Carrie Underwood

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File:Carrie underwood.JPG
Carrie Underwood winning the fourth season of American Idol

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10 1983 in Checotah, Oklahoma) is an American singer who has risen to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol.

Early years

Born and raised on a farm in Checotah, she graduated in 2001 as salutatorian from Checotah High School. Underwood attended Northeastern State University, where she majored in mass communication and was a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. She also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004.

Idol

Underwood's musical influences include pop and rock, but are predominantly country; she stated during Idol auditions that her favorite singer is Martina McBride. On the April 20 elimination show, Underwood demonstrated her ability to play the guitar. She can also play piano and yodel, the latter of which was demonstrated on the Tonight Show the night after her win.

On the March 22 show, after a performance of Heart's "Alone", Simon Cowell said, "Carrie, you're not just the girl to beat, you're the person to beat. I will make a prediction, not only will you win this competition, but you will sell more records than any other previous 'Idol' winner!" He went onto say on the March 30 show that she has the "it factor" that will make her a star. On the May 10 (Top 3) show she sang "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" by, Air Supply which included a 13 second note.

On May 25, 2005, she became the fourth winner of American Idol, beating Southern rocker Bo Bice, and she joins Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken as the only contestants who have never been one of the "bottom three" singers during any week's results. She has gotten farther than any other contestant on Idol with a country background.

Post-Idol Career

As part of her title, Underwood gained a recording contract with Arista Records; her first single, "Inside Your Heaven," was released on 14 June 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 which acquired 1st week sales of (commercial: 129,610 (#1)Digital: 39,024 (#4)). (Technically, this made her the first country artist to reach #1 since Lonestar in 2000, and the first ever to debut there, but "Inside Your Heaven" is more a generic pop record than country; indeed, it has been shunned by country radio [1]) The B-side is "Independence Day," a cover of the Martina McBride hit.

Underwood performed a well-received "The Star Spangled Banner" before Game 4 of the 2005 NBA Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.

In 2005, she starred in ads for Hershey's Chocolate. The commercials have Carrie singing Hershey jingles like the jingles for Hershey's, 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. The T-Shirts are now available to buy with proofs of purchase. It was also announced that Carrie will be the new spokesperson for Skechers Shoes; in doing so Carrie is following in the footsteps of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

She was voted as one of PETA's two 2005 "World's Sexiest Vegetarians".

Carrie's first album is tentatively slated for a release on November 19, 2005. [2]

List of Carrie Underwood's performances on American Idol

Auditions and pre-performance rounds

  • St. Louis Auditions - "I Can't Make You Love Me" (Original Artist: Bonnie Raitt)
  • Hollywood 1 - "Young Hearts (Run Free)" (O.A.: Candi Staton)"
  • Hollywood 2 - "Independence Day" (O.A.: Martina McBride)

Live performances

  • Semi-Final Performance 1 (Women Top 12) - "Could've Been" (O.A.: Tiffany)
  • Semi-Final Performance 2 (Women Top 10) - "Piece Of My Heart" (O.A.: Faith Hill's version of Janis Joplin's classic)
  • Semi-Final Performance 3 (Women Top 8) - "Because You Love Me" (O.A.: Jo Dee Messina)
  • Finals Top 12 Performance (Songs of the 60's) - "When Will I Be Loved" (O.A.: The Everly Brothers)
  • Finals Top 11 Performance (Billboard #1's) - "Alone" (O.A.: Heart)
  • Finals Top 10 Performance (Songs of the 90's) - "Independence Day" (O.A.: Martina McBride)
  • Finals Top 9 Performance (Broadway Musicals) - "Hello Young Lovers" (O.A.: Johnny Mathis)
  • Finals Top 8 Performance (Songs from Contestants' Birthyear) - "Love is a Battlefield" (O.A.: Pat Benatar)
  • Finals Top 7 Performance (70's Dance Music) - "MacArthur Park" (O.A.: Donna Summer's version of Richard Harris' hit)
  • Finals Top 6 Performance (Songs of the 21st Century) - "When God Fearin' Women Get The Blues" (O.A.: Martina McBride)
  • Finals Top 5 Performance 1 (Leiber and Stoller Songs) - "Trouble" (O.A.: Elvis Presley)
  • Finals Top 5 Performance 2 (Billboard top 40) - "God Bless The Broken Road" (O.A.: Rascal Flatts' version of Marcus Hummon's "Bless the Broken Road")
  • Finals Top 4 Performance 1 (Nashville Songs) - "Sin Wagon" (O.A.: The Dixie Chicks)
  • Finals Top 4 Performance 2 (Gamble and Huff Songs) - "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (O.A.: Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)
  • Finals Top 3 Performance 1 (Clive Davis' choice) - "Crying" (O.A.: Roy Orbison)
  • Finals Top 3 Performance 2 (Performer's choice) - "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (O.A.: Air Supply)
  • Finals Top 3 Performance 3 (Judges' choice) - "Man, I Feel Like a Woman!" (O.A.: Shania Twain)
  • Finals Top 2 Performance 1 (new song written for AI) - "Inside Your Heaven"
  • Finals Top 2 Performance 2 (favorite from season) - "Independence Day" (O.A.: Martina McBride)
  • Finals Top 2 Performance 3 (song originally written for Australian Idol) - "Angels Brought Me Here" (O.A.: Guy Sebastian)
  • Final Results Show (duet with Bo Bice) - "Up Where We Belong" (O.A.: Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker)
  • Final Results Show (performance with Rascal Flatts) - "God Bless The Broken Road"
  • Final Results Show (post-win performance of first single) - "Inside Your Heaven"

Discography

Singles

"Inside Your Heaven" Chart Trajectory

Hot 100 Chart Trajectory - Inside Your Heaven
Week 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
Chart Position 1 3 6 10 17 26 37

Articles

Fan sites

Preceded by American Idol Winners
Season 4 (2005) 		Succeeded by
TBD May 2006
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