LOS ANGELES - The Grammy Awards wasn’t just about the music Sunday night. The show opened with a dedication to basketball icon Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter accident earlier in the day and whose Los Angeles Lakers team has its home at the city’s Staples Center and Grammy venue.

“We are literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” said Grammy show host Alicia Keys. “We never imagined in a million years we’d have to start the show like this.”

Ms. Keys and Boyz II Men sang a heartfelt tribute to Mr. Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and the seven others souls lost in the crash with an a cappella rendition of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.”

The awards show also ended a tumultuous week for the Recording Academy that included its ousted chief executive officer accusing the Grammy nominations process of being rigged and Sean “Diddy” Combs calling out the organization for not giving enough respect to R&B and hip-hop.

R&B star Lizzo won three of her eight nominations, while country rapper Lil Nas X took home two for his viral “Old Town Road” collaboration with country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.

Lil Nas X, 20, wearing a cowboy hat and silver lure suit, and Mr. Cyrus dazzled the house with a kitschy performance of the song, with contributions from stars ranging from K-Pop band BTS to young yodeler Mason Ramsey.

“He told the world he was gay and, overnight, he became an inspiration and a role model for hundreds of young people around the world,” comedian Ellen DeGeneres said as she introduced Lil Nas X.

Rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was slain in March of last year, won two posthumous Grammy Awards and was remembered during a tribute medley that had audience members on their feet, dancing and in tears.

Nipsey, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, was shot multiple times on March 31, 2019, outside his Marathon Clothing store in South Los Angeles.

On Sunday, he won Best Rap/Sung Performance for his feature in DJ Khaled’s “Higher” and Best Rap Performance for “Racks in the Middle,” which was released a few weeks before his death and features Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy.

DJ Khaled and John Legend, who was also featured on “Higher,” took the stage to accept the award alongside members of Nipsey’s family just a few minutes after performing the song in a tribute to the 33-year-old rapper.

DJ Khaled and Mr. Legend both dedicated the award to Mr. Nipsey.

“We all love him, we all miss him. It is terrible that we had to lose him so early,” Mr. Legend said. “Thank you for allowing us to use his legacy and lift it up in song tonight.”

Mr. Legend, DJ Khaled and rapper Meek Mill led the tribute performance, which included Nipsey’s voice in the background music video of “Higher.” As plumes of fire lit up the stage, energetic backup dancers dressed in white gold-trimmed robes drew the audience to their feet.

“Long live Nip. Long live Kobe,” DJ Khaled said at the conclusion of the tribute.

The performers turned to the back of the stage and pointed at projected images of Nipsey and Mr. Bryant, the 41-year-old Los Angeles basketball legend.

Gospel legend Kirk Franklin received his 14th and 15th career Grammys, while former First Lady Michelle Obama won a Grammy for best spoken word album for the audiobook recording of her best-selling memoir, “Becoming.”

While Mrs. Obama wasn’t at the show to collect her award, presenter Esperanza Spalding, who won for best jazz vocal album, said she would “gladly accept on her behalf.”

This is the third Grammy for the Obama family. Mrs. Obama’s husband, former President Barack Obama, has two Grammy Awards in the spoken word album category for his memoirs, “Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope,” won in 2006 and 2008.

Teen sensation Billie Eilish swept the Grammy Awards, winning all four top prizes — song of the year, record of the year, album of the year and best new artist — in a rare feat at the music industry’s highest honors.

Ms. Eilish, an 18-year-old newcomer with a unique sound, won for her debut studio album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” while her hit single, “Bad Guy,” was named record of the year and song of the year.

In all, she took home five awards. She is only the second person — and the youngest — to win all four top Grammys on the same night since Christopher Cross in 1981.

Ms. Eilish, distinguished by her green hair and baggy clothes, recorded the album with her older brother, Finneas O’Connell, in the bedroom of their Los Angeles home. Mr. O’Connell also won

Grammy Awards for engineering and producing the album. They seemed taken aback by their Grammy haul, which saw them triumph over established stars including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and rapper Post Malone.

“We didn’t make this album to win a Grammy. We wrote about depression and suicidal thoughts and environmental change,” Finneas said as the pair accepted the awards. “We stand up here confused and grateful.”

Blake Shelton and his fiancee Gwen Stefani held hands as they debuted their new romantic duet “Nobody But You,” while Camila Cabello sang her recent single “First Man” to her tearful father in the audience.

Demi Lovato received a standing ovation in her first performance at a major awards show since a drug overdose in 2018. The Grammy winners are chosen by members of the Recording Academy, which is currently embroiled in a dispute over the departure of its new chief executive officer, Deborah Dugan, and her allegations of conflicts of interest in the nominations process.

The Recording Academy has denied the allegations.