Amy Winehouse grabs 5 Grammys, but loses album of the year

Amy Winehouse is shown on a screen as she performs via satellite from London at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. [Agencies]

Trapped half a world away by the place she promised to never "go, go, go," a vibrant, exuberant Amy Winehouse dominated the Grammys, winning five awards and delivering a defiant performance of her autobiographical hit "Rehab" via satellite from London.

Winehouse, nominated for six awards, lost the final prize at Sunday night's ceremony in a shocker when Herbie Hancock took album of the year for "River: The Joni Letters."
"You know it's been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got the album of the year award," Hancock said, then proceeded to honor "the giants upon whose shoulders I stand, some of whom like Miles Davis, John Coltrane ... unquestionably deserved the award in the past. But this is a new day, that proves that the impossible can be made possible."

For a while it seemed impossible that Winehouse would perform at all. She recently entered a drug rehabilitation center after months of erratic behavior and canceled performances, not to mention the anthemic "no, no, no" resistance of her hit song.

As the ceremony approached, suspense built over whether the British singer's drug troubles would cost her a work visa. When her visa application was rejected Thursday, Grammy producers arranged for her to perform remotely. On Friday, the U.S. government reversed itself and approved the visa, but it was too late for her to make the cross-continental trek.

So she took the stage at almost 4 a.m. London time Monday before a small cabaret audience, wearing a sly smile as she performed a sultry, soulful rendition of the hit that has defined her recent fall from grace. She looked just as coy as she sang the song "You Know I'm No Good" _ almost reveling in the irony of her words.