Category Archives: Carrie Underwood

The first country vocalist to win American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, OK, and started singing with her church at the tender age of three. Throughout her childhood, she also performed at functions for the Lion’s Club and Old Settlers Day, eventually grading to festival gigs in several states. Along with developing her singing, Underwood learned to play guitar and piano. She graduated from high school as her class salutatorian and majored in mass communication at Northeastern State College with an eye on a career in broadcast journalism, but continued her singing career throughout her studies.

As a senior just a few credits short of her degree, Underwood heard about the auditions for the 2005 season of American Idol. She attempted out for the show at the St. Louis, MO, auditions, and her innocent charm and pure, pretty voice ended up winning her not only a place among the 12 finalists, but the title of 2005’s American Idol. Her debut single, Inside Your Heaven, was released that summer, and she started recording her debut record after completing the American Idols Live! tour. Some Hearts was put forth later that fall and became a smash hit, selling over 300,000 copies in its first week and eventually going platinum a whopping seven times. The album’s lead single, “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” was also a big success, topping Billboard’s Hot Country material chart for six weeks.

Carrie Underwood emerged from the promise of her 2005 American Idol win to become a true multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television, film, and as a New York Times bestselling author and successful entrepreneur.  She has sold more than 64 million records worldwide, recorded 27 #1 singles (14 of which she co-wrote), and has seven albums that are certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum by the RIAA, all while continuing to sell out arena tours across North America and the UK.

In September, Carrie released her eighth album, My Gift, her first-ever Christmas album, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country, Christian and Holiday charts in its first week and marked her eighth straight release to debut at #1 on the Billboard Country chart. My Gift also debuted #1 on the UK country chart (her fifth #1 on the chart) and #1 on the Canadian country chart. Additionally, HBO Max began streaming “My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood” in December, an exclusive, all-new musical holiday special, with Carrie performing songs from My Gift with a full orchestra and choir.  She recently announced her next album, My Savior, which will feature beloved gospel hymns and will be released around the Easter holiday.  She starred as Maria von Trapp in NBC’s Emmy®-winning blockbuster, The Sound of Music Live!, hosted the CMA Awards for 12 consecutive years and returned last Fall for her eighth season as the voice of primetime television’s #1 program, NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

Underwood has won over 100 major awards including 7 GRAMMY® Awards, 15 ACM Awards including three for Entertainer of the Year (the first female in history to win twice and, as of 2020, the only female ever to win three times), 22 CMT Music Awards where she continues to hold the record for the most award wins ever for the show, 7 CMA Awards, and 15 American Music Awards with her 7^th win for Favorite Female Artist – Country and 6^th win for Favorite Country Album for Cry Pretty, breaking the AMA record for Most Wins in the Favorite Country Album Category. Carrie is a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry and is the most followed country artist on Instagram and most followed female country artist on Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.

She has built a successful business portfolio inspired by her passion for health and fitness.  She is founder/lead designer for her fitness and lifestyle brand, CALIA by Carrie Underwood, which was launched in 2015.  In March  2020, HarperCollins/Dey Street books published Carrie’s first book, FIND YOUR PATH: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life, a fitness lifestyle book in which she shares her belief that fitness is a lifelong journey, providing a common-sense approach to staying active, eating well, and looking as beautiful as you feel, 52 weeks a year.  That same month, Carrie also launched her new fitness app, fit52, which is a holistic wellness platform designed to encourage and support users on their personal wellness journey with constantly evolving and updating workout “paths,” available on the App Store and on Google Play. In January 2021, she expanded her lifestyle portfolio with an equity partnership with BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink.