Winehouse, who performed via satellite from London, picked up awards for record and song of the year, best new artiste, best female pop vocalist and best pop vocal album for her single Rehab and the album Back to Black.

But it was Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock who won the coveted Album of the Year prize for his album River: The Joni Letters.

“It’s been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got the album of the year award,” Hancock said after beating the Foo Fighters, Vince Gill, Kanye West and Winehouse to the top award of the night.

“I’d like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this time and in doing so honor the giants upon whose shoulders I stand, some of whom like Miles Davis, John Coltrane unquestionably deserved this award,” he said.

‘Yes we can’

“This is a new day that proves that the impossible can be made possible. ‘Yes we can,’ to coin a phrase,” Hancock said, to loud applause, borrowing the campaign chant from Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Accepting her award for best record, a stunned-looking Winehouse thanked her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, currently awaiting trial, dedicating the award to “my Blake, my incarcerated Blake, and for London, this is for London”.

Winehouse, who was admitted to a drug rehabilitation clinic in Britain last month, was initially refused a US visa to travel to Los Angeles to perform at the show, and was only given the green light by US authorities on Friday.
By that point it was too late for the 24-year-old singer to make the trip to California, her publicist said.

The singer-songwriter has rarely been out of the tabloid headlines in recent months following a reported drug overdose, a string of canceled concerts and turbulent private life.

Her hit Rehab — with its lyrics They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, no, no, no — has become a signature tune for her very public battle with her demons.

Rapper Kanye West, who led nominations going into the evening with eight nods meanwhile picked up awards for best rap solo performance, group performance, best rap song and album for his Graduation.

“Mama, all I’m going to do is keep making you proud,” West said, accepting the best rap album award in tribute to his mother Donda, who died suddenly last year after undergoing plastic surgery. Among artists performing at the ceremony were rock queen Tina Turner and Beyonce, who performed a duet, blues-rock guitarist John Mayer, Kanye West, Foo Fighters and blind opera singer Andrea Bocelli.

Other icons of the music industry including Tony Bennett, Cher, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones and Ringo Starr were on hand to present awards.

Elsewhere, veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen, who was ignored in the top categories, picked up awards for best solo rock vocal performance, best rock instrumental performance and best rock song for his Radio Nowhere.

OBAMA & THE SPOKEN WORD