Singer; Dianne Reeves, jazz vocal album, A Little Music; The Blind Boys of Alabama, traditional soul gospel, Go Tell It On the Mountain ; Donnie McClurkin, contemporary soul gospel album, Again; Bishop T.D. Jakes, gospel choir or chorus album, A Wing and a Prayer; Etta James, contemporary blues album, Let's Roll; Sean Paul, best reggae album, Dutty Rock; the Neptunes, producers of the year, non-classical; Maurice Joshua, best remixed recording, non-classical, Crazy In Love and Celia Cruz, best salsa/merengue album, Regalo Del Alma.

To ensure there were no controversial moments, CBS instituted a rarely seen 5-minute delay for the telecast.

Some of the best-received performances of the evening involved Black performers, including the Black-Eyed Peas as well as the pairing of Earth, Wind & Fire with Bootsy Collins, OutKast and George Clinton. Samuel L. Jackson introduced the performance.