WATCH: Lizzo opens Grammys, pays tribute to Kobe Bryant

(Entertainment Tonight) – After a breakthrough year, Lizzo opened the 2020 GRAMMY Awards.

The singer, who is the most-nominated artist at this year's GRAMMYs -- earning eight total nods for her album, Cuz I Love You, and several of its singles, as well as Best New Artist -- performed a medley of her hits at Sunday's show. Lizzo started with "Cuz I Love You" in a black gown and changed into a futuristic corset for a performance of "Truth Hurts" amid ballerina dancers. Lizzo, of course, played the flute during "Truth Hurts" and received a standing ovation from the audience.

Before her performance, she paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, who died on Sunday, saying, "Tonight is for Kobe."

Earlier in the day, Lizzo paid tribute to Bryant on Instagram as news of the NBA legend's death after a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday shocked the world.

It's a big night for Lizzo, who earned nods for all four of the major categories -- Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist -- alongside "Bad Guy" singer Billie Eilish, though she bested Eilish in total nominations, also earning nods for Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best R&B Performance and Best Traditional R&B Performance.

Earlier this month, Lizzo put out a call for ballet dancers that looked like her on Instagram.

Ahead of the awards show, Lizzo sat down with Rolling Stone for a candid new interview alongside her stunning cover shoot, where she opened about her struggles with body image and being accepted by the music industry. Specifically, the outlet noted, "The most consistent, painful insult, though, is that she makes music for white people, that she's merely shuckin’ and jivin' for an audience of yas kween-era white feminists."

"Yeah, there's hella white people at my shows," Lizzo defended. “What am I gonna do, turn them away? My music is for everybody."

“As a black woman, I make music for people, from an experience that is from a black woman,” she added. “I’m making music that hopefully makes other people feel good and helps me discover self-love. That message I want to go directly to black women, big black women, black trans women. Period.”