Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood
Underwood at the 2019 American Music Awards
Background information
Birth name	Carrie Marie Underwood
Born	(1983-03-10) March 10, 1983 (age 41) Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genres	Country country pop gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Discography	Discography songs
Years active	2004–present
Labels	19 Arista Arista Nashville Capitol Nashville
Spouse(s)	Mike Fisher ​ (m. 2010)​
Website	carrieunderwoodofficial.com

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983)^[1] is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.

She achieved the second best-selling release by a woman in 2012 and won a Grammy Award with her fourth album, Blown Away (2012). Her compilation Greatest Hits: Decade #1 (2014) spawned the crossover single "Something in the Water". Her fifth studio album, Storyteller (2015), made her the only country artist to have all first five studio albums reach either numbers one or two on the Billboard 200 chart. With her sixth album, Cry Pretty (2018), she became the only woman to top the Billboard 200 with four country albums and had the biggest week for any album by a woman in 2018. She released her first Christmas project, My Gift, in 2020, and first gospel collection, My Savior, in 2021. Her 2022 studio album, Denim & Rhinestones, marked a return to her country pop sound.

Underwood has sold 85 million records worldwide. She is the tenth highest-certified female artist and the highest-certified female country artist of all time on the RIAA's Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking, also being the female artist with the most number-one entries (16) on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 17 American Music Awards, five Guinness World Records and inductions into the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry. Billboard ranked her the top female country artist of the 2000s and 2010s, and Some Hearts the top country album of the 2000s. Rolling Stone applauded her as "the female vocalist of her generation in any genre", Time listed her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014 and Forbes declared her the most successful American Idol winner. Outside of music, Underwood has ventured into fashion and writing, releasing her fitness clothing line CALIA by Carrie in 2015 and the New York Times best-selling fitness and lifestyle book Find Your Path in 2020.

Early life[edit]

Carrie Marie Underwood was born on March 10, 1983,^[2][3] in Muskogee, Oklahoma, to Carole (née Shatswell) and Steve Underwood.^[4] She has two older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie,^[5] and was raised on her parents' farm in the nearby rural town of Checotah.^[6] Her father worked in a paper mill while her mother taught elementary school.^[7] During her childhood, Underwood performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show, and sang at her local church, First Free Will Baptist Church.^[8] She later sang for local events in Checotah, including Old Settler's Day and the Lions Club.^[9]

A local admirer arranged for her to go to Nashville when she was 14 to audition for Capitol Records.^[10] In 1997, Capitol Records was preparing a contract for Underwood but canceled it when company management changed. Underwood said of the event, "I honestly think it's a lot better that nothing came out of it now, because I wouldn't have been ready then. Everything has a way of working out."^[11]

While at Checotah High School, she was an Honor Society member, a cheerleader, and played basketball and softball.^[12] Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian.^[9] She did not initially pursue singing after graduation and once said "After high school, I pretty much gave up on the dream of singing. I had reached a point in my life where I had to be practical and prepare for my future in the 'real world'".^[12]

She attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, graduating magna cum laude, in 2006, with a bachelor's degree in mass communication and an emphasis in journalism.^[13] She spent part of one of her summers as a page for Oklahoma State Representative Bobby Frame.^[14] She also waited tables at a pizzeria, worked at a zoo, and worked at a veterinary clinic.^[12] Underwood is an alumna of the Alpha Iota chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.^[15]

For two summers, she performed in Northeastern State University's Downtown Country show in Tahlequah. She competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004.^[16]

Career[edit]

2004–2005: American Idol[edit]

In mid-2004, Underwood auditioned for American Idol in St. Louis, Missouri, singing Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". After she sang "Could've Been" by Tiffany on the top 12 girls night, judge Simon Cowell commented that she would be one of the favorites to win the competition.^[17][18] During the top 11 finalists' performance on the March 22, 2005, Idol episode, Underwood sang a rendition of the number one 1980s rock hit "Alone", made famous by Heart, and Cowell predicted that Underwood would not only win the competition, but she would also outsell all previous Idol winners.^[19] One of the show's producers later said she dominated the voting, winning every week by a large margin.^[20][21] On May 25, 2005, Underwood became the season four winner. Her winnings included a recording contract worth at least a million dollars, use of a private jet for a year, and a Ford Mustang convertible.^[22]

