Emotional Grammy night for Jennifer Hudson

It was a night at the Grammys they won’t soon forget. But not for the reasons you might expect. The recording industry gathered to honor its best, only to have it overshadowed by legal troubles for one young star.

On stage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, it was a big night for the unlikely duo of rock legend Robert Plant and bluegrass maven Alison Krauss. They won five grammys including album of the year for “Raising sand.“

Grammy winner Robert Plant said “this is the most remarkable liason that I’ve been involved in.“

Among the night’s other winners, rapper Lil Wayne, nominated for 8 awards. He walked away with 4 including rap album of the year for “Tha’ Carter III.“

But back-stage talk turned to hip hop artist Chris Brown and his girlfriend, pop-star Rhianna.

Former Grammy winner Herbie Hancock said “there’s so much negative stuff that’s happening in the industry.“

Just 90 minutes before the show began, Los Angeles police said they were investigating Brown for felony battery for an alleged attack that took place late Saturday night.

Singer Paula Abdul said “if it’s true that there was some kind of domestic kinda something, that’s not good.“

Chris Brown was a no show here on the Grammys’ red carpet and less than an hour before the show hit the air, word came from that Rihanna had dropped out of her scheduled performance but no reason was given.

Neil Portnow, the president and CEO of The Recording Academy, said “I’m sorry that they weren’t there for their moment on stage. I think that is the thing that’s most unfortunate.“

Brown who was set to perform last night instead turned himself into police was booked on a charge of making criminal threats and released on $50,000 bail.

Back at the show, the emotional high point of the night came from Jennifer Hudson. She won the Grammy for best R&B album, four months after the murders of her mother, brother and nephew.

Minutes later, her feelings poured out in a performance.

Grammy winner Carrie Underwood said “it’s so amazing to see her get on stage and have that healing process, you see it right in front of you. I hope that continues.“

Another one of the night’s winner was British singer Adele. She took best new artist.