IDOL LIVE predix: Alums at the Grammys

It's that time of year once again when the music industry does its best to highlight the brightest spots of the previous year in music. Although the Grammys are notorious for offering up a few surprises, especially in the big" categories," it's a good bet this time around will be pretty straight forward.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will be about one young artist - Taylor Swift. Expect her to sweep in the coveted Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year categories in addition to some country and a few pop categories.

Just like last year, I'm taking a stab at how Idol alums will fare tonight. My predictions are below:

Best Pop Vocal Album: The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies)

Kelly Clarkson definitely deserves the nomination for her fourth album All I Ever Wanted, and many will argue the album deserves the win. But this category will be reserved as a place to make up for The Black Eyed Peas not taking home a statue in some of the bigger categories. Therefore, it seems likely that their multi-platinum The E.N.D. will triumph this time around. Still, many media outlets are calling this for Kelly, so there could still be some good surprises tonight.

Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Carrie Underwood, "Just A Dream"

Swift will be bringing home a whole lotta gold tonight, but the "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" category will not have her name reserved on the winner's envelope. Her "White Horse" entry was not as well-known as some of her more popular singles, and Carrie Underwood's #1 "Just a Dream" hasn't really had the chance to win her some hardware. Add to this the fact that Carrie is a perennial favorite to win at the Grammys and things look bright for her going into tonight.

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: Brad Paisley & Keith Urban, "Start a Band"

Since Carrie should be victorious in "Female Country Vocal Performance," the fact that she and Randy Travis will lose out here shouldn't be too hard to stomach. Brad Paisley and Keith Urban won for "Start a Band" at last year's Academy of Country Music Awards, and they are good bets to repeat tonight.

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: Jeremy Camp, Speaking Louder Than Before

Admittedly this category is hard for me to gauge, and even though Mandisa's Freedom is a great album, it seems unlikely that she will be recognized for this LP over the more commercially successful Speaking Louder Than Before. Therefore, it appears her record at the Grammys will be extended to 0-2.

Best Musical Show Album: David Caddick & David Lai, producers (Leonard Bernstein, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist) (New Broadway Cast with Matt Cavenaugh, Josefina Scaglione & Others), West Side Story

The last category isn't so much a referendum on the Idol alums attached to their respective entry (Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis on the 30th anniversary cast recording of Ain't Misbehavin') as it is the popularity of the shows themselves. That said, West Side Story is a classic that has always received widespread accolades, and the recent revival has been a success, so it only seems fitting it takes this category.

Even though I don't have every Idol alum nominated taking home a Grammy, I hope I'm wrong on the ones I don't have confidence in. It's always good to seem alums recognized for their work in the industry. And it'll be worth tuning in just to see Carrie and Jennifer Hudson partake in the tribute to Michael Jackson.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards air at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.