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Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country pop singer and songwriter. She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, she has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award winner, was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, and is the reigning Academy of Country Music Awards Entertainer of The Year.
Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified seven times platinum, is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history.
Her second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. It has so far sold over 2.9 million copies,[title=Groban's First Noel, Eagles' 'Long Road' Drive 2007Album Brass] and produced four number one country hits on the Billboard Country charts , "So Small", "All-American Girl", "Last Name", and "Just a Dream", and the #2 hit "I Told You So", which also hit #1 on the Mediabase Portion of "Radio & Records" country chart. As of May 2009, Underwood has sold over 9.6 million albums in the United States.[Top Earning Idols] She has sold 11 million albums world wide.
BiographyEarly lifeCarrie Marie Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and was raised on her parents' farm in the rural town of Checotah, Oklahoma
. She has two older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie and is a member of Muskogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma Her father, Stephen, worked in a saw mill while her mother was an elementary school teacher. During her childhood, Underwood had performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show while also singing at the Free Will Baptist Church and later on for local events in Checotah, including Old Settler's Day and the Lion's Club.[title=Carrie Underwood] In 1996, she was in the process of getting a contract with Capitol Records, but the deal was canceled when the recording company's management changed. She has said in recent interviews that after hearing the hit Clay Walker song, "Then What?", she knew a career in country music was her calling.
EducationUnderwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian.
American IdolIn the summer of 2004, Underwood auditioned for American Idol in St. Louis. 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" by Heart and judge Simon Cowell predicted that Underwood would not only win the competition, but she would also outsell all previous Idol winners.[url= www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,157706,00.html] Underwood is one of five winners never to have been voted in the bottom three (the others being Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, and David Cook); one of the show's producers later said that Underwood dominated the voting, winning each week handily. "So Small", the first single from the album, was released on July 31, 2007.
On Carnival Ride, Underwood was more involved in the songwriting process than on the debut; she set up a writers retreat at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium to collaborate with such Music Row tunesmiths as Hillary Lindsey, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, and Gordie Sampson. Carnival Ride was certified double platinum as of December 14, 2007.
Underwood made her second vocal performance in a film with a song entitled "Ever Ever After" for the Disney movie Enchanted. In the music video for the song, she appears as both animated and live action, much like the characters in the movie. Underwood's name was also mentioned in the Disney Channel series, "Hannah Montana." She appeared on Christmas at Rockefeller Center on November 28, 2007. She also appeared on the holiday CD Hear Something Country Christmas 2007 that featured many other country artists, with a rendition of "Do You Hear What I Hear?". Since then, the song has reached #2 on the AC Chart, and held it for 3 consecutive weeks, making her best AC hit to date.
Underwood was named as Billboard's best country artist of the Billboard year 2007, and in December 2007 over 1,000,000 People magazine readers named "Before He Cheats" as the song of the year. Underwood performed "Flat on the Floor", "All-American Girl", and "Before He Cheats" on ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' 2008. "All-American Girl", her second single, also reached number 1 on the Billboard country charts.
In January 2008, Underwood embarked on a joint tour with Keith Urban named the Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour, with dates fixed nationwide that continued through April. She appeared on SNL once again on February 23, 2008, where she sang "All-American Girl" and "Flat On The Floor". She became only the eleventh country music star to perform on the show.
On March 15, 2008, during a performance at the Grand Ole Opry House, Underwood was invited by her idol, Randy Travis, who sneaked up on her as she was finishing her version of Travis' song "I Told You So", to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She was inducted by Garth Brooks during the May 10, 2008 edition of the Opry at the Grand Ole Opry House. At the age of 26, she is currently the youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry.
On April 9, 2008, Underwood went on to perform a rendition of George Michael's "Praying for Time" on the second Idol Gives Back. The charity single of the song released exclusively on iTunes reached the #3 spot in less than 24 hours of its release.
On May 19, 2008, Underwood opened the 43rd Annual Country Music Association Awards with her new single that topped the charts "Last Name" and later went on to win top Female Vocalist for the second consecutive year. On May 21, she performed "Last Name" again on the season finale of American Idol. The single later reached number one on the Hot Country Song chart, making the third single to reach #1 from Carnival Ride, her sixth consecutive number one on the Hot Country Chart and her seventh straight country single number one, and her eighth number one single overall. This made Underwood the first female artist to have two consecutive albums each release three number-ones on this chart since 1998. Shania Twain was the last to accomplish the feat, with The Woman in Me and Come on Over.
