Grammy Ratings Rise

Without "American Idol" to worry about, the Grammy Awards bounced back strongly in the ratings this year. An estimated 20.1 million people watched the Dixie Chicks take home every trophy they were eligible for Sunday night.

That's up 18 percent over last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Last year, Grammy organizers decided to go head-to-head with "American Idol" on a Wednesday night and were clobbered; the telecast's 17 million viewers represented the smallest audience in the show's history.

This year, the Grammys moved back to Sunday night. The show even gave a nod of respect to "American Idol" by holding a contest where an amateur singer had a spotlight duet with Justin Timberlake.

The Grammy audience was also up over 2005 (18.8 million), when it was competing against "Desperate Housewives" in that show's popular first season.

There were many "Granny" moments at the 49th annual awards show. Despite flashes of youth in performances by Timberlake, John Mayer and Chris Brown, the show had a definite VH1 Classics appeal, from the kickoff by the reunited Police — who were not nominated for any awards and had no purpose except to draw audiences — to the tributes that lovingly recalled the fading music industry's golden years.

Perhaps the only moment that seemed to have any cutting-edge element was the "My Grammy Moment," in which three young women vied for a spot to sing with Timberlake. The winner, 19-year-old Robyn Troup, was determined by text messages and Internet votes.