2005–2007: Some Hearts and breakthrough[edit]

Underwood's music career began with the release of her first single, "Inside Your Heaven", on June 14, 2005. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, with Underwood becoming only the third artist to debut in the top slot since chart policy changed in 1998.^[23] She also broke Billboard chart history as the first country music artist ever to debut at number one on the Hot 100 and the song became the first song from a country artist to go to number one on the Hot 100 since country group Lonestar's "Amazed" did so in 2000.^[24] "Inside Your Heaven" is the only single by a solo country artist in the decade of 2000–2009 to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[25] It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Pop 100 and on the Canadian Singles Chart, topping it for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the longest-running number one single of 2005 in Canada. It sold nearly one million copies and was certified gold by the RIAA and double platinum by the CRIA.^[26][27]

Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts, was released on November 15, 2005, entering the Billboard charts with 315,000 copies sold, debuting at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums and at number two on the Billboard 200.^[28] The large first week sales of Some Hearts made it the biggest debut of any country artist since the advent of the SoundScan system in 1991.^[29] Some Hearts became the best-selling album of 2006 in all genres in the United States.^[30] The album was also the best-selling country album of both 2006 and 2007, making Underwood the first female artist in Billboard history to earn back-to-back honors for Top Country Album.^[31] Additionally, it was the best-selling female country album of 2005, 2006, and 2007.^[32] Some Hearts has since become the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan era,^[33][34] the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history,^[35] the best-selling Country album of the last 14 years,^[36] and the best-selling album by an American Idol alumni in the US.^[37] The album is certified nine times platinum by the RIAA, the highest album certification of any country artist to emerge since 2000.^[38]

The album's second single,^[39] "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was released to radio in October and later peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, topping it for six consecutive weeks, and at number twenty on the Hot 100.^[40] The song sold over two million copies and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.^[41] Underwood's third single, "Some Hearts", was also released in October, but exclusively to pop radio, peaking in the top thirty of the adult contemporary charts. "Don't Forget to Remember Me", her fourth single, also proved successful, reaching number two on the Hot Country Songs chart. Later that autumn, Underwood's third country single,^[39] "Before He Cheats", hit number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, staying there for five consecutive weeks.^[42] The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, achieving the slowest climb ever to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record that was previously held by Creed from July 2000.^[43] In February 2008, when it was certified double Platinum, "Before He Cheats" became the first country song to ever be certified multi-platinum.^[44] It has now been certified five times Platinum, selling more than four million copies, and is the fourth best-selling country digital song of all time.^[26][45] On April 11, 2007, Underwood continued her streak of top Country singles with the release of "Wasted", which peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, sold more than one million copies and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.^[46] In August 2008, the "Jesus, Take the Wheel" ringtone was reported to have been certified Platinum, making Underwood the first country artist ever to have two songs hit Platinum Mastertone status together with "Before He Cheats", which had been certified earlier in 2007.^[47] Underwood started her first headlined tour, Carrie Underwood: Live 2006, with dates across North America, in April 2006.

At the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, her hit song "Inside Your Heaven" won the coveted Top-Selling Hot 100 Song of the Year award and also Top-Selling Country Single of the Year award, and she won Country Single Sales Artist of the Year.^[48] At the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards, she won Top New Female Vocalist and Single of the Year, for "Jesus, Take the Wheel".^[49] At the 2006 Country Music Association Awards, she won both the Horizon Award (now New Artist of the Year) and Female Vocalist of the Year.^[50] At the 2006 CMT Awards, Underwood won both the Breakthrough Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for "Jesus, Take The Wheel".^[51] She later won the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the American Music Awards, and was also nominated for Favorite Female Country Artist.^[52] She won five awards at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards that December, including the coveted Album of the Year, Top 200 Female Artist of the Year, Female Country Artist, New Country Artist, and Country Album of the Year.^[53] That year, Underwood also won a Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award for Country Recorded Song of the Year, for "Jesus, Take The Wheel".^[54] At the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2007, Underwood won Album of the Year, Video of the Year, and Female Vocalist of the Year.^[55] She was nominated for "World's Best Selling New Artist" at the 2006 World Music Awards. At the 2007 CMT Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 16, Underwood's "Before He Cheats" won three awards, including Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, and Video Director of the Year.^[56] Underwood won two awards at the 2007 Country Music Association Awards: Female Vocalist of the Year, for the second consecutive time, and Single Record of the Year, for "Before He Cheats".^[57]

