Carrie Underwood
Template:Infobox musical artist 2Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) is a Grammy-nominated American country music singer who won the title of the fourth season of American Idol. She has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified quadruple platinum, and is the fastest selling female country album since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, it is also the top selling debut album of any Idol winner or Contestant. Her major awards include eight Billboard Music Awards, a Dove Award, two Academy of Country Music Awards and two Country Music Association Awards including Female Vocalist Of The Year and the Horizon Award. She also won an American Music Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, beating out Chamillionaire and The Pussycat Dolls. Underwood has also won an Inspirational Country Award for Mainstream Country Artist of the Year.
Carrie's fans are known as "Carrie's Care Bears" - she was in the same sorority (Sigma Sigma Sigma) as Care Bears creator Linda Denham.
Biography
Early Years
Underwood was born at Muskogee Regional Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma on March 10 1983, and grew up on her parents' farm in rural Checotah, Oklahoma. She is the third and youngest daughter of Stephen (retired from an industrial plant) and Carole Underwood (retired schoolteacher of Checotah Public Schools). She has two older sisters, Shanna Underwood Means and Stephanie Underwood Shelton, born in 1973 and 1970, both elementary school teachers in Oklahoma.
Underwood had performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show in her childhood. She is a member of Free Will Baptist Church[1]. As a young child, she sang in church, and for Old Settler's Day and Lion's Club, local events in Checotah. At the age of 13 in 1996, her manager at the time tried to get her a recording contract at Capitol Records. However, due to management changes at Capitol, it never materialized.
Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian and moved on to Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication and an emphasis in journalism. Underwood is a member of the Stigma Stigma Stigma sorority. For two years during the summer, she performed in Northeastern's Downtown Country Show in Tahlequah. She also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004. Underwood finished with a smile on her face as she ended the pageant by falling down the stairs... [2]
Carrie Underwood currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee.[3]
2005-2006: Some Hearts
Underwood's debut album, entitled Some Hearts, hit store shelves on November 15, 2005, entering the Billboard 200 chart with 315,000 copies sold. The large first week sales of Some Hearts made it #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the biggest debut of any country artist since the advent of the SoundScan system in 1991. Some Hearts has since been certified Quadruple Platinum by the RIAA, and is the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan era[4] Carrie Underwood's first single, "Jesus, Take The Wheel" was released to radio on October 18, 2005. It received so much airplay that it debuted at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart in its first week, setting a record. It eventually reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, and was only two weeks shy of Connie Smith's record of an 8 week run back in 1964-1965. The single also debuted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached a peak of #20.
The album's title track, "Some Hearts" was released to pop music and adult contemporary radio. It received moderate airplay and made it to #12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Top 40.
"Don't Forget To Remember Me," the first of Carrie Underwood's singles to be released to country radio, peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Chart, as well as #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it did reach #1 for a week on the Radio & Records Country Singles Chart.
On May 24, 2006, Underwood returned to guest-perform on the fifth season of American Idol for a second time. She opened the show with the top 12 finalists with "I Made It Through The Rain" and took the stage later on to perform her newest single "Don't Forget To Remember Me".
Both singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Don't Forget to Remember Me" have earned number one spots in Christian radio countdowns. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won the Gospel Music Association's award for best country single of the year.
Her third single released to country radio was "Before He Cheats". It peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (making this single Carrie's most successful song off her debut CD, in terms of Pop success.) This current single is a definite change of style for Carrie, showing off her angry side. The music video has also entered the Top 10 videos on Yahoo Music, peaking at number 9.
Carrie's next single is confirmed to be "Wasted" which has debuted at #57 on the Hot Country Songs chart and will be officially released on February 5th, 2007.
Carrie's music videos for Jesus Take The Wheel and Don't Forget To Remember Me have both reached number one on CMT'S Top 20 Countdown. Jesus for 3 weeks and Remember Me for 2 weeks. Currently Before He Cheats has been number one for five weeks on CMT, which is the all time record for CMT. Also, Jesus Take the Wheel, Don't Forget to Remember Me, and Before He Cheats have all been number one on GAC's fan voted top 20 countdown. Jesus Take the Wheel was number one for three weeks in a row and Don't Forget To Remember Me broke the record for number of weeks at the top of the chart with twelve. Before He Cheats also made history by being the first video to make its debut at #1 on the GAC countdown. Also, Before He Cheats recently fell off the number one spot on GAC after staying there for an amazing 8 straight weeks. Another record broke on the GAC top 20 countdown is the most weeks at number one for a year total with Underwood having well over 20 weeks at number one with all her videos put together.
