IDOL LIVE predix: Carrie at the ACM Awards

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards is looking to be fairly kind to an Idol alum named Carrie Underwood. Carrie is basically the queen of the ACMs, as she has received six awards since 2006 and has been nominated nine times in all not including this year's four nominations.

Although Taylor Swift has proved to be a rival to Carrie commercially as of late, it appears that the Academy generally frowns upon crossover artists, so it probably will not be as big of a night for her as many are predicting.

See my predictions of how the night will play out below:

>Entertainer of the Year: Carrie Underwood

Carrie is the first female artist to be nominated for this category since 2000, when the Dixie Chicks went home with the honor. Considering all the things Carrie has done for country music, it would be pointless for the Academy to have nominated her if they were not going to follow through and see to it that she receives the prize. Add to this the fact that the category is fan-voted and that Carrie was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry this past year and it seems the Carrie is the only nominee that has the ability to dethrone Kenny Chesney. It's an uphill battle, but Carrie should be one happy woman by the end of the night.

>Top Female Vocalist: Carrie Underwood

There's a reason why Carrie has been the recipient of this award two years running, and that's the fact that she simply is the best female vocalist in the country genre at the moment. The only real competitor in this category is Swift, and even the Academy knows it would be a fallacy for the younger star to take home the award over Carrie. But stranger things have happened.

>Album of the Year: Troubadour, George Strait

Carnival Ride is a solid album, even more solid than Some Hearts is (and that album was victorious in this category back in 2007). But the Academy is in the mood to honor a veteran this year, and George Strait's Troubadour is the likeliest candidate for this category.

>Video of the Year: Love Story, Taylor Swift

Video of the Year is not nearly the most important category, so Carrie's "Just a Dream" can afford to lose this one. Besides, as good as that music video is, Swift's "Love Story" really is a better video overall, so the Academy will not feel bad about throwing her a bone when it knows she will lose out later in the night.

What do you all think? Share your predictions and come back here later tonight for a full post-show recap and analysis of the results. The 44th ACM Awards will air live tonight on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

ETA: Video of the Year was already announced and went to Brad Paisley's "Waitin' On a Woman." The ACMs really should update their Web site!