The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. 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. Two nights prior to the show Aretha Franklin was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year. 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. 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. The golden anniversary of the Grammys and NARAS was noted in references and performances throughout this year's ceremony. Alicia Keys was the evening's opening musician, singing and playing piano alongside archived video and audio of Frank Sinatra. Other collaborative performances linking contemporary and past musicians included Beyoncé with Tina Turner, Rihanna with The Time, classical pianist Lang Lang with jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and inaugural Grammy winner Keely Smith with Kid Rock. Special recognition of the musical contributions of The Beatles also featured. The Foo Fighters won Best Rock Album and performed their nominated song "The Pretender" in a highly collaborative performance that involved a social media selection of classical musicians (the "My Grammy Moment" YouTube contest was won by violinist Ann Marie Calhoun).

Performances

Presenters

The following is a list of presenters:

Winners and nominees

Bold type indicates the winner out of the list of nominees. Multiple nominees and wins (wins/nominations)

General

Pop

Dance

Traditional Pop

Rock

Alternative

R&B

Best Contemporary R&B Album

Rap

Country

New Age

Jazz

Best Contemporary Jazz Album Best Jazz Vocal Album Best Jazz Instrumental Solo Performance Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Best Latin Jazz Album

Gospel

Latin

Blues

Folk

Reggae

World Music

Children's

Spoken Word

Comedy

Musical Show

Film, Television and Other Visual Media

Composing/Arranging

Package

Album Notes

Historical

Production, Non Classical

Production, Surround Sound

Production, Classical

Classical

Music Video

In Memoriam

Brad Delp, Boots Randolph, James B. Davis, Max Roach, Robert Goulet, Lee Hazlewood, Pimp C, Gian Carlo Menotti, Joe Zawinul, Joel Dorn, Ray Evans, Lucky Dube, Al Viola, Mstislav Rostropovich, Joel Brodsky, Hilly Kristal, Diane Ogden-Halder, Joe Hunter, Don Ho, Dan Fogelberg, Porter Wagoner, Beverly Sills, Teresa Brewer, Hy Weiss, Tom Noonan, Bobby Byrd, Tommy Makem, John Stewart, Arthur Shimkin, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Clyde Otis, Luther Ingram, Hank Thompson, Ike Turner, Oscar Peterson and Luciano Pavarotti.