Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005. Underwood has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award winner, a Grand Ole Opry inductee, a Golden Globe Award nominee, a three-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist winner, a GMA Dove award winner, and is also the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year. She is the first ever female artist to win back-to-back Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards for Entertainer of the Year (2009/2010). Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified seven times platinum, and as of February 2006, was the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It was also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, as of February 2008. Some Hearts yielded three number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs. Her second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. It has sold over 3 million copies as of January 2010, being certified 3 times Platinum, and produced four number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. Underwood released her third album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. It has been certified 2 times Platinum by the RIAA and has produced three number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs so far. As of May 2010, Underwood has sold 20 million singles and over 16 million albums worldwide. Having 10 #1 Hits on Billboard Hot Country Songs, Underwood is tied with Reba McEntire as the Female Country Artist with Most #1 Hits on such chart from 1990 to present. She's also the only solo Country Artist to have a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100 Songs in the 2000 decade, as "Inside Your Heaven" reached the top of the chart on July 2005. Some Hearts, Underwood's debut album, was named the Best Country Album of the 2000 Decade by Billboard, and she's the only Female Artist to appear on the Top 10 of Billboard's Best Country Artists of the 2000 Decade list, ranked at #10. She was also ranked #50 on the Artists of the Decade list by Billboard. In 2010, Underwood was #3 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Artists, #4 on the Top Country Album Artists and #23 on Top Artists of 2010.

Underwood was born to Stephen and Carol Underwood on March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was raised on her parents' farm in the rural town of Checotah, Oklahoma. Her father worked in a sawmill, while her mother taught elementary school. During her childhood, Underwood performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show, and sang at the Free Will Baptist Church. She later sang for local events in Checotah, including Old Settler's Day and the Lion's Club. In 1996, Capitol Records was preparing a contract for Underwood but cancelled it when company management changed. She spent part of her summer as a page for Oklahoma State Representative Bobby Frame. Underwood is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian. After high school, 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. Underwood is a member of the Alpha Iota chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. For two years during the summer, she performed in Northeastern State University'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. In the summer of 2004, Underwood auditioned for American Idol in St. Louis, Missouri. 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. 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. One of the show's producers later said she dominated the voting, winning each week handily. She gained a fan base known as "Carrie's Care Bears" during the course of the show, and became the fourth season winner on May 25, 2005.

Underwood came back the next season of American Idol to perform her single "Jesus Take the Wheel". She also appeared on the sixth season of American Idol. She sang her single "Wasted" on March 8, making this her fourth time performing on the show since winning the competition in 2005. Underwood also performed at the Idol Gives Back concert singing "I'll Stand By You", (a cover of The Pretenders hit). A video of Underwood's trip to Africa accompanied the song. Underwood sang the same song at American Idol's season finale on May 23, 2007. Underwood sang "Praying for Time", a former number one for George Michael, during the seventh season American Idol Gives Back mini-telethon. She also came back to perform "Last Name" on May 21, 2008, for the finale of the seventh season of American Idol. On February 12, 2009, Underwood appeared with the other six American Idol winners at the inauguration of The American Idol Experience at Walt Disney World in Florida. She and the other Idol winners received a microphone-shaped trophy honoring them for winning American Idol. Underwood also took the stage to sing her hit single "All-American Girl" as well as perform a duet of "Go Your Own Way" with fellow winner David Cook. She returned again for season 8 on Wednesday, March 18 to perform a duet with Randy Travis with her single "I Told You So", a song Randy Travis wrote for his 1987 album Always & Forever. Underwood was back again on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, to perform the farewell song of Season 8, "Home Sweet Home".

On April 21, 2010, Underwood returned for Idol Gives Back to perform "Change" from her third studio album, Play On. She returned on the finale of American Idol Season 9 to perform "Undo It", her third single from Play On. She also sang Delta Goodrem's "Together We Are One" with all previous Idol winners that night as a farewell to Simon Cowell. On November 21, 2006, Underwood won the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the American Music Awards, and was also nominated for Best Female Country Artist. She won 5 awards at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards on December 4, 2006, 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. 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. On April 11, 2007, Underwood continued her streak of top Country singles with the release of "Wasted". The song peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs Chart, and number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. 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. She also performed "Before He Cheats". On August 2008, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was reported to have been sold more than one million ringtones and was certified Platinum, making Underwood the first country artist ever to have two songs hit Platinum Mastertone status together with "Before He Cheats", which has been certified earlier in 2007.

In June 2010, Underwood was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Country Artist Female, Choice Country Album for "Play On", Choice Country Single for "Undo It", and Choice American Idol Alum. All the awards were fan-voted at the show's official website. On June 16, 2010, the RIAA certified Underwood's song, "Temporary Home", as Gold. On July 8, 2010, the RIAA certified Underwood's song, "Undo It", as Gold. The certifications gave Underwood her seventh and eighth Gold single to tag along with four platinum or multi-platinum singles. On July 30, 2010, Underwood performed at The Today Show's Summer Concert Series. Underwood performed "Before He Cheats", "Cowboy Casanova", and "Undo It". Later on that day, she confirmed in an interview that the fourth single from Play On would be "Mama's Song". On July 31, 2010, Underwood performed at the Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour event alongside Brad Paisley. An estimated 60,000 people attended the outdoor event and watched the two perform in the pouring rain. On the week ending August 7, 2010, "Undo It" hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. On August 26, 2010, Underwood and Brad Paisley were announced as cohosts for the 44th Country Music Awards to be held in Nashville, November 10, 2010. This is the third year in a row that Underwood and Paisley hosted the CMAS. Underwood is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year ("Play On"). In early September, 2010, Underwood gave a press conference in NYC where she was announced as the new face of "Olay" skincare products. She is the first ever North American ambassador for the product. As part of the campaign, Underwood will appear in television and print ads. The 4th single from Play On, Mama's Song, was released to country radio on September 13, 2010. The music video premiered on VEVO on September 24. Underwood's real-life mother and husband Mike Fisher appeared in the video.

On September 16, 2010, Underwood taped a special concert at the Grand Ole Opry that aired on November 14, 2010, on the TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Underwood, LeAnn Rimes, and Keith Urban participated in rebuilding a school in Tennessee that was lost in the Nashville flood. On October 2, Underwood sold out the prestigious Hollywood Bowl in LA and played with the Hollywood Bowl orchestra as part of her Play On Tour. Randy Travis and Orianthi joined her on stage to perform a few songs. Underwood was honored by the CMT Artists of the Year special as one of the 5 top Artists of the year in 2010 in country music. The event aired on CMT on December 3, 2010. On October 14, 2010, Underwood won an Inspirational Country Music Award for Video of the year for her song, "Temporary Home". On October 23, 2010, Underwood won Female Vocalist of the Year, and Video of the Year for "Cowboy Casanova" at the French Country Music Awards. Underwood co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "There's a Place for Us," the lead single from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was released to iTunes on November 16, 2010. Underwood and songwriters, David Hodges and Hillary Lindsey, received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Underwood co-hosted the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010 with Brad Paisley. Underwood won her 6th American Music Award. She won "Favorite Country Album", for "Play On". That makes her the only artist in the American Music Award history to have all albums awarded in such a category. Underwood was the American Country Awards' top winner with six wins, Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for (Play On), Female Artist Single of the Year for ("Cowboy Casanova"), Female Artist Video of the Year for ("Cowboy Casanova") and Touring Artist of the Year. On December 14, 2010, Underwood was nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press for her first Golden Globes award, under the category Best Original Song from a Movie, for the song she co-wrote and recorded for the movie "Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader."