Carrie Underwood delivers touching performance, repeats at ACMs

She may not have won five of the six categories she was nominated in, but Carrie Underwood reigned supreme for the second year in a row as she took home top honors as "Entertainer of the Year" at the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Watch her history-making winning moment below:

Before she was given the good news, Carrie kicked off the live television broadcast with a group performance of with Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley and John Fogerty. Watch the performance below:



Later in the evening, Carrie received a standing ovation for her stringed-heavy performance of "Temporary Home," which almost got her crying.

Following the performance, host Reba McEntire presented her with the ACM "Triple Crown" award, which she qualified for since she has won Top New Female Vocalist, Top Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year in the past. This got Carrie on a roll with her speech, which showed the raw emotion that Carrie is known for.

She also presented the award for "Top Vocal Duo" alongside Randy Travis, which went to Brooks and Dunn in their final appearance together at the ACMs.

The ACMs took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and were broadcast live on CBS.

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52nd Annual Grammy Awards wrap-up

It wasn't the best night for Idol alums at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Although there was only one win by an Idol alum (Carrie Underwood's "I Told You So" duet with Randy Travis for the "Best Country Collaboration With Vocals" category), there was a nice showing by Carrie and Jennifer Hudson in the 3D tribute to Michael Jackson in which they sang "Earth Song" alongside Celine Dion, Usher and Smokey Robinson. Watch the performance below (and beware: you won't see much if you don't have those ridiculous 3D glasses):

As for my predictions, I went 2-5. I'm still in disbelief that Taylor Swift's "White Horse" beat out Carrie's "Just a Dream" in the "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" category. That's tragic.

Aside from the boring show itself, there were a ton of alums to go around actually at the show, many of whom appeared on the red carpet. As usual, Ryan Seacrest was on hand to do red carpet coverage for E in addition to presenting. He caught up with many including Carrie, Jennifer and Kara DioGuardi. Also in attendance was Adam Lambert, who got roasted Stephen Colbert at the beginning of the night.

All in all a very Idol-deserted affair.

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Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood among 2010 Grammy Award nominees

Tonight's Grammy Award Nomination Concert on CBS lacked any mention of anything Idol (with the exception of second-long clips of Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry singing along in a montage of The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" and a clip of Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" music video), there were a few nominations for alums of the franchise, which can be seen below:

Best Pop Vocal Album - All I Ever Wanted, Kelly Clarkson

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

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - "I Told You So," Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album - Freedom, Mandisa

Best Musical Show Album - Ain't Misbehavin' Robert Sher, producer (Various, composer; Various, lyricist) (30th Anniversary Cast Recording With Ruben Studdard, Frenchie Davis & Others)

Although there seem to be less Idol nominees this year than last, it's always good to see at least some thrown in the mix. Still, the fact that none are represented in the major categories is a little disappointing.

The 2010 Grammy Awards will air on CBS on Sun., Jan. 31, at 8 p.m. ET. A full list of nominees for all categories can be found here.

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IDOL LIVE predix: Carrie Underwood at the 2009 CMA Awards

Award shows are beginning to become old news to Carrie Underwood, as she consistently wins more categories that she's nominated than she loses at, from AMAs to ACMs and even Grammys. As she prepares to co-host the CMA Awards with fellow country star Brad Paisley for the second year in a row, Carrie looks to sweep the categories she's nominated in.

See my predictions of how Idol-related nominations will fare in tonight's live broadcast below:

>Female Vocalist of the Year

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Once again, Carrie will have no problem nabbing the coveted "Female Vocalist of the Year" award, as she continues to prove her stardom by delivering top-notch vocal performances year after year. Although Taylor Swift obviously has the public in her corner because she's country's current "it girl," her vocals do not match up to any of those belonging to her fellow nominees. The fact that Carrie has owned this award since she was first eligible in 2006 also bodes well for her chances.

