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| Birth_name = Carrie Marie Underwood
| Birth_name = Carrie Marie Underwood
| Alias =
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| Born = March 10, 1983 (age 31)
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| Born = March 10, 1983
| Died =
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| Origin = Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States
| Origin = Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States
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| Associated_acts = Brad Paisley
| Associated_acts = Brad Paisley
| Influences =
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| URL = [[http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com| Official Site]]
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| URL = <nowiki>[</nowiki>[http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com| Official Site]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
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| Notable_instruments = }}
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'''Carrie Marie Underwood''' is an American country music singer and songwriter who rose to fame after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood has since sold over 65 million albums worldwide, won 7 Grammy Awards, and is the female artist with the most number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart to date.
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Carrie Underwood is an American country music singer and songwriter who rose to fame after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Underwood was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2009. She has won numerous awards, including 7 Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music Awards, 8 American Music Awards, and 5 Country Music Association Awards. Underwood was the first woman in history to win the ACM Entertainer of the Year Award twice.
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== Early Life ==
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Her debut album ''Some Hearts ''was released in 2005, becoming the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history, the best-selling debut album by a female country artist in history, and the best-selling country album of the 2000-2010 decade. With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide and a net worth estimated by ''Forbes ''at $100 million, Underwood is the biggest ''American Idol ''earner of all time.
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Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma, where she discovered her love for singing and country music. Having never received any formal vocal training, Underwood performed at local events, surrounded by supportive family and friends. However, she never believed being a performer was a realistic career. After graduating near the top of her class in high school, she attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, majoring in journalism.
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== American Idol ==
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Underwood is the first and only solo country artist to ever debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and she is the female country artist with the most number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with 14. ''Rolling Stone ''called her the female vocalist of her generation in any genre and ''Billboard ''recognized her as country music's reigning queen. In addition, ''Time ''included Underwood on its "100 Most Influential People in the World" list in 2014.
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During her senior year of college, Underwood saw auditions for the fourth season of''American Idol ''on TV. She decided to give it a try just for fun, and her mother agreed to drive her to the St. Louis, Missouri auditions. There, the shy and nervous 21 year-old sang Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" in front of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. All three judges decided to put her through to the Hollywood round of auditions. Underwood said goodbye to the small town life and hello to Hollywood as she flew on an airplane for the first time. She continued to impress the judges and was selected to compete among the top 24 contestants.
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From there, Underwood began performing for millions of viewers each week as one by one the other contestants were eliminated. Her fan base continued to grow as people were captivated by her girl-next-door personality and impressive voice. Underwood earned the distinction of never landing in the bottom 3 during the season and made it to the final round with contestant Bo Bice. On May 25, 2005, host Ryan Seacrest announced Carrie Underwood as the winner of American Idol's fourth season. The victory turned Underwood into an overnight sensation as she prepared to record her first album and embark on her first tour that summer.
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Her hit singles include "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Before He Cheats", "Something in the Water", "Cowboy Casanova", "Blown Away" and "Good Girl".
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Her first single, "Inside Your Heaven", opened at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, making Underwood the first Idol winner and the first country artist to achieve that distinction.
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== Career Beginnings ==
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Underwood worked on her debut album with producer Mark Bright during the summer of 2005, all the while performing on the American Idol tour and buying her first home in Nashville, Tennessee. Although many people weren't sure if she would go in a country or pop direction with her music, Underwood was sure she wanted to be a country artist.
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Her first single officially released to country radio was "Jesus, Take the Wheel", which hit airwaves in early October 2005, a month before the release of her first album, Some Hearts. The song instantly became a crossover smash, hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, also placing within the top 20 of the Hot 100 and within the top 10 of the Christian Songs Chart in the United States. "Jesus, Take the Wheel" would eventually win Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards, where Underwood would also win Best New Artist. The song spent 6 weeks at #1 on the Hot Country Songs Chart, in addition to winning Single of the Year at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards.
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Underwood's album Some Hearts was well received by fans upon its release in 2005. It was the best-selling album of all genres in 2006, as well as the best-selling country album of 2006 and 2007. Some Hearts has gone on to sell over 9 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling debut album by a female country artist in history, as well as the fastest-selling debut country album in history. The album received the 2007 Academy of Country Music Award for Album of the Year, as well as the 2007 American Music Award for Favorite Country Album.
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More singles from the album went to #1 on the Hot Country Songs, including "Before He Cheats", which topped the Country Chart for 5 weeks and peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 Chart. "Before He Cheats" would eventually win Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards, in addition to being nominated for Song of the Year. The Country Music Association awarded the song as its 2007 Single of the Year, in addition to awarding Underwood Female Vocalist of the Year for the second time.
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Underwood would achieve several more distinctions in 2007, including being named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards, Female Vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and Country Artist of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards.
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== Transition to Country Music Superstar ==
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Amid the whirlwind of success and national stardom, Underwood worked on her second album over the course of 2007. She became more involved in co-writing songs for this record and planned her first headlining tour. Her second release, Carnival Ride, hit stores in October and sold over 500,000 copies in its first week, one of the largest opening weeks for a female artist in history. Underwood performed the lead single "So Small" at the Country Music Association Awards that November, and the single hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs a month later, becoming her first co-write to top the chart. "All-American Girl", "Last Name", and "Just A Dream" would all go to #1 as well, showcasing multiple facets of Underwood's particular sound.
