Winehouse, the troubled British retro-soul singer, took home five trophies, including new artist and best song for her stubbornly defiant "Rehab." West, the self-confident Chicago rapper, won four awards, including best rap album for Graduation.
In accepting that trophy, West - who had the word "Mama" stenciled into the back of his hair in honor of his mother, Donda, who died unexpectedly in December - said, "All I'm gonna do is keep making you proud. We run this!"
West chastened Grammy producers for starting the exit music before he finished his short speech, and cheekily said that Winehouse and her producer Mark Ronson deserved the album of the year honor "as much as I do. I deserve it too."
Neither Winehouse's nor West's success was a surprise. West had topped the nomination list with eight, while Winehouse – who performed via satellite from London - rated second with six nominations.
Fully beehived, tattooed and mascaraed in a fluffy black minidress, Winehouse appeared nervous and unsteady, but downright healthy compared with the absolute wreck she presented on a recent videotape that seemed to show her smoking crack. She performed from London because she was initially denied a U.S. visa last week, then was granted one too late for travel.
She sang the spooky "You Know I'm No Good," as well as "Rehab," altering the lyrics to drop the name of her jailed husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, into both songs.
