Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol contestants extended their streak to five straight years with at least one Grammy award earlier this evening.

Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis won the Grammy for Best Country Collaboration for their duet “I Told You So,” first performed on American Idol, if I recall correctly.

But Carrie failed to win her fourth straight Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance because of … guess who? That’s right, Taylor Swift. She won the award for “White Horse.”

Idols also missed out on a couple of other Grammys.

The Grammy for Best Musical Show Album went to “West Side Story.” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” featuring vocals by Ruben Studdard and Trenyce, was among the other nominees.

And the Grammy for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album went to The Power of One by Israel Houghton. “Freedom” by Mandisa was among the other nominees.

The means the only Idol Grammy we haven’t heard about is Best Pop Album Vocal, where Kelly Clarkson is nominated.

OK, even that suspense is over. I just saw an Associated Press caption indicating the Grammy for best pop album went to the Black Eyed Peas for “The E.N.D.”

Oh, well, at least Idol got one Grammy. That’s four years in a row for Carrie. Pretty impressive, huh? And, next year, Taylor Swift might not have an album to compete against.

A photo gallery from the Grammy show follows. All photos come from The Associated Press. For a red carpet photo gallery, go here. For a photo of the pre-Grammy party hosted by Clive Davis and featuring performances from Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Ke$ha, go here.

Meanwhile, my take on Grammy highlights and lowlights …

Favorite performances: Lady Gaga’s show-starting piano duet with Elton John. Did you check out that piano? If not, there are pics below. Which might later have been topped by Taylor Swift’s duet with Stevie Nicks. Nice to see Stevie on the Grammy stage.

Worst performance: Eminem, Drake and Lil Wayne and a performance that was so bleeped out, it was just pointless. I mean, really, if the audience at home can’t hear half the song, why bother?

Strangest performance: Hey, I enjoyed the music. I loved the energy. But there was so much going on during the Black Eyed Peas’ Grammy performance, I had trouble keeping up, especially while posting photos to my laptop. Seemed like they were trying to out-strange Gaga, a gigantic task indeed.

Most touching moment: The on-stage appearance of Michael Jackson’s children, who spoke of their dad while accepting a lifetime achievement Grammy.

Biggest disappointment: That Lady Gaga didn’t win a single pre-time Grammy, giving us a chance to gawk at yet another of her incredible outfits. But, hey, check out she was wearing backstage after the show in the photos below.

Simply deserving: Taylor Swift. I mean, what a year she’s had. Her album is still at the top of the country charts. It’s number 10 on the Billboard 200 — 63 weeks after its release. She wrote or co-wrote every song on it. She’s the sole writer on the singles “Fifteen” and “Love Story.” Like I said, simply deserving.

Disagree? Feel free to comment below.
Go to the bottom of this blog for a complete list of the major winners.

Winners of major awards at the Grammys

Record of the Year: “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon

Album of the Year: “Fearless,” Taylor Swift

Song of the Year: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On it),” Beyonce Knowles

New Artist: Zac Brown Band

Pop Vocal Album: “The E.N.D.”, The Black Eyed Peas

Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Halo,” Beyonce Knowles

Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Make It Mine,” Jason Mraz

Rock Album: “21st Century Breakdown,” Green Day

Rock Song: “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon

R&B Album: “BLACKsummers’night, “Maxwell

R&B Song: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Beyonce Knowles

Rap Album: “Relapse,” Eminem

Rap Song: “Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West

Country Album: “Fearless,” Taylor Swift

Female Country Vocal Performance: “White Horse,” Taylor Swift

Male Country Vocal Performance: “Sweet Thing,” Keith Urban,

Latin Pop Album: “Sin Frenos,” La Quinta Estacion

Contemporary Jazz Album: “75,” Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate

Classical Album: “Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio from Symphony No. 10”

Traditional Gospel Album: “Oh Happy Day,” various artists

Dance Recording: “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga

Electronic Dance Album: “The Fame,” Lady Gaga

Alternative Music Album: “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” Phoenix

Spoken Word Album: “Always Looking Up,” Michael J. Fox

Comedy Album: “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” Stephen Colbert