Melbourne-based indie singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett's fairytale journey to the Grammy Awards in LA didn't end with a win and Keith Urban didn't add to his stash of music's most-coveted trophy.
Instead, the spoils were split among other familiar faces.
Taylor Swift, the 26-year-old American hit-maker, won the Grammy for Album of the Year for 1989 over Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and Canadian singer The Weeknd's Beauty Behind The Madness.
Swift became the first woman to win Album of the Year twice.
The Mark Ronson-Bruno Mars hit Uptown Funk pipped Swift's Blank Space and Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud for Record of the Year.
Barnett, the no-frills 28-year-old, rolled up to the 58th Grammy Awards in a van and dressed in a black shirt, pants and RM Williams boots but was still given the fashion thumbs up by Vogue. She was in the running in another elite category, Best New Artist.
"I'm nervous about it, but you can't do much," Barnett told E! on the red carpet before the ceremony.
"Just sit there and see what happens."
The award bypassed Barnett and went to another American, Meghan Trainor, whose debut studio album Title featured the hit single All About That Bass.
It was a largely empty night for Australia's nominees.
Urban was trumped by Chris Stapleton for Best Country Solo Performance, West Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala fell to Alabama Shakes for Best Alternative Album, and Melbourne future-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote lost the Best R&B Performance to The Weeknd.
Brisbane's Tim Munro did prevent an Australian shut out when his Eighth Blackbird sextet won the Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
Teen heartthrobs Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran finally broke through with Grammy wins.
Bieber's collaboration with Skrillex and Diplo, Where Are U Now, claimed Best Dance Recording and Sheeran, after six nominations over the past three years, won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, both for his hit Thinking Out Loud.
There was some controversy with one of the most-anticipated performances of the three-and-a-half hour ceremony, Adele singing All I Ask, tarnished by audio problems.
Barbadian singer Rihanna abandoned her performance just before the show after a doctor ruled her out with bronchitis.
