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Friday, June 19, 2009

Carrie Underwood: Making a Splash in the Country Music Scene

By Greg Shuey

Carrie Underwood had a life-changing experience that fateful day in 2005 when she won in the fourth season of American Idol. Since then, the Idol champ has enjoyed a very fruitful music career.

When she first sang in front of the show's judges, she immediately earned their admiration. Her rendition of Bonnie Rait's "I Can't Make You Love Me" was enough to earn her a golden ticket to Hollywood and make it all the way to the finals of the hit reality show. Each week, her stellar performances propelled her to the next level. During the finale of the show in May of 2005, she bested Bo Bice and became the next American Idol.

When she won, only one out of the three previous Idol winners has been successful. The first Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, was still enjoying the success brought mainly by her Idol exposure three years after she broke through the music scene. And even though two other winners have emerged-Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino-she is still the only Idol winner who has did well post-competition.

As soon as she has won the show, fans and critics alike were immediately drawn to Carrie Underwood's music. She released her winning piece. "Inside Your Heaven," which received very good airplay. Her debut album Some Hearts was released sometime after that. And it was the start of a very fruitful career for this Checotah-native. It produced massive hits like "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Wasted," "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore," and "Before He Cheats." The album landed at the top of the Billboard Albums chart and stayed there for eleven weeks.

Even though she was new in the business, Carrie Underwood, through her music, was able to earn the respect and accolades of her peers in the music industry. Everyone saw the great talent in her. It would naturally follow that she would win several awards for her efforts. She received recognition from the Academy of Country Music, Gospel Music Association, CMT, Country Music Association, Billboard, American Music Awards, and the Grammys.

Her second album also did very well. It proved that Carrie Underwood was no one-hit wonder. Carnival Ride made it possible for the country superstar to add five more number one hits to her credit. They were "So Small," "All American Girl," "Last Name," "Just a Dream," and "I Told You So."

After four years, Carrie Underwood has done excellently well in terms of record sales compared to other American Idol contestants. She has sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide as well as 10.7 million digital downloads. She also has several endorsement deals that added to her income. Since June 2008, she has earned about $14 million. Forbes.com recently named her as the top earner out of all the American Idol contestants, surpassing Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, and Jennifer Hudson.

Her musical success is clearly undeniable. In a short span of time, Carrie Underwood has already achieved what other artists could only dream of. - 18780

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