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The Dixie Chicks were the big winners at
Grammy Awards, Sunday. The singers earned five Grammys -- the highest
American music industry honors. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Los Angeles,
the evening marked a career comeback for the trio.
The
Dixie Chicks had a career slump after lead singer Natalie Maines
criticized President Bush on the eve of the war in Iraq and upset many of
the group's fans. Their defiant comeback album "Taking the Long Way" was
named album of the year and best country album and the song "Not Ready to
Make Nice" earned Grammys for record of the year, song of the year, and
best country performance by a duo or group.
After nearly four years of criticism, and some country radio stations
refusing to play their music, band member Marty Maguire told reporters the
win feels good. She said the album told a story.
"Great music comes from inspiration and what happened to us really
drove us to make an album that said a lot, and I think people kind of
linked into that because it was a story and it was something beyond the
music. It was not just songs," she said.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers earned four Grammys, including best rock
album for "Stadium Arcadium," and best rock song, and best rock vocal by a
duo or group, for the song "Dani California."
Singer Mary J. Blige earned Grammys for best rhythm and blues album for
"The Breakthrough," and best female R & B performance for the song "Be
Without You." The track was also named best R & B song, an award that
Blige, as co-writer, shared with the other writers.
Carrie Underwood was named best new artist, and earned a Grammy for
best female vocal country performance for her hit song "Jesus, Take the
Wheel."
The singer from Checotah, Oklahoma, soared to stardom after appearing
on the talent show "American Idol." She says she knows there are other
artists waiting to be discovered.
"There are so many people that
just have huge dreams," she said. "They just don't know what to do about
them. And, I am living proof that it is possible from being a big nobody
in a little town and having huge dreams to going up on stage and winning
Grammys."
An industry veteran, singer Tony Bennett, earned a Grammy for his
collaborative pop album "Duets," and earned another with Stevie Wonder for
their joint rendition of "For Once in My Life." | 
