The superstar is the first Black woman to take the prize this century, and the fourth in Grammy history. It was her fifth nomination for the show’s top award.

Every time someone presented one of the show’s major prizes — album of the year, record of the year, song of the year, best new artist — he or she rattled off the line before revealing the winner. It was a small but telling detail that demonstrated how the academy wants to be perceived after years of being portrayed as a shadowy record-industry cabal.