In 2007, at the 49th Grammy Awards, Some Hearts received four Grammy nominations and Underwood won her first two Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Jesus, Take the Wheel.^[58] By winning the Best New Artist Grammy Award, Underwood became only the second country artist to ever win the award in the 56-year history of the Grammy Awards, following LeAnn Rimes (1997).^[59] She sang the Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane" alongside Grammy nominees Rascal Flatts. She also sang the Eagles' "Desperado" to honor Don Henley of The Eagles. She also paid tribute to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys by performing "New San Antonio Rose". At the 50th Grammy Awards, in 2008, Underwood was nominated for two more Grammys: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for "Before He Cheats" and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, for "Oh, Love" a duet with Brad Paisley. She won one Grammy Award that night, for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and performed "Before He Cheats" at the ceremony.^[60]

In December 2005, Underwood was named Oklahoman of the Year by Oklahoma Today.^[61] In December 2006, Underwood joined Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, and Josh Groban to sing "For Once in My Life" on The Oprah Winfrey Show.^[62] That same month, she paid tribute to Dolly Parton, by singing "Islands in the Stream" with Kenny Rogers (originally by Parton and Rogers) at the Kennedy Center Honors, which honored Parton that year.^[63] Underwood performed with the USO Christmas Tour in Iraq during the 2006 Holiday season.^[64] Underwood also performed at the 2007 Idol Gives Back concert, singing "I'll Stand By You", a cover of The Pretenders hit. Her version of the song debuted at number six on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs.^[65]

In 2007, Forbes reported that Underwood earned over $7 million between June 2006 and June 2007.^[66] Also in 2007, Victoria's Secret named Underwood the Sexiest Female Musician.^[67]

2007–2009: Carnival Ride and commercial success[edit]

Underwood's second album, Carnival Ride,^[68] was released in October 2007.^[69] On Carnival Ride, Underwood was more involved in the songwriting process; she set up a writers' retreat at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium to collaborate with such Music Row tunesmiths as Hillary Lindsey, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, and Gordie Sampson.^[70] Carnival Ride moved over 527,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums, as well as number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, one of the biggest first-week sales by a female artist.^[71] Carnival Ride was certified double platinum in just two months after its release in December.^[72] The album is now certified four times Multi-Platinum by the RIAA.^[41] "So Small", the first single from the album, was released in July 2007 and reached number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, topping it for three consecutive weeks.^[73] "All-American Girl", the second single, also reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart. The next single, "Last Name", reached number one on the Hot Country Song chart as well. This made Underwood the first female artist to have two consecutive albums each release three number ones on this chart since Shania Twain in 1998. "Just a Dream", the album's next single, was released in July 2008 and later peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, staying there for two consecutive weeks. With that, Underwood became the first solo female artist to pull four number one's from one album since Twain did it with The Woman in Me.^[74] The album's fifth single, "I Told You So", a duet with the original singer of the song, Randy Travis, was released in February 2009. It peaked at number two on the Country charts and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. All singles from Carnival Ride were certified Platinum by the RIAA, for selling more than one million copies each.^[41] In January 2008, Underwood embarked on a joint tour with Keith Urban called the Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour, with dates fixed nationwide that continued through April.^[75] She then started her headlined tour, the Carnival Ride Tour, in February 2008, with dates across all North America, and ended it on December 14, 2008, playing to 1.2 million fans throughout the tour and being named the top-selling country female touring artist of 2008.^[76]

At the end of 2007, Underwood topped five Billboard Year-End charts, including Billboard 200 Artist of the Year and also Country Artist of the Year.^[77] Also in late 2007, she won three American Music Awards: Artist of the Year, Favorite Female Country Artist, and Favorite Country Album, for Some Hearts.^[78] At the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards, she won Female Vocalist of the Year, for the 2nd consecutive time.^[79] She received two nominations for the 2008 Country Music Association Awards. Underwood and Brad Paisley co-hosted the awards show for their first year as hosts, and she walked away with the Female Vocalist of the Year award for the third consecutive yea