>Musical Event of the Year

"Cowgirls Don't Cry" - Brooks & Dunn with Reba McEntire
"Down The Road" - Kenny Chesney with Mac McAnally
"Everything But Quits" - Lee Ann Womack with George Strait
"I Told You So" - Carrie Underwood with Randy Travis
"Old Enough" - The Raconteurs with Ricky Skaggs & Ashley Monroe
"Start a Band" - Brad Paisley with Keith Urban

This is another category in which Carrie will have to try hard to lose. Her duet on "I Told You So" with Randy Travis went to #1 on the country charts earlier this year, and the fact that the song was originally sung by Travis will greatly help their cause for taking this category. It could be argued that Paisley and Keith Urban are a competitive force with their "Start a Band," but they'll take home plenty of other awards during the course of the night so this one won't be a huge loss to them.

The 2009 CMA Awards will be broadcast on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. Carrie is slated to perform "Cowboy Casanova" and Daughtry will duet with Vince Gill on "Tennessee Line" of the band's sophomore album Leave This Town.

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Carrie Underwood performs "Temporary Home" on 'GMA'

For the second Tuesday in a row, Carrie Underwood appeared on ABC's Good Morning America, this time alongside fellow country singer Brad Paisley. The two will serve as co-hosts of the 2009 CMA Music Awards and are similarly featured on tonight's All Access Nashville special hosted by Robin Roberts at 10 p.m. ET.

Watch Carrie perform "Temporary Home" for the first time on a television below:

Carrie is nominated for "Female Vocalist of the Year" and her duet of "I Told You So" with Randy Travis is up for "Musical Event of the Year." Additionally, she will perform "Cowboy Casanova" during the broadcast, which will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

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Carrie Underwood earns two CMA Awards noms

If you consider yourself a country artist, you were a finalist at some point on Idol and your name is not Carrie Underwood, you're out of luck at the 43rd annual CMA Awards.

In announcements made earlier this morning on ABC's Good Morning America and CMT's Insider Special Edition: 2009 CMA Awards Nominations, it was revealed that Carrie received two nominations for this year's awards show, one for "Female Vocalist" and one for "Musical Event" for her single "I Told You So" featuring Randy Travis. Other than that, there were no noms doled out for any other Idol alums.

Below are the categories in which Carrie is nominated and thus what her competition will be:

Female Vocalist

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Musical Event
(Award goes to each artist.)

"Cowgirls Don't Cry"
Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire
Arista Nashville

"Down the Road"
Kenny Chesney (with Mac McAnally)
Blue Chair Records, BNA Records

"Everything But Quits"
Lee Ann Womack (duet with George Strait)
MCA Records

"I Told You So"
Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis
19 Recordings/Arista

"Old Enough"
The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe
Third Man Records, Warner Bros. Records

An interesting observation is the fact that Taylor Swift, who has had a very big year, was the first female to be nominated for Entertainer of the Year since 2000, something Carrie has never had the honor of receiving. Carrie did, however, receive a nomination and win in the category at the Academy of Country Music Awards earlier this year.

The CMA Awards will air on ABC on Wed., Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. ET, being held live at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn. Carrie will once again fulfill hosting duties alongside Brad Paisley.

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Analysis: Little Alexis faces big nerves in her exit performance

Last night's elimination episode was all about Carrie Underwood, which was probably a good thing because the results were really dull. Carrie's performance of her latest single "I Told You So" as a duet with the song's original owner, Randy Travis, was the highlight of the night. Despite the creepy feeling one gets when seeing a man twice Carrie's age sing a love song with her, the performance was one of the purest vocal showcases Carrie has ever done on the show. But obviously the Carrie of today dwarfs her 2005 counterpart before she was given the crown.

Aside from this, the night was empty of surprises, except for the fact that DialIdol was right about Alexis going home and Allison joining her in the Bottom 3. The Ford video was a little more exciting than usual, but Ryan's failed water balloon lob at Simon was unnecessary (if it even happened). Someone should find the unlucky audience member that was allegedly pegged by the errant throw. The new feature of showing the aftermath of eliminations was a nice addition but if that is what we were waiting for the "reality portions" of the show that were being hyped up, that's really sad.

Brad Paisley's performance was boring but he sounded good, while the lip-synched group performance was pointless. It will be interesting to see how Scott handles the tour considering all he seems to do is sit at the piano. If the tour is anything like it was last year, though, he should be all set because he won't have to participate in the usual group extravaganzas.

