Kelly Clarkson is the big winner

Kelly Clarkson is a big winner at the 48th Grammy Awards. Clarkson won for Female Pop Vocal Performance for Since U Been Gone and Pop Vocal Album for Breakaway besting Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow and Mariah Carey. She was appropriately surprised and in tears. All well and good but I didn’t hear her say thank you to American Idol. That was not nice of her.

I grant that the show may not have had any hand in the making of her album but these were her first big wins and she would not have been the big star she is today if not for Idol. Had a local artist done this around here, she would have gotten a hefty verbal beating from the media for being without utang na loob. I do hope that Idol judge Simon Cowell takes Clarkson to task again for this lapse or to put her head on in the right place or back to the right size.

I read somewhere that Cowell talked to Clarkson about her decision not to allow Idol contestants to sing her songs in the show. What nerve! There must be something wrong with the mind of this girl if she really did that. She seems to have forgotten that she also sang songs by other singers while growing up and later when she competed in Idol. She will not be holding those Grammys had those singers refused to allow her to sing their songs.

This makes me truly glad that the big winner was a generous soul like Bono and the guys of U2. They got five trophies for Album of the Year and Rock Album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, Song of the Year and Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own, and Rock Song, City of Blinding Lights.

Mariah Carey got three out of her eight nominations, Female R&B Performance and R&B Song, We Belong Together, and Contemporary R&B Album, The Emancipation of Mimi. These were her first Grammy wins in over a decade but were unfortunately given off camera. So we didn’t see Mariah accept them on stage. But she did give a showstopping rendition of her winning song during the show.

A sensation on the stage and on the green carpet was Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher in a see-through lace gown in rich plum. Guess who joined her as presentor. None other but first-time nominee Michael Bublé who has come to his own as a recording star. Also drop-dead gorgeous was Alicia Keys in black with a deep V neckline front and back and a long slit in front. Also gorgeous was her voice in an impromptu duet with winner, Stevie Wonder as Male Pop Vocal Performance for From the Bottom of My Heart.

Here are some of the other winners:

Record of the Year: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day.

New Artist: John Legend.

Pop Duo or Group Vocal: This Love by Maroon5

Pop Collaboration Vocals: Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul.

Pop Instrumental: Caravan by Les Paul.

Pop Instrumental Album: At This Time by Burt Bacharach

Dance Recording: Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers featuring Q-Tip.

Electronic Dance Album: Push the Button by The Chemical Brothers.

Traditional Pop Vocal Album: The Art of Romance by Tony Bennett.

Solo Rock Vocal: Devils & Dust by Bruce Springsteen

Hard Rock Vocal: B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down.

Metal Vocal: Before I Forget by Slipknot.

Rock Instrumental: 69 Freedom Special by Les Paul and Friends.

Alternative Music Album: Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes.

Male R&B Vocal: Ordinary People by John Legend.

R&B Duo or Group Vocal: So Amazing by Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder.

Traditional R&B Vocal: A House is Not a Home by Aretha Franklin.

Urban/Alternative Vocal: Welcome to Jamrock by Damian Marley.

R&B Song: We Belong Together by Mariah Carey.

R&B Album: Get Lifted by John Legend.

Rap Solo: Gold Digger by Kanye West.

Rap Duo or Group: Don’t Phunk with My Heart by The Black Eyed Peas.

Rap/Sung Collaboration: Numb/Encore by Jay-Z featuring Linkin Park.

Rap Song: Diamonds from Sierra Leone by Kanye West.

Rap Album: Late Registration by Kanye West.

Contemporary Jazz Album: The Way Up by Pat Metheny Group.

Jazz Vocal: Good Night and Good Luck by Dianne Reeves.

Jazz Instrumental Solo: Why Was I Born? by Sonny Rollins.

Jazz Instrumental Album: Beyond the Sound Barrier by Wayne Shorter Quartet.

Instrumental Composition: Into the Light by Billy Childs.

Short Form Music Video: Lose Control by Missy Elliott featuring Ciara and Fat Man Scoop.

Long Form Music Video of more than one song or track: No Direction Home with Bob Dylan.

This year’s Grammys was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last Wednesday evening, Feb. 8. Thanks to Star World we got to watch the event live on Thursday morning. Admittedly, there are a lot of times when I felt guilty about listening to and writing about foreign records but all I could think of while watching the show was how much the Americans and I might as well add, the Brits have perfected the art of creating pop music.

From that incredible opening that had Madonna with the virtual reality group Gorillaz down to that fantastic duet of U2 and Mary J. Blige plus performances by Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey and others, the Grammy Awards was a wonderful showcase of all that is great about recorded music.

Incidentally, 21 of this year’s top nominees are included in the Grammy 2006 Nominees album. I know people who have collected these albums through the years and I’m sure they will not want to miss out on this one. Included are tracks by Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Mariah Carey, Green Day, Stevie Wonder and Kelly Clarkson.