WINNER

WINNER
Carrie Underwood takes Grammy for best new artist
By George Lang
Assistant Entertainment Editor

The hits — and awards — just keep on coming for Carrie Underwood.

The Checotah native can now add golden gramophones to her armfuls of awards, having been officially recognized for what many of her home state fans already considered her to be: best new artist.

During Sunday's live telecast of the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on KWTV NEWS9, Underwood won a Best New Artist award and a Female Country Vocal Performance award for her hit single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

The Best New Artist award recognized the quality and critical success of her 2005 debut compact disc, "Some Hearts.” In her acceptance speech, the 23-year-old Underwood, who performed Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane” with Rascal Flatts before receiving the statuette, thanked everyone who had helped in the production of "Some Hearts,” including the creator of the popular talent show "American Idol,” which Underwood won in 2005.

"This is absolutely unbelievable,” Underwood said. "I love country music, first of all. There's so many people to thank — I'm going to start at the top: Thank you, God; thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you, Simon Fuller, who created the show, ‘American Idol,' that got me here. I owe everything to Simon Fuller and 19 (Entertainment). Anybody that had anything to do with this album and the blessed year that I've had, thank you so much.”

In addition to Underwood, fellow Oklahomans The Flaming Lips and Vince Gill won at the awards, taking home statuettes in the country, rock and production categories.

In awards given before the ceremony at Los Angeles' Staples Center, Oklahoma City's The Flaming Lips received recognition in two of the alternative rock band's three nominated categories.

The band shared an award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical with producer Dave Fridmann for their 2006 compact disc, "At War with the Mystics,” and won Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "The Wizard Take On.” The Flaming Lips previously won an award in that category for "Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)” from the group's 2002 CD, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.”

In addition, Oklahoma City-born Vince Gill won Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "The Reason Why.” In the songwriting categories, Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson won a Best Country Song award for writing Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

Notable performances at Sunday's ceremony included the reunited '80s new wave band, The Police, playing "Roxanne” in the group's first public performance in over two decades.

During tribute performances in honor of Don Henley and Western swing legend Bob Wills, Rascal Flatts performed Eagles' "Hotel California” and Underwood sang Wills' "San Antonio Rose” and Eagles' "Desperado.”