Carrie Marie Underwood (born
March 10, 1983) is an American country music singer who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol and
has since become a successful recording artist.
Birth name Carrie Marie Underwood Born March 10, 1983 Muskogee,
Oklahoma Origin Checotah, Oklahoma Genre(s) Country/Pop Years active 2005present Label(s) Arista
Biography Early years
Underwood was born at Muskogee Regional Medical Centre in Muskogee, Oklahoma to Stephen and
Carole Underwood. She was raised on her parents' farm in rural Checotah (Onapa), Oklahoma. She has performed at Robbins
Memorial Talent Show every year since childhood. 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. Underwood attended Northeastern State University, where she graduated
magna cum laude in 2006 in mass communication with an emphasis in journalism. Underwood is a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma
sorority. For 2 years during the summer, she performed in Northeastern's Downtown Country Show in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She
also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004. Underwood
has two older sisters, Shanna Underwood Means and Stephanie Underwood Shelton, born in 1974 and 1971, both elementary school
teachers in Oklahoma.
Personal Life
Carrie Underwood's boyfriend is NSU Oklahoma student
Chad Eagleton. Pictures surfaced after Eagleton placed photos of him and Carrie at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards on his
facebook profile. During Idol she dated Drake Clark, also a student at NSU.
Idol Underwood's musical
influences include pop, 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 she won. After singing Tiffany's
"Could've Been", Randy Jackson said he couldn't believe that no one had discovered
her yet.
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."
Cowell went on to say on the March 30 show that she has the "it" factor that will make her a star. As part
of her title, Underwood gained a recording contract with Arista Records; her first single, "Inside
Your Heaven", was released on June 14, 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with first-week
sales of 170,000 copies, and briefly stopped Mariah Carey's run at #1 with "We Belong Together."
One week later, runner-up, Bo Bice, released his version of the song, which debuted at #2. Underwood's version was shunned
by country radio reaching a peak of #59 on the country charts. [2] The B-side is "Independence
Day", a cover of the Martina McBride hit. She has appeared as a guest on Canadian Idol singing "Inside Your Heaven" during the Idols 2005 tour in Toronto. 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 the same year, she starred in ads for Hershey's Chocolate. The commercials have Underwood singing
Hershey jingles 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. The T-Shirts are now available to buy with proofs
of purchase. Underwood is also the latest spokesperson for Skechers shoes, following in the footsteps of Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera.
Underwood's second single, "Jesus, Take The Wheel"
was made available for radio airplay 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. As it climbed it finally 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.
In December 2005, Underwood was named Oklahoman of the Year by Oklahoma
Today magazine. Carrie Underwood hosted a 2-hour Christmas radio special Christmas in the Country. This program was
available for the radio market during late December 2005.
On January 9, 2006, Some Hearts was certified Double
Platinum by the RIAA with shipments of over 2 million units, making it the fastest-selling debut country album in the history
of Nielsen SoundScan.[4] On February 19, 2006 Carrie Underwood's album was released in Australia.
On
March 2nd 2006, Carrie returned to the American Idol stage to sing her hit single, Jesus Take The Wheel.
On March
18, 2006, at the Grand Ole Opry, Carrie performed a rendition of Tammy Wynettes signature song "Stand
by Your Man" and received a standing ovation from the audience for her performance.
On May 11, 2006,
Some Hearts was certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA with shipments of over 3 million units, making it not only the fastest
selling album by a female country artist, but the best-selling debut album coming from any contestant of American Idol.
On
May 24, 2006 Carrie returned to American Idol for a second time. She opened the show with the top 12 contestants singing I
Made It Through The Rain and took the stage later on to sing her newest single Don't Forget To Remember
Me. She was then spotted in the audience throughout the night. Her very generous appearances have garnered her great
respect from the fans of American Idol and her own fans who note her as being, "The Anti Kelly
Clarkson" in that she has embraced, rather than rejected, her idol past.
The album's title track,
"Some Hearts," was released to pop 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 second of Carrie's singles to be released to country radio, has peaked at #12 on the Hot Country Charts, as well as,
#78 on the Billboard Hot 100. Carrie will be named one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars
Under 25" for their June/July issue. Both she and American Idol's first season winner, Kelly Clarkson, made
the list. Though, Kelly was above her. Carrie won 2 Academy of Country Music Awards, one for Single Record of the Year,
for "Jesus Take the Wheel", and the other for Best New Artist on May 24, 2006.
A day after her double
win at the ACM's, she returned to American Idol, along side the finalist, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee and the rest
of the Final 12 in that season, before passing on the "American Idol" crown.
Carrie Day
On
May 26, 2005, U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, presented a resolution congratulating Carrie Underwood for winning American
Idol and for being a positive role model. The resolution thanks her for representing the state of Oklahoma as "an intelligent,
kind, considerate young woman" to millions of television viewers around the world. The resolution was submitted
to the United States Senate, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. As a result, May 25 was declared Carrie
Underwood Day in Oklahoma.
