Amy Winehouse couldn't be at the Grammys in person. And neither could about 3 million viewers from last year.
Sunday's 50th anniversary show, featuring big wins for the in-absentia Winehouse, averaged 17.5 million celebrants from 8 to 11:30 p.m., Nielsen Media Research estimates said.
The ceremony, which was capped off by a surprise Album of the Year win for Herbie Hancock, actually ran until about 11:45 p.m. But ratings for the entire 225-minute marathon won't be known until Tuesday, CBS said.
If the 17.5 million stat holds, more or less, Sunday's show will go down as the least watched Grammys in two years.
Last year, a Justin Timberlake-driven ceremony averaged 20.1 million, then the show's best numbers in three years.
Sunday's Grammys appears to have done best in the 9 p.m. half hour, around the time the Foo Fighters rocked the outdoor stage. For those 30 minutes, the show averaged 20.1 million viewers.
Despite boasting a diverse and star-studded lineup, from the beamed-in Winehouse to the locked-in Kanye West, from Beyoncé and Tina Turner to Keely Smith and Kid Rock, most of the night the show had trouble fending off Ty Pennington's regular, old work crew. From 8-10 p.m., ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition averaged 15.8 million viewers to the Grammys' 19.1 million.
At least the critics didn't tune out. As if they were going to miss Winehouse, whom the show hoarded like a precious stone until the last hour of prime time.
"She was a continent away, but that didn't stop...Winehouse from being the main attraction," wrote the Baltimore Sun's Rashod D. Ollison.
Winehouse, whose status as a performer was iffy, first, because of a rehab stay, and, then, because of visa trouble, ended up appearing live, via satellite, from London.
The "Rehab" singer "didn't disappoint," wrote Variety's Brian Lowry. To the Los Angeles Times' Ann Powers, Winehouse's "drawled syllables sometimes veer[ed] uncomfortably close to blackface." But, nonetheless, the critic wrote, she "was the most exciting performer of the evening."
Winehouse, who wound up with a night-best five Grammys, including Record of the Year, dominated the show's notices which, per usual, were mixed, tending to praise the show for showcasing veteran acts, or dinging the show for showcasing too many veteran acts.
The most stinging review of all came from former Grammy winner Natalie Cole, who was quoted as griping about the Winehouse wins.
"I don't think she deserved it," Cole said. "She needs to get her life together first and then get the awards later. You don't get awarded for bad behavior."
MSNBC's Dennis Hensley suggested that the "cranky" Cole needed a hug, preferably from his pick for Grammy performer of the night, Alicia Keys.
Wrote Hensley: "I know I could use one."