Amy Winehouse performs via satellite from London at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, California February 10. - Xinhua/Reuters

British pop singer Amy Winehouse, whose rapid decline into an abyss of drug abuse shocked fans last year, won five Grammy Awards on Sunday after taking a break from rehab to perform at the show from London.

Winehouse, 24, won the most awards at the ceremony. Her tally for the night included record and song of the year for her signature hit tune Rehab, and best new artist. Hip-hop star Kanye West, who had led the field with eight nominations going into the awards, ended up with four victories.

Winehouse's Back to Black and West's Graduation, both commercial and critical successes, were considered the front-runners for album of the year. The loss was likely a huge blow for West. The outspoken artist made his displeasure loud and clear after he lost the race with his two previous albums.

Even without the album of the year, Winehouse savored a tentative comeback. Three weeks ago she was filmed appearing to be smoking crack cocaine at a party. A little later, she entered a London rehab clinic.

Because of her drug treatment - and problems getting a US work visa - Winehouse performed Rehab and the equally personal You Know I'm No Good live via satellite from a London recording studio decorated as a cabaret.

Sporting her usual beehive bouffant and a ruffled black sleeveless mini-dress, she performed confidently, offering a few sly grins along the way.

During both tunes, she amended the lyrics to mention her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is languishing in a London prison facing serious charges related to a pub brawl.

Winehouse also won Grammys for female pop vocal solo performance for Rehab, and pop vocal album for Back to Black. With five Grammys, she ties Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and Beyonce for the most wins in a year by a female artist.

West's awards were all in the rap category: rap album for Graduation, rap solo performance (Stronger), rap performance by a duo or group with vocals (Southside), and rap song (Good Life). His career haul is 10 statuettes.

Still mourning the death of his mother, college professor Donda West who died in November after plastic surgery, West performed an emotional version of his song Hey Mama. He had also shaved the word "MAMA" into the back of his head.

In accepting the best rap album Grammy for Graduation, he declared a little too confidently that he had made the Grammys his "new place of residence".

Country singer Vince Gill provided the best laugh of the evening a little later, when Ringo Starr presented him with the country album of the year award for These Days.

"I just got an award given to me by a Beatle," he said. "Have you had that happen yet, Kanye?"

New winners in their 90s

Two bluesmen in their 90s won the first Grammys of their colorful careers on Sunday, a reminder that there's more to the music industry than fresh-faced youngsters.

Pianist Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, 94, and guitarist David "Honeyboy" Edwards, 92, won the traditional blues Grammy for their appropriately titled album Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas.

They recorded the project with Henry James Townsend and Robert Lockwood Jr, who both died in 2006. Townsend, who was 96 when he died, was represented at the ceremony by his 21-year-old son, Alonzo.

Perkins, a former sideman with Muddy Waters, was nominated in the traditional blues category with another album, Pinetop Perkins on the '88's - Live in Chicago.

Johnson, who wrote and recorded such blues staples as Crossroads and Sweet Home Chicago, is considered one of the most influential figures in rock music, with artists from Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton owing their careers to him.