Carrie Underwood is an American singer from Muskogee, Oklahoma, born in 1983. She rises to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005, and becomes the programme’s most successful alumni.

Career and recordings

Underwood’s first single, “Inside Your Heaven”, makes her the only country artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to reach the top of that chart. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), is driven by the crossover hits “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Before He Cheats” and becomes the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. It spends 27 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Country Albums chart and sells more than 7 million copies. Billboard also names it the country album of the decade.

Her next album, Carnival Ride (2007), opens with one of the biggest first-week totals by a female artist and wins two Grammy Awards. Play On (2009) follows and includes “Cowboy Casanova”, which makes one of the biggest single-week climbs on the Hot 100. Blown Away is another major release, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and staying there for two weeks. Across these four albums, she builds a large country radio presence with songs including “So Small”, “Last Name”, “Just a Dream”, “Temporary Home”, “All-American Girl”, “Undo It”, “Mama’s Song” and “Good Girl”.

Style and songwriting

Her work spans contemporary country, country, country pop, country rock, pop and pop rock. The bio presents her as an artist who keeps her recordings varied while staying within country, with songs that range from up-tempo material to ballads and narrative tracks. On Blown Away, she co-writes eight of the 14 songs, including “Good Girl”, “Two Black Cadillacs”, “Nobody Ever Told You” and “Good in Goodbye”. Other tracks on the album include “Thank God for Hometowns”, “Forever Changed”, “Cupid’s Got a Shotgun”, “One Way Ticket” and “Wine After Whiskey”.

“Blown Away” and “Two Black Cadillacs” are both described as cinematic songs dealing with abuse, revenge and betrayal. “Good Girl” reaches number one on the country airplay chart and is certified platinum. “Good in Goodbye” is a song about moving beyond heartbreak, while “Nobody Ever Told You” carries an affirming message. “Forever Changed” is a ballad about love, marriage, family and loss, and “Thank God for Hometowns” reflects her attachment to small-town life.

Collaborations and performances

Underwood performs with Steven Tyler on CMT Crossroads, records a number one country hit with Brad Paisley on “Remind Me”, and sings with Tony Bennett on the 2012 Grammy telecast, performing “It Had to Be You”. She also co-writes “There’s a Place for Us” for Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and receives a Golden Globe nomination in 2010 for Best Original Song for it.

She is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and serves as co-host of the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley for several years. She makes her acting debut in the 2011 film Soul Surfer.

Awards and recognition

Underwood wins three Grammy Awards for Some Hearts, including Best New Artist, and later receives two more for Carnival Ride. The bio states that she has seven Grammys in total. She also wins three CMA female vocalist awards and three ACM female vocalist awards. In 2010, she becomes the first female artist to win ACM Entertainer of the Year twice, and the seventh female overall to do so. She also receives the ACM Triple Crown Award. Other honours listed include seven American Music Awards, six People’s Choice Awards, nine CMT Music Awards, nine American Country Awards and seven BMI Songwriter Awards.

Touring and public profile

Her touring profile is described as strong across several headline runs. After the Carnival Ride Tour, she becomes the top-selling country female touring artist of the year, selling out many of 137 shows before 1.2 million fans. The Play On Tour plays 108 shows to one million fans, and she is named the top-ranked female country touring artist of the year. The Blown Away Tour begins at London’s Royal Albert Hall and continues in Australia before moving to North America.

Outside recording and touring, she appears in print and television advertising as the North American face of Olay and has a long-running deal with vitaminwater. She is identified with Oklahoma throughout her career and is associated with a broad country-pop crossover profile.

Labels

Her recordings are linked with Carrie Okie Music, Capitol Records Nashville, Arista Nashville and 19 Recordings, Inc.