Lady Gaga wins 3 Grammys, Michelle Obama makes appearance

The Grammy Awards kicked off Sunday with a group of powerful women, including Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga, describing the role of music in their lives — a display that came a year after female voices were somewhat muted at the 2018 ceremony.

Alicia Keys, left, kisses Michelle Obama at the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. [Photo:AP/Matt Sayles/Invision]

"Music has always helped me tell my story," Obama said at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. "Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves. It allows us to hear one another."

Gaga said music helped to shape her identity. "They said I was weird, that my look, that my choices, that my sound wouldn't work. But music told me not to listen to them."

Lady Gaga accepts the award for best pop duo or group performance for "Shallow" at the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. [Photo: AP]

This year, Gaga, Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves won multiple Grammys.

Carlile won three honors in the Americana category.

Gaga also won three, including best pop duo/group performance, a win she shared with Bradley Cooper.

"Thank you so much. I got to thank God, thank you for looking out for me. Thank you for my family," she said. "I wish Bradley was here with me right now."

Gaga, now a nine-time Grammy winner, won best pop solo performance for "Joanne," while hit song "Shallow," from "A Star is Born" was named best song written for visual media. The song is nominated for an Oscar and also won at the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Movie Awards and the Satellite Awards.

Women have a strong presence in the top categories. Five of the eight album-of-the-year nominees are women, including Carlile's "By the Way, I Forgive You," Janelle Monae's "Dirty Computer," Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy," Musgraves' "Golden Hour," and H.E.R.'s self-titled album.

Six of the best-new-artist nominees are women, including H.E.R., Chloe x Halle, Margo Price, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha and Jorja Smith.

Ariana Grande won her first Grammy in the same week that she publicly blasted Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich and accused him of lying about why she was no longer performing at the show.

"I know I'm not there tonight and I know I said I try not to put too much weight into these things. this is wild and beautiful. Thank you so much," she tweeted after learning about her win.

Camila Cabello kicked off the show with a performance featuring J Balvin, Ricky Martin and Young Thug.

Others set to perform Sunday included Cardi B, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Diana Ross, Dan + Shay, H.E.R., Little Big Town, Post Malone and Chloe x Halle. Yolanda Adams, Fantasia and Andra Day will honor the late Aretha Franklin with a performance.

(Story includes material sourced from AP.)