One of the only touching moments of last night's elimination round was Michael's teary story about his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter asking him why he doesn't want to live with them (Michael's family) anymore. That got the audience to put some effort into showing emotion, which is more than can be said about its reaction to Alexis' singing for her life.

Alexis is a sweet girl, but her nerves got the best of her during her performance last night (and understandably so). This whole judges' immunity thing is really weighing the suspense factor down, as we all knew Simon was merely toying with Alexis' hopes when he said they were considering using the save on her. While she was performing her heart out, the judges were probably plotting where they would go for dinner later on while in their huddle.

Still, Alexis had nothing but respect for the judges and their decision and, in keeping with her last name, was very gracious after hearing the news, saying "things happen for a reason." With Alexis gone, that leaves just three girls left in the competition, and by the looks of things, we could be down to just one female competitor by Top 6 or earlier. Season 3, anyone?

One of the more memorable moments of last night was when Simon told Ryan that he would not take back his "indulgent rubbish" critique, rather stating that Adam's performance was much worse than he originaly thought when he watched it back, which prompted the strongest response from the audience of the night.

As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, this week was another not so good one. For my original predictions I had Jasmine going home last night, and obviously she went home last week so that was just not going to happen anyway. That makes me 0-3 for my original predictions. As for my pre-results show predix, I had the right Bottom 3, but Alexis went home instead of her Bottom 2 mate, Michael. That makes me 0-3 in that bracket, but to be fair, we never really got a straight answer on who went in what order last week, so for all I know I could be 2-3. Oh well, until official word surfaces i will not give myself the benefit of the doubt.

Looking ahead to next Wednesday (Thanks a lot, President Obama), expect some predictable song choices and a whole lot of copycat performances. In other words, see Season 3's Top 10 night.

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IDOL LIVE Blog: Top 11 Results (3/18/09)

After last night's interesting performance selection, we see which finalist just couldn't tackle what the Grand Ole Opry had to offer. Fortunately, we have Carrie Underwood's performance with Randy Travis to look forward to, as well as Brad Paisley's solo performance of his new single "Then." The blogcast will begin at 9 p.m. ET and will last one hour.

Tonight's blogcast will feature music from Carrie Underwood, Elliott Yamin, Jasmine Murray, Jorge Nunez and Syesha Mercado.

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Digital sales roundup: "My Life Would Suck Without You" #6 (3/13/09)

There was a whole lot of Kelly Clarkson to go around Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart this week, as her "My Life Would Suck Without You" once again led all Idol-related tracks and seven other songs off her new studio offering All I Ever Wanted debuted on the chart, almost all of which will drop off in time for next week's chart.

"My Life" rose #9-6 thanks to the album release, with a 38% uptick selling 141.2k for the week. It has now sold a total of 1.288 million downloads. Other Kelly offerings that made appearances this week include "Already Gone" (#46, 32.4k), "If I Can't Have You" (#92, 15.8k), "I Do Not Hook Up" (#96, 14.9k), "Cry" (#112, 12.4k), "Don't Let Me Stop You" (#138, 10.5k), "All I Ever Wanted" (#181, 8.7k) and "Long Shot" (#183, 8.6k).

As hard to believe as it may be, there were other Idol alums represented on the chart. Carrie Underwood's "Home Sweet Home" saw a peachy debut at #10 with 112.2k, while her current single, "I Told You So," gained 30% with a 28-spot jump to #93, selling 15.7k for a total of 95.8k. Look for a huge increase next week thanks to the duet version of the song with Randy Travis being available and her performance of it on tonight's Idol results show.

The last debut by an Idol alum on this week's chart was Elliott Yamin's new single, "Fight For Love," which sold 9.9k for a #150 debut.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:

006 009 Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You" 141,167 38% 102,241 1,288,271
010 --- Carrie Underwood, "Home Sweet Home" 112,170 999% 0 112,170
046 --- Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 32,401 999% 0 32,401
092 --- Kelly Clarkson, "If I Can't Have You" 15,756 999% 0 15,756
093 121 Carrie Underwood, "I Told You So" 15,706 30% 12,039 95,831
096 --- Kelly Clarkson, "I Do Not Hook Up" 14,944 999% 0 14,944
112 --- Kelly Clarkson, "Cry" 12,439 999% 0 12,439
138 --- Kelly Clarkson, "Don't Let Me Stop You" 10,511 999% 0 10,511
150 --- Elliott Yamin, "Fight For Love" 9,869 999% 0 9,869
181 --- Kelly Clarkson, "All I Ever Wanted" 8,658 999% 0 8,658
183 --- Kelly Clarkson, "Long Shot" 8,636 999% 0 8,636

Total sales are in bold.

