Many people were disappointed to hear that Amy Winehouse was barred from entering the US after her crack-smoking caught on tape scandal and wouldn't be able to attend the Grammy Awards this Sunday. US officials were said to have made the decision to deny her a Visa. She's been clean and sober in rehab for a whole two weeks, and while that's excellent for Amy and all it's hardly enough to guarantee that she's not going to import or export anything in that big 'ol beehive.
There was news that she was going to play at the Grammys via satellite from London, and Amy even issued a statement thanking us for our support and saying she was excited for the gig. She is nominated for six Grammy Awards: record, song and performance of the year for "Rehab" and Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for "Back to Black," and Best New Artist.
Here's Amy's Statement when she assumed she would be playing via satellite:
"I'm raring to go and really excited to be performing at my first Grammy Awards," Winehouse said in a statement issued Friday. "I'd like to thank everyone for their support over the last couple of weeks. I'm really sorry I can't be there but I appreciate that I'm being given a second chance via satellite."
To prepare for the performance, the singer will be leaving the rehabilitation clinic where she has been a resident for two weeks. "She is feeling great, looking healthy and looking forward to doing what she does best," the statement said, adding that she will remain under full medical supervision and her treatment will continue as normal.
Winehouse is up for six Grammys: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Rehab," Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Back to Black, as well as Best New Artist.
A statement released Thursday by Winehouse's U.K. publicity firm, the Outside Organisation, explained the circumstances of her inability to travel to the U.S. at this time. "The singer has been invited to appear at the event on Sunday after receiving an amazing six nominations for the prestigious awards. Unfortunately, her application for a visa to enter the United States of America has been rejected at this time by the American Embassy in London."
[From MTV.com]
But now TMZ says that US customs officials have reconsidered and that Amy will be granted a Visa to attend Sunday's event. It's not known yet if she's going to jump at the chance or if she will decide to play via satellite on a London stage still. Since she said she was disappointed she couldn't go, I guess we can assume she'll attend.
We speculated that it might be too much for Amy's fragile sobriety to travel this soon since she's cleaned up, but if she has good people with her who will make sure she stays clean, it might be ok.
It could also be an experience that shows her how good life can be when you're not too messed up to experience it. She's a rare talent and has had a lot of opportunities in life. Maybe being able to play at the Grammys will help her realize just how close she was to throwing it all away.
Thanks to WENN for these pictures of Amy outside a friend's house today. She did return to rehab afterwards, and she's still looking very healthy.
UPDATE: Amy was granted a travel visa too late to attend the Grammys in person and will perform via satellite. Her rep says:
"Unfortunately, due to the logistics involved and timing complications, Amy will not be coming to the U.S. this weekend to perform at the Grammys in Los Angeles, however, she will still be performing via satellite broadcast from London as previously announced this morning."
She added that Amy is "very sad not to be attending the prestigious awards in person"
[From TMZ]
That's probably best for her health now, and at least she'll still get to perform as planned. 