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In March 2008, while performing her version of Randy Travis' "I Told You So" at the Grand Ole Opry, Underwood was surprised onstage by Travis himself, who invited her to become the next member of the Opry. She was inducted in May at the age of 25 by Garth Brooks, becoming at the time the youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry. Underwood embarked on her first headlining tour that year to support her album, further solidifying her place as a force in country music. Along with winning several more accolades, Underwood co-hosted the 2008 Country Music Awards with Brad Paisley, also winning Female Vocalist of the Year for the third year in a row.
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In early 2009 she released a duet version of "I Told You So" with Randy Travis, which peaked at #2 on the Hot Country Songs. At the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards, Underwood won Entertainer of the Year for her tour as well as Female Vocalist of the Year. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, she received Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Last Name".
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== Finding Love ==
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In addition to receiving an outpouring of love from fans and peers alike, Underwood found time for a personal life. She began dating Mike Fisher, a professional hockey athlete from Canada, after being introduced to him in 2008. Fisher eventually proposed in December 2009, and the couple wed in July 2010.
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Her relationship with Fisher would inspire several of the songs for her third album, Play On, which was released in November 2009. The slick country-pop lead single "Cowboy Casanova" was the fastest-climbing country single of 2009, reaching #1 within two months of being released. 2 more singles would top the Hot Country Songs Chart in 2010, "Temporary Home" and "Undo It", while "Mama's Song" (inspired by her new husband) peaked at #2. Underwood co-wrote even more songs for the album and worked with a few different producers, furthering her development as a songwriter and artist.
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Underwood embarked on her second headlining tour in March 2010 to support Play On. She played to over 1 million fans throughout the course of the year and made stops in the United States and Canada, marking her largest tour to date at the time. In May 2010 she was named Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Country Music, which earned her the distinction of being the first woman in history to win that award twice. Underwood also won the Grammy for Best Country Collaboration for her duet with Randy Travis at the 2010 Grammy Awards. She co-hosted the CMA Awards with Paisley for the third year in a row in November 2010. CMT would name Underwood one of its first Artists of the Year for her many achievements.
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== Expanding Musical and Professional Horizons ==
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In 2011 Underwood took a break from touring to focus on writing for her next album and to work on several unique projects. She was featured on Tony Bennett's duets album, singing "It Had to Be You", later performing with him at the 2012 Grammy Awards. Underwood released her first single with Brad Paisley - "Remind Me" - in May 2011 and the single hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs that September. Underwood also recorded duets with Aerosmith and Randy Travis for their new albums, respectively.
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Underwood performed her version of "How Great Thou Art" with Vince Gill at an awards ceremony in April 2011, where those in attendance stood to their feet after her performance. A video of the performance was posted to YouTube soon after and reached over 3 million views in 3 days. Underwood has since incorporated the song during several of her concert performances.
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She made her acting debut in a small role in the film ''Soul Surfer ''in 2011, a faith-based recounting of the life of Bethany Hamilton, a champion surfer who lost her arm due to a shark attack in 2003.
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Underwood was one of the first headlining artists at the inaugural iHeart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, that September, performing several of her hits. Underwood revealed she was finishing up on her fourth album, though she didn't plan to release it until the following year.
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== International Music Icon ==
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Underwood released her fourth album, Blown Away, in May 2012, after writing songs and planning the tour for over a year. The album opened at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 Albums Chart, her third release to do so and her first to spend more than one week at the top. Lead single "Good Girl" peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Songs and #18 on the Hot 100 and sold over 1 million copies in the United States. The album's second single, title track "Blown Away", also reached #1 and won the 2013 Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Solo Country Performance. "Blown Away" would also go on to sell over 2 million copies. Third single "Two Black Cadillacs" peaked at #4 on the Hot Country Songs, but sold in excess of 1 million copies, while fourth single "See You Again" peaked at #7, becoming Underwood's 18th consecutive top 10 single.
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Underwood performed on the Blown Away Tour throughout 2012 and 2013, making stops in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Underwood again played to over 1 million fans over the course of a year, and in 2013 she released her first concert DVD, in addition to having an exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
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Underwood prepared for her leading role as Maria in NBC's adapted version of ''The Sound of Music, ''which was broadcast live for millions of viewers in December 2013. Though the show received polarizing reviews, it was nominated for 4 Emmy Awards and won 1 of the nominations. A DVD and soundtrack was released for the program.
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== New Parent ==
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Underwood again took time out to plan her next album and focus on her family. In September 2014 she announced she was pregnant with her first child (later revealed to be a boy), although she first found out she was expecting in July. Underwood released a new single - "Something in the Water" - in September, revealing she would release a greatest hits compilation to give herself more time to prepare for her first son. "Something in the Water" became a huge crossover hit, peaking at #1 for 7 weeks on the Hot Country Songs and also topping the Hot Christian Songs for several weeks. The song became Underwood's longest-running #1 single to date as well as her first number one on the Christian Songs. "Something in the Water" also fared quite well on the Hot 100, peaking at #24.
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Underwood released her first compilation album, Greatest Hits: Decade #1, in December 2014 and the album opened at #1 on the Country Albums Chart. At the 2015 Grammy Awards in February, "Something in the Water" won Best Country Solo Performance, giving Underwood her 7th Grammy to date. A second single was released in February, "Little Toy Guns".
===Photo Gallery===
===Photo Gallery===