Her heart-warming single, "Just a Dream" was released on July 21, 2008. For the chart week of November 8, 2008, the song became her ninth number one, her seventh consecutive number one on the Hot Country Chart, and her eighth straight number one country single overall. With that, Underwood became the third female artist in country music history to have released four consecutive Number Ones from the same album with Rosanne Cash's ''King's Record Shop'' and Shania Twain's "The Woman in Me" being the other two that have done so.
On September 5, 2008, Underwood joined Ciara, Fergie, Rihanna, Beyonce Knowles, Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis and other pop/rock singers in performing a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, called "Just Stand Up", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major U.S. television networks. The song was made available on iTunes on September 2.
Underwood received two Country Music Association nominations for the 2008 CMA Awards, Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year: Carnival Ride. The award show was aired on ABC on November 12, 2008, and was hosted by Underwood along with fellow country star Brad Paisley. She walked away with the Female Vocalist of the Year award for the third consecutive time and lost the Album of the Year award to George Strait's Troubadour.
She also has co-written a song for Idol alumni Kristy Lee Cook's major-label debut album Why Wait, called "Not Tonight".
On October 21, 2008, Carnival Ride was re-released as a Wal-Mart exclusive 2-pack with a Christmas CD containing 5 songs including her hit, Do You hear What I Hear?
On October 22, 2008, Times Square got a double dose of Carrie Underwood as she unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York. The creation of Underwood’s figure began when a team of Madame Tussauds studio artists flew out to meet Carrie on tour for her figure sitting. Underwood was an enthusiastic participant in the figure making process – not only did she spend more than an hour with the studio artists, but she also generously donated a replica of the dress that she wore to the 2006 CMA Awards, when she was first named Female Vocalist of The Year, to Madame Tussauds for her figure to don. “We are thrilled that Carrie was able to join us today to help unveil her figure. Not only is she a bona fide superstar with fans around the world, but she is also an incredibly kind and generous young woman – a true role model for young people today. We know that our guests will love her figure, and we can’t wait for them to see it,” said Janine DiGioacchino, General Manager of Madame Tussauds New York and Madame Tussauds Washington D. C. Underwood's wax likeness is now part of the attraction's "VIP Room" and is posed in a standing position with hands on hips.
Underwood plans to write more songs for her upcoming third album, as she is "getting more comfortable" with her writing abilities. However, she will not be writing the entire album. The album has an expected release of November 3, 2009
She performed "I Know You Won't" at the People's Choice Awards on January 7, 2009, where she won in all her nominated categories - Favorite Female Artist, a special award celebrating People's Choice Awards' 35th anniversary which is Favorite Star 35 and Under, and Favorite Country Song for "Last Name".
The fifth single "I Told You So" was officially released on February 2, 2009. On March 18, she performed the song live with Randy Travis, who originally recorded the song. Their version was released later that night onto the charts and replaced her solo single that was currently charting. "I Told You So" has became Underwood's ninth number one country single and tenth number one single overall. Carrie Underwood is the first country artist in history to have all of their singles from their first two albums to have all peaked number one. It peaked at number two on the Billboard country charts.
On February 11, 2009, The nominees for the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced, and Carrie Underwood was nominated for four major awards, including Top Female Vocalist, Video of the Year for "Just a Dream", Album of the Year for "Carnival Ride" and The Highest honor of the said Award-Giving body, Entertainer Of The Year. Underwood was the only female nominee for this year's Entertainer of the Year, alongside Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and George Strait. On April 5, 2009 Underwood won her third consecutive Academy Of Country Music Award for Female Vocalist Of the Year, as well as the prestigious trophy for Entertainer Of The Year, thus making her only the 7th female to take the award (previous female winners include Loretta Lynn in 1975, Dolly Parton in 1977, Barbara Mandrell in 1980, Reba McEntire in 1994, Shania Twain in 1999, and most recently Dixie Chicks in 2000) in the award show's 4-decade run.
Underwood recorded a cover of Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" as the farewell themesong for the eliminated American Idol contestants. It was put up for download on iTunes on March 10, 2009 and was first used on American Idol the following night. A collaboration with Mötley Crüe and Sixx: A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx has also recently been confirmed by Sixx himself. On the night before the season finale of American Idol, she performed the song along with Sixx. Underwood joined Brooks & Dunn, Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Rascal Flatts in an opening duet to the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009. She performed a snippet of "All-American Girl". Later on in the show she took home her third consecutive "Female Vocalist of the Year" award, and made history by becoming only the seventh female to win the prestigious "Entertainer of the Year" Award.