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About last night: Weird arrangements and nice surprises on GOO night

With such low expectations put in place for Grand Ole Opry night, it was hard for anything to come off seeming awful last night. That's not to say that there weren't a few near misses, though.

In what can only be described as a weird assortment of attempts at doing country music right, Matt, who took a major risk by singing a Carrie Underwood song (something no one on this show should ever do), led the 10 others with the best offering from the bunch. What helped Matt out was the stripping down of "So Small" so that it was just his soulful vocals, the piano and the song's inspirational lyrics that left an impression on the judges. Paula standing up, rocking to the song mid-performance was a head-scratcher, though (as was Simon's covering of Paula's mouth before Matt's pre-performance package was shown).

A note to Simon, though: Matt is nothing like Michael Buble. I can see the Justin Timberfake comparisons as well as the Jason Mraz ones, but I could never picture Matt singing the standards. It just wouldn't work. So no more "Matt Buble," please.

Following right behind Matt in terms of solid performances was Anoop. The positive feedback he received from the judges for his tackling of Willie Nelson's "You Were Always On My Mind" was definitely warranted and proved why he is still around after last week's disastrous performance. His smooth R&B vocals glided over the subtle string accompaniment, something that had not happened with the 'noop dawg until now.

There were again a few overrated performances, as Megan's hokey "Walkin' After Midnight" (in between coughs) was just barely listenable at best. Yes, it is true that Megan has the flu, as Paula pointed out so viciously, but that happens in real life. And this is supposed to be sort of like real life...so she might as well get used to it, suck it up and go on with the show. And Kara needs to stop with her lovefest over Megan. It's getting old really fast.

Michael and Scott were probably tied for weakest performance of the night, but Scott at least injected humor into his delivery ("we could always move the piano closer!") despite his snooze-a-thon on Martina McBride's "Wild Angels." Michael was just...there...and even though Garth Brooks was probably the perfect match for him this week, he just does not belong singing the genre.

Simon's spat with Paula during Scott's critiques was one of the highlights of last night, as Simon was 100% right about leaving Scott alone for using the piano two weeks in a row. Paula's "crutch" comment came off as being really low and tasteless, and made her look like a bigger buffoon than usual.

But the biggest WTF moment of last night was undoubtedly Adam's overtly-campy take on the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire." The middle eastern citar-tastic arrangement mixed with his gross sultry/screechy vocals was something out of an 1930s eastern European freak show, and even Kara had trouble spitting out words to describe it. Simon was right on the mark when he called it "indulgent," and Randy needs to get his ears checked if he thinks that's what Trent Reznor would sound like doing country. Don't get me wrong, though, it was mesmerizing and was the biggest spectacle of the night. The showing continues to support the idea that Adam is without a doubt a great performer. He's just not Idol material.

Alexis and Allison were both forgettable last night, with the former's "Jolene" being a far cry from Brooke White's rendition last season and the latter's "Blame It On Your Heart" was a good vocal showcase but the performance itself was lackluster. Look for the two girls to be in the danger zone tonight.

Believe it or not, Danny was one of the more overrated finalists last night. His rendition of Carrie Underwood's untouchable "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was good to a point, but seemed a little disorganized. Even though Kara's comment about wishing he had done more of the second half than the boring first half was dimwitted, so was Paula's comment about Carrie wanting to rush out and buy his version of the song. Randy probably made the most sense with his critique for once.

If there's one thing Kris showed last night, it was the notion that consistency is key to lengthening your stay on this show. Even with his guitar taking the night off he was able to show that song choice can make or break how one fares, as he picked a perfect choice of "To Make You Feel My Love." If Kris can keep this up, he might just be the dark horse in the competition.

And then there was Lil, falling far from her high and mighty perch last week. By picking "Independence Day," Lil was thinking in the right direction despite Randy's suggestion that she should have gone for the predictable "I Will Always Love You" or "How Do I Live." So she scores points for trying something new. She loses them for failing to deliver a convincing effort.

