The primary ceremonies were televised in the US on CBS; however, as has become the custom, most of the awards were handed out during a pre-telecast portion of the show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and broadcast on XM Satellite Radio.

The year's big winner was Amy Winehouse: the 24-year-old singer had recently entered a drug rehabilitation program and did not come to Los Angeles.

American officials initially refused her a work visa; they reversed the decision, but by then it was too late for her to make the trip from the UK.

[1] She became the fifth female solo artist to get five awards in one night, alongside Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and later, Alison Krauss, Adele and Billie Eilish.

Alicia Keys was the evening's opening musician, singing and playing piano alongside archived video and audio of Frank Sinatra.