NEWS: Grammy winners announced - Winehouse wins big

Amy Winehouse has won five Grammy Awards at this year’s 50th Grammys. Winehouse won record of the year for the autobiographical hit song Rehab, in which she recounts her reluctance to seek help for excessive drinking. The other nominees were Beyonce's Irreplaceable, the Foo Fighters' The Pretender, Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z's Umbrella, and Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around ... Comes Around.

Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock won for Album of the Year for his release River: The Joni Letters. ''I'd like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this year,'' by selecting a non pop or rock artist, said Hancock, after beating the Foo Fighters, Vince Gill, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse to the top award.

Kanye West took three trophies in the pre-telecast ceremony. West won best rap solo performance for Stronger, best rap song for Good Life and best rap performance by a duo or group for his collaboration with Common on Southside.

And Barack Obama beat both former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter to win best spoken word album for his audio version of his book The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream.

Bruce Springsteen garnered three Grammys, including best rock song for Radio Nowhere. Other early winners included the White Stripes, Justin Timberlake and Mary J. Blige, who both had two each; Carrie Underwood, the Foo Fighters and Herbie Hancock.

West was the night's leading nominee with eight nods, but Winehouse - who was not even able to attend - threatened to upstage him and everyone else on Grammy night. Winehouse was up for six awards, and won five, including album of the year for Back to Black.

In the days leading up to the ceremony, suspense was building whether the 24-year-old, whose personal life has fallen apart over the past year as her career blossomed, would be at the ceremony in any form.

She was initially rejected for a US work visa this week, but Grammy producers arranged for her to perform via telecast. Soon afterward, the US government reversed the decision and approved Winehouse, but it was too late in the week at that point to make the cross-continental trek.