Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride
Mar 19, 2008 10:53:35 GMT -5
Post by Carriefan0209 on Mar 19, 2008 10:53:35 GMT -5
Mar 19, 2008 3:17:01 GMT -5 @vinman said:
Carrie on top of the worldJust 25, Underwood already part of country royalty
Carrie Underwood -- she's the all-American girl living the all-American dream.
The blonde, 25-year-old, girl-next-door from Checotah, Oklahoma, has quite simply rocketed to stardom since winning the fourth season of American Idol.
She's parlayed that massive win into a pair of blockbuster CDs, won awards from the Grammy, People's Choice and Academy of Country Music, and is currently on a tour that includes a stop Friday at Scotiabank Place.
Underwood's latest album, Carnival Ride, which contains the smash hits So Small and All-American Girl, was certified double platinum within two months of its release, and her debut disc, Some Hearts, recently went seven-times platinum, becoming the best-selling solo female country debut in U.S. history.
And she's just getting started!
"It feels like everything that I get to do, whether it's being on tour, the interviews, the TV and awards shows -- is pretty surreal," Underwood says over the phone from Massachusetts, a day before heading off to New York City for her second stint as a guest on Saturday Night Live.
"It's still pretty amazing that I get to be up on stage every night. When I'm there I think, 'This is my life, this is what I do now.' What a job!"
You get the feeling that, at some point, Underwood might just get the urge to do that jump-on-the bed thing that excited young women are famous for.
"Well, actually, to be quite honest, I jumped up and down on the bed about three days ago," she giggles with a caught-in-the-act candour.
"I mean, when you are on tour, and in a really nice hotel -- things are just so amazing. You are treated so cool. They put out all kinds of things, like these great baskets and things in your room. They really know how to treat a lady.
"Sooooo -- I jumped on the bed!" she laughs.
There are many who contend American Idol has little to do with the grinding haul most artists face when attempting to carve a career in music.
Not so, says Underwood.
"It was by far the toughest thing I've done in my life," she says. "It was like taking 10 years of wanting, being in front of people, and pushing hard. Things like working your way up, and all the difficult things that most artists do. And then packing it altogether into a month!
"I'm not really sure. But I'd guess it's equally as difficult."
She admits that ramping up to celebrity status from anonymity was disconcerting.
"It's like you go from absolutely nothing and being a nobody, to being recognized on the street. People suddenly criticize you or embarrass you. Being in front of millions and millions of people every week is an unbelievable amount of pressure."
Winning American Idol fast-tracked Underwood straight into the recording industry. But the one thing it did not prepare her for was the rigours of touring.
"The reality is that this is a lot of work and nothing at all like what I expected," she says. "I mean there is just so much involved and so many people you need to make a show go off perfectly.
"Thankfully, I do have a lot of people around me that are there specifically to make the show come together."
So is she at the point now of making her wishes felt as far as the tour's production values are concerned.
"It's definitely a collective decision. I know what I like or don't like, but everyone else knows how to make it happen."
While she loves the success, she concedes living under a microscope can be trying.
There's the rumour mongering which follows everyone with any sort of star status attached to their name, in her case, she was romantically linked to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo after she attended Romo's birthday party last April, and a month later Romo escorted Underwood to the Academy of Country Music Awards. She has also been linked to actor Chace Crawford. They allegedly started dating last summer.
So, despite a fairly pedestrian public image, Underwood has not escaped the press and paparazzi.
"These days everyone is a mouse click away from instant information and there's just so many more people around making stuff up or prying into things that no one has any business looking into."
"I think, for myself, I believe I've been able to handle everything. I'm lucky in that I can hang out with my friends and not necessarily be viewed as a 'party girl' out on the hot spots and things like that."
One of Underwood's bigger successes to date is her embattled chick tune Before He Cheats. In the video, she portrays a woman who goes out and pays back her philandering partner by cracking the headlights on his truck with a baseball bat.
She reveals that before they were released, both the song and video content gave her a lot of cause for concern.
'WORRIED'
"I was really worried about that video because I honestly thought some of the fans might turn on me. It was a little violent and suggesting that people might go out and do that stuff. It turned out all okay."
On Carnival Ride, she co-wrote four songs -- something of which she is extremely proud. "The songwriting was absolutely such a great experience for me. It was also a real team effort ... now I'm a bigger part of the whole process," she says.
Underwood's small town roots resurface when she talks about knowing she's made it big and she still pinching herself at how far she's come.
"The pinching myself moments happen really at the most unexpected times," she says. "It sounds weird, but when I'm in the grocery store I just know I can buy the food I really want and not worry about it, or get whatever Christmas presents I want to get for my family or go on vacation.
"It's also like just driving in my car to my house. It's a lot different than driving to my apartment when I was going to school.
"Wow, I'm a homeowner at 25 years old -- that's rare, so that's when success really hits me."