On May 23rd, 2006, Underwood sang her huge hit Jesus, Take the Wheel and got the biggest standing ovation of the night at the ACM Awards and ended up winning Best New Female Vocalist and Single of the year for Jesus, Take the Wheel. Also she was nominated for Song of the Year and Female Vocalist of the year. On November 6th, 2006, Underwood performed her #1 hit, "Before He Cheats", at the 40th Annual Country Music Association Awards and later won both the Horizon Award for new country artists and Female Vocalist beating her idols, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Gretchen Wilson, and Faith Hill. Carrie's double win is the first time since 1995 that an artist won both the female vocalist and horizon award. Last was Alison Krauss.
Later that month, it was revealed that Underwood was nominated for World's Best-Selling New Artist at the 2006 World Music Awards but lost to James Blunt [2].
Continuing her winning ways, on November 21,2006 Carrie went into the American Music Awards with 2 nominations, that night she left the building winning the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award beating out the Pussycat Dolls and Chamillionare. She was also nominated for Best Female Country Artist and lost to Faith Hill.
On December 4, 2006, Carrie attended the "2006 Billboard Music Awards", and eventually took home 5 awards. She won 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.
On December 7, 2006, Carrie received two Grammy nominations for "Best New Artist" and "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" for "Jesus, Take the Wheel," while "Jesus, Take the Wheel" received nominations for "Best Country Song" and "Song of the Year" which is awarded to the songwriters, Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, and Brett James. Underwood marks the first time that an American Idol winner or contestant is nominated under the "Best New Artist" category.
2006 CMA Awards Controversy
In November 2006, Faith Hill made entertainment news headlines when she appeared to react angrily to losing the Female Vocalist of the Year award to Carrie Underwood at the CMA Awards. [3] Hill, who was backstage at the time and pacing in anticipation, could be seen throwing both hands in the air, mouthing "What!?" and then stepping away from the camera after Underwood's name was called. Hill claimed that her reaction was a joke, saying in a statement, "The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me. For this to become a focus of attention, given the talent gathered, is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving female vocalist of the year." [4] She later called Underwood to congratulate her and clear up any misconceptions between the two singers. Still many Carrie fans are very mad at Hill and have closed their interests in liking her.[5]
2007 - Carrie's Second Album
Carrie Underwood is planning to release a new album next year, she told reporters backstage at the CMA Awards on November 6, 2006 in Nashville. After being asked about her plans for 2007, Underwood replied, "I guess I'd say making a new album and getting back out there. Hopefully, it will do half as well as this one has, and people will respond to it and be equally as happy to go out and see a concert. ... It's kind of a blank slate right now. There are definitely a lot of things in the works, and one of them is definitely a new album."
Personal interests
At her 'American Idol' audition, Carrie revealed to the judges that her favorite singer is contemporary country recording artist Martina McBride. Throughout Carrie's time on American Idol, home videos were shown in which she sang "Independence Day," one of Martina's biggest hits. Carrie also released her version of "Independence Day" as the B-side to her first #1 single, "Inside Your Heaven."
Another feature of Carrie's interests was expressed on Idol, her love for animals. In 2005, Carrie Underwood starred in television advertisements for Hershey's Chocolate. The commercials have Underwood singing jingles for Hershey's products such as Kit Kat and Almond Joy. She is also wearing vintage Hershey T-shirts that feature Hershey's, Almond Joy, Kit Kat, Reeses and other chocolate brand logos as part of her endorsement deal. Underwood is also the latest spokesperson for Skechers shoes, following in the footsteps of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Underwood appeared in her second Skechers footwear advertisement campaign in fashion and lifestyle publications in June 2006. The new campaign, which was shot in early 2006 in a "behind-the-scenes" style, is reflective of Underwood's busy new life as a multi-platinum recording artist embarking on a summer cross-country tour. Carrie is also one of the celebrity faces of the "Got Milk" ad campaigns for the International Milk Foundation, joining such celebrities as Sheryl Crow, Britney Spears, and Kelly Preston.
Carrie Underwood is a vegetarian and stopped consuming meat at age 13. She was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" alongside Coldplay frontman Chris Martin in 2005 by animal-rights organization PETA.[5]
Carrie Underwood is a supporter of the Humane Society and has done several public service announcements for the organization.[6]
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 magazine.
Carrie Underwood also appeared as the featured cover girl for Self, Girls Life, Parade Magazine, Teen Vogue, Teen People, Sweet 16, OK!, Reader's Digest, Cosmo Girl, and "American Idol, the Magazine".