On April 14th, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show along with other Country stars namely Sugarland, Kenny Chesney and Darius Rucker for the Oprah Country Special. There, she performed her hit single Just a Dream.
Underwood was nominated for Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for the CMT Awards.
Also in 2009, Forbes reported that Carrie is the top earning American Idol alumni from June 2008-May 17, 2009. She earned more than twice as much as the second place finisher with an estimated earnings of $14 million during this time period.
Grammy AwardsOn December 7, 2006, Underwood's album Some Hearts received four Grammy nominations. Underwood received two Grammy awards for "Best New Artist" and "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" while "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won "Best Country Song" for the songwriters Gordie Sampson, Brett James and Hillary Lindsey, and received a nomination for "Song of the Year". Underwood's nomination marked the first time that an American Idol winner or contestant had been nominated in the "Best New Artist" category. The award ceremony was held on February 11, 2007, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. She also sang "Life in the Fast Lane" alongside Grammy nominees Rascal Flatts.
On the same occasion, she also sang her cover of "Desperado" to honour Don Henley of The Eagles as her solo act. On February 10, 2008, Underwood was nominated for a combined total of four Grammys including Song of the Year for "Before He Cheats". She won one Grammy Award that night, for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and her song won for Best Country Song both for her hit, "Before He Cheats". Underwood also performed "Before He Cheats" on the Grammy Awards, with a more powerful vocal ending.
On February 8, 2009, Underwood, for the third year in a row, won the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Last Name", which she performed during the show, for a total of four Grammy awards in three years. "Ever Ever After", which she recorded for the soundtrack of the 2007 film Enchanted, was also nominated for a Grammy Award under the category Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
Personal interests in December 2006.
In addition to being a singer, Underwood is also a skilled guitar and piano player, and has accompanied herself on guitar during performances of certain songs like "Don't Forget to Remember Me" and "Inside Your Heaven" during some of her live concerts, as well as on the albums. She uses a McPherson guitar with an off-set sound hole. Underwood is an animal lover and a vegetarian. She stopped consuming meat at the age of thirteen as she couldn't stand the thought of eating one of her own animals. She was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA
A native of eastern Oklahoma, she co-wrote a song dedicated to her hometown, "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore". In December 2005, Underwood was named Oklahoman of the Year by Oklahoma Today.
''Victoria's Secret named Underwood the "Sexiest Female Musician". She took the top honors along with Justin Timberlake, who was named the "Sexiest Male Musician". She was also placed on the 2007, 2008 and 2009 list of the "Most Beautiful People" by People. Most recently, Underwood was honored as one of three of the most influential entertainers in America at this point in time and was named sexiest female country artist by Country Weekly.
Underwood has also stated she has a great interest in sports. In 2005, she performed the Star-Spangled Banner at Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, and in 2006 at the NBA All-Star Game. She also performed the Star-Spangled Banner at the NFC Playoff Game between the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers in 2006, as well as at the 2006 edition of NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600,, the MLB All Star Game in Pittsburgh, P.A., and at Game 3 of the 2007 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies. In 2007 she was seen attending an NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets alongside fellow American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler, as well as another game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. On June 4, 2008, Underwood participated in the 18th annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball tournament for charity. The event took place in Nashville, Tennessee and benefited research for life-threatening diseases.
On June 11, 2009, Underwood participated in the 19th annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball tournament for charity.
Personal lifeUnderwood performed at halftime of the 2006 Thanksgiving Day football game at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and was friends with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
In August 2007, Underwood had been rumored to be dating Chace Crawford of the American television show Gossip Girl. On October 4, 2007, People magazine reported that the two were seen holding hands in New York City,[Carrie Underwood on Chace Crawford: 'He's Really Cute' - Caught in the Act, Carrie Underwood : People.com] though according to further reports, they ended their relationship soon afterward.[Carrie and Chace Are Dunzo! : Hollyscoop.com]
Underwood is currently dating Ottawa Senators center Mike Fisher, and has been seen at recent Senator games on Feb 28 2009. While attending a game against the Nashville Predators, Underwood was briefly caught on camera before ducking out of sight.
DiscographyStudio albums
- 2005:Some Hearts
- 2007:Carnival Ride
- 2009:TBA
Awardssee List of Carrie Underwood awards
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Genre : Country
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