After all the surprises and weirdness of last night, it would be hard to see anyone other than Michael, Scott or Alexis leaving tonight. Look for my predictions later on this morning. In the mean time, who do you think is on their way out tonight?

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Out today: Carrie Underwood's "I Told You So"

Today marks the second Tuesday in a row that will see the release of a digital single by Carrie Underwood. Last week, Carrie's cover of Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" hit online retailers one day before it was used in Idol's results show for two farewell packages. This week, Carrie re-works her current single off Carnival Ride, "I Told You So," to include original artist Randy Travis on the chart, making it the second duet Carrie has recorded with a male country artist.

In addition to Carrie's release, another Idol champ sees a digital single release this week, as Ruben Studdard's "Together" drops today. Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:

Singles
Carrie Underwood, "I Told You So" (ft. Randy Travis)

Amazon MP3 - ($0.99) - Buy
iTunes - ($0.99) - Buy

Ruben Studdard, "Together"

Amazon MP3 - ($0.99) - Buy
iTunes - ($0.99) - Buy

Carrie will perform the single with Travis on tomorrow's results show. Travis will serve as the first celebrity mentor for the contestants this season. Idol's theme is "Grand Ole Opry" this week.

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Track review: Carrie's "I Told You So" (ft. Randy Travis)

Carrie Underwood took a gamble when she recorded her own version of Randy Travis’ 1988 country classic “I Told You So” for her sophomore album ‘Carnival Ride,’ but she took an even bigger risk when she released it as the album’s fifth single. Now, Underwood is joined by Travis on a duet of the song, signaling that the risks paid off tenfold.

The new version of the track sounds fresh despite featuring artists that have already done solo versions of the song, and Underwood’s soft, angelic vocals complement Travis’ rustic, gritty vocals perfectly. There are moments where “Told You” comes off sounding a little too much like a cut-and-paste job, but overall Underwood’s harmonies take the song places it has never been.

Even though Underwood is as commercially-friendly as country singers come, her ability to connect with the country style of yesteryear is undeniable, and proves that she could have been just as bright a star had she been around as an artist twenty years ago.

As if Carrie Underwood even needed additional “authentic country cred,” her duet with Randy Travis on “I Told You So” should keep the dissenters quiet once and for all.

Buy on iTunes.

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'Idol' Hot 100: "My Life Would Suck Without You" #9 (3/21/09)

A tiny decrease in sales and a huge increase in airplay combined to keep Kelly Clarksons' "My Life Would Suck Without You" in the Top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of March 21.

The song, which rose one spot to #9, will most likely see an even larger jump next week thanks to her album's release and a healthy plateful of promotional appearances this week.

Also advancing this week was Carrie Underwood's latest single "I Told You So," which rose #68-62. Expect one more week of modest gains until it skyrockets two weeks from now thanks to a performance on Idol and the release of the single as a duet with Randy Travis, slated for this coming Tuesday.

The last Idol-related chart entry to be revealed this week was Jennifer Hudson's "If This Isn't Love," which rose seven spots to #85.

Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:

09 10 Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You"
62 68 Carrie Underwood, "I Told You So"
85 92 Jennifer Hudson, "If This Isn't Love"

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Carrie's "I Told You So" duet with Randy Travis released next week

As previously announced, Carrie Underwood will perform her new single "I Told You So" on the results show of Idol next Wednesday. But today more details began to come to light, as a press release was sent out via her official Facebook artist page. The release read in part:

Underwood will perform her current hit single “I Told You So” with fellow Opry member Randy Travis, who will also be participating as Idol’s “Opry” mentor for the show’s contestants. Carrie’s version of this 1988 #1 classic by Travis can be found on her Carnival Ride album, and fans will soon be hearing another version on the airwaves as a new studio recording pairing Carrie and Randy arrives at country radio next week. A digital single of that recording will be available for sale at online music providers everywhere to coincide with their American Idol performance.

Meanwhile, Carrie's cover of "Home Sweet Home," which is being used as the farewell song on this season of Idol, is currently sitting at #2 on iTunes' Top 100 overall songs chart and has its sights set on #1.

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