Discography
Albums
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
|---|---|---|
| File:CUSomeHearts.JPG | Some Hearts
|
Singles Released |
- Notes:
- Some Hearts has spent a total of 23 out of 58 weeks on the top 10 of the Billboard 200, meaning she holds the record for Idol winners' debut albums in the Billboard top 10 selling albums. In fact, the album was found in the top 4 albums on its 58th week on the chart selling over 290,000 copies. On the other hand, the album has spent a total of 58 out of 58 weeks within the Top 6 Best-Selling Country Albums in the U.S., 19 of those weeks were spent at #1. This time, the album was found on the #1 position on it's 55th, 56th, 57th and 58th week on the chart.
- Some Hearts is now officially released in the UK, Philippines, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. It has been certified platinum in Canada.
- Some Hearts was the most sold album of 2006, placing it on top of the year-end Billboard 200 chart, which is a first for any Idol winner.
Singles
| Year | Single | Album | US | US Country | US AC | US Pop | US Digital | CAN | CAN Country | RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Inside Your Heaven" | Some Hearts | 1 | 52 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | Platinum |
| 2005 | "Jesus, Take The Wheel" | Some Hearts | 20 | 1 (6) | 23 | 36 | 18 | 16 | 1 | Platinum |
| 2006 | "Some Hearts" | Some Hearts | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "Don't Forget To Remember Me" | Some Hearts | 49 | 2 | - | 75 | 77 | 27 | 4 | - |
| 2006 | "Before He Cheats" | Some Hearts | 16 | 1 (5) | - | 29 | 13 | 18 | 1 | Gold |
| 2007 | "Wasted" | Some Hearts | - | 51 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
- Notes:
Carrie also released 3 demo CD's at an earlier age.
- Chart positions are for Billboard.
- "Inside Your Heaven" debuted at #1 and spent one week in the top spot of the US Hot 100 and surfaced on the country charts due to airplay despite not being sent to country radio.
- "Inside Your Heaven" was certified Gold twice, once with physical sales and once with digital sales.
- "Independence Day" was a B-side to the "Inside Your Heaven" single. Due to its amount of airplay and downloads, "Independence Day" debuted at #84 on the US Pop 100.
- "Jesus, Take The Wheel" spent six weeks at #1 on the US Country chart. This tied Faith Hill's "Breathe" as the runner-up of the longest-running female number one in the chart's history.
- "Some Hearts" was an official single, but was only released to Pop and AC radio.
- "Don't Forget To Remember Me" spent one week at #1 on the Radio & Records chart, and peaked at #1 on Billboard's US Country chart for two straight weeks.
- "Before He Cheats" charted for 20 weeks on the US Country chart before being confirmed as a single. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #92. The song climbed to evetually reach #1 on the US Country chart on November 1, 2006. The song managed to stay on top for five consecutive weeks.
- Carrie spent a total of 11 weeks at #1 during 2006 on the US Country chart thanks to her hits "Jesus, Take The Wheel" and "Before He Cheats".
- "Wasted" charted on the US Country chart due to heavy airplay as an album track just as "Before He Cheats" did before it became a single. "Wasted" will officially be released to radio as her next single on February 5th, 2007.
Trivia
On her 2006 Tour, Carrie is performing two songs by Guns N' Roses entitled "Patience" and "Sweet Child O' Mine"
Carrie is performing with the USO Christmas Tour in Iraq this 2006 Holiday season, to spread holiday cheer to the troops overseas. She continues a wonderful tradition started by Bob Hope and continued to this date. Several internet sites have photos and video clips of Carrie's performances in Iraq, including photos of Carrie in military garb.
She was an opening act on Kenny Chesney's spring / summer 2006 tour. On some dates, she has performed a duet with Kenny Chesney on a cover of "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray (originally written by Mentor Williams). She also is an opening act for Brad Paisley in the Fall for several dates in major cities that run through December 8th.
Carrie performed a duet of the hit song "Alone" with the band Heart on her 23rd birthday in Atlantic City on March 10, 2006. The concert was taped and shown on VH1 Classic Channel, coming out in DVD for sale this winter. Heart surprised Carrie with a large birthday cake and had the whole audience at the sold out show sing Happy birthday to her.
Carrie was selected in the People Magazine top 100 Most Beautiful People in 2006. She was also selected as one of the top 25 Hottest People under 25 in Teen People magazine.
Carrie's Video Don't Forget To Remember Me made history on GACTV 9/15/06 for being the #1 video 10 weeks on the top 20 count down. Prior record was held by Trace Adkins 9 weeks for Honky Tonk Badonkadonk in 2005/2006
Carrie Underwood has performed the "The Star Spangled Banner" during major professional sporting events:
- Game 4 of the 2005 NBA Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan
- 2006 NFL NFC Championship at the Qwest Field in Seattle
- 2006 MLB All-Star Game at the PNC Park in Pittsburgh
- 2006 Nascar Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina
- Performed at half time at the Dallas Cowboys game vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thanksgiving day.
