Accepting the award for best R&B performance, Beyoncé thanked God and her husband, Jay Z, who appears on the track. But she made sure to thank her fans as well, with whom she keeps in constant contact through social media.

“I’d like to say thank you to my Beyhive,” she said. “Thank you guys for riding so hard.”

That sentiment of treasuring the attention of fans and all the ways to reach them was echoed by a number of stars. Miranda Lambert, accepting the prize for best country album, for “Platinum,” thanked her record label and “all the people who get it to the fans.”

Kendrick Lamar and Eminem split the four rap trophies. Mr. Lamar, a fast-rising young star who had walked away empty-handed last year, took best performance and song this year for “I.” Eminem won best rap album for “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” and shared best rap/sung collaboration with Rihanna, for “The Monster.”

No clear winner emerged in the country field, either. Besides Ms. Lambert’s prize for best album, Glen Campbell’s “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” took best song, Carrie Underwood’s “Something in the Water” won best solo performance and the Band Perry took home best duo or group performance for “Gentle on My Mind.”

In the rock categories, Jack White took best performance for his album “Lazaretto,” and the comedy-rock duo Tenacious D beat out Anthrax, Motörhead, Mastodon and Slipknot for best metal performance. Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun” won best rock song, and the singer St. Vincent’s self-titled release took best alternative album.

Chocked with 23 performances over three and a half hours, the night was a mixture of old and new. It opened with AC/DC, the indomitable Australian arena-rock stars, who — now in their 50s and 60s — strutted and duckwalked across the stage to their new song “Rock or Bust” and its 1979 hit, “Highway to Hell.”