Eminem and Sir Elton defy protests
Sir Elton John has defied gay right activists by performing a duet with rapper Eminem, notorious for his homophobic lyrics.
The gay star had come under pressure not to take to the stage at the Grammy Awards for the duet with Eminem, because of the white rapper's reputation.
Eminem won three awards despite heavy pressure on organisers not to honour him and the night also belonged to U2, who won three Grammys at the Los Angeles ceremony.
The group won best rock performance, best song and record of the year for their single, Beautiful Day, prompting frontman Bono to call the band "the best in the world".
"This is our night," he said as he accepted the record of the year Grammy. "It is a very unusual emotion I am feeling. I think it is called humility. "It's been a humbling year, filling in the job application. What job? The best band in the world."
It was Eminem who received most attention, picking up the best rapper title, but steering clear of causing offence in his acceptance speech.
"Wow, what should I say first," he said. "I guess first of all I want to thank everybody who could look past the controversy and see the album for what it was - and what it is not."
Sir Elton performed the keyboard and backing lyrics to Eminem's hit Stan, a song about an obsessed fan who murders his pregnant girlfriend and commits suicide and stood beside him with hands joined to acknowledge applause.
Their duet included three expletives while others were cut.
The awards, the American music industry's equivalent of the Oscars, also saw Sting named best male performer and British band Radiohead named best alternative rock group. Radiohead's Kid A album was also nominated for best album, but lost out to veteran Steely Dan, whose Two Against Nature took the honour.