Notorious for being a "country girl", Carrie still loves 1980s rock like Heart and Guns N' Roses.
She was the featured performer for the tenth anniversary of the live, nationally televised Dallas Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day (November 23, 2006) halftime show to officially kick off the annual Salvation Army 2006 Red Kettle Christmas fundraising campaign; she sang "Young and Beautiful" and "Before He Cheats". Coincidentally, previous American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson performed the national anthem at the same game.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Reality Star - Female (Won) |
| Billboard Music Awards | Top-Selling Hot 100 Song Of The Year: "Inside Your Heaven" (Won) | |
| Top-Selling Country Single: "Inside Your Heaven" (Won) | ||
| Country Single Sales Artist Of The Year (Won) | ||
| 2006 | Gospel Music Association Awards | Country Recorded Song Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Won) |
| Country Music Television Awards | Female Video Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Won) | |
| Breakthrough Video Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Won) | ||
| Most Inspiring Video Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Nominated) | ||
| Academy of Country Music Awards | Top New Female Vocalist Of The Year (Won) | |
| Single Record Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Won) | ||
| Top Female Vocalist Of The Year (Nominated) | ||
| Song of the Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Nominated) | ||
| NARP organization of record retail merchants | Breakthrough Country Artist (Won) | |
| Music Row | Critics Pick (Won) | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Best Female Artist (Nominated) | |
| Breakout Female Artist (Nominated) | ||
| Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist Of The Year (Won) | |
| Horizon Award (Won) | ||
| Music Video Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Nominated) | ||
| Single Of The Year: "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Nominated) | ||
| 12th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards | Mainstream Country Artist of the Year (Won) | |
| Song Of The year: "Jesus Take the Wheel" (Nominated) | ||
| Video Of The year: "Jesus Take the Wheel" (Nominated) | ||
| American Music Awards | Favorite New Breakthrough Artist (Won) | |
| Favorite Country Female Artist (Nominated) | ||
| Billboard Music Awards | Country Artist of the Year (Nominated) | |
| Female Country Artist of the Year (Won) | ||
| Album Of The Year (Won) | ||
| Country Album Of The Year (Won) | ||
| Country New Artist Of The Year (Won) | ||
| Female Billboard 200 Album Artist of the Year (Won) | ||
| World Music Awards | World's Best-Selling New Artist (Nominated) | |
| 2007 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Country Song: "Before He Cheats" (Nominated) |
| Favorite Female Singer (Nominated) | ||
| Grammy Awards | Best New Artist (Nominated) | |
| Best Female Country Vocal Performance: "Jesus Take The Wheel" (Nominated) |
Notes
- ^ Schmitt, Brad. Carrie Underwood makes leap from 'American Idol' to country's 'it' girl June 4th 2006. Accessed on July 8th 2006.
- ^ "It's My Life" (HTML). PBS Kids. 2006.
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On Volunteering: "I was also a hospice volunteer and I got that through the sorority. You go and take care of people that are really sick. They don’t want to be in the hospital anymore. It’s just kind of about making them comfortable." - ^ Bryson, Jodi. Girl's Life Magazine. It's Fate That Would Have It. Accessed on July 8, 2006 via [http://www.carrieunderwoodonline.com carrieunderwoodonline.com]
- ^ "Underwood's Album Certified Quadruple Platinum" (HTML). Country Music Association. January 9.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help); Unknown parameter|accessday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Norfolk, Virginia. World's Sexiest Vegetarians
- ^ [1]
References
- Tracey, Kathleen. Carrie Underwood: American Idol IV. September 2005. Blue Banner Biography series (Juvenile) ISBN 1-58415-425-X
External links
- Official Carrie Underwood Fan Club
- Arista Records Official site of Carrie Underwood from Arista Records
- Carrie Underwood at WikiMusicGuide
- Carrie Underwood music, videos, news and more at CMT.com
- Some Hearts AOL Sessions Carrie Underwood performing the title track 'Some Hearts' from her debut album live on sessions with AOL
- Arista Nashville Resumé of Carrie Underwood's autobiography, accomplishments, and personal interests
- 19 Entertainment Brief biography of Carrie Underwood
- Template:AI contestant
- Carrie Underwood at IMDb
- Template:Amg
- Template:Nndb name
- A&R for Carrie Underwood on World Top 100 A&R Chart
- Receive Country Music News and Headlines sent straight to your desktop
- Journal Gazette/Times Courier
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |
| Video albums | |
| Soundtrack albums | |
| Concert tours | |
