biography
The Official Carrie Underwood Digital Rodeo Page
"God put us here on this carnival ride
We close our eyes never knowing
Where it will take us next"
--Wheel of the World
There is the whirlwind, and then there is the young woman at its center. The key to Carrie Underwood may lie in knowing that, three years down the road, the two remain separate. For all the awards, the record sales, the chart-topping hits, the non-stop schedule and the incessant media attention, Carrie remains firmly in touch with the shy Oklahoma college student she was before becoming a star. Through all of it, she retains a genuine likeability that, coupled with her enormous talent, goes a long way toward explaining the phenomenal nature of her success.
And it is indeed phenomenal, even when measured by the achievements of others who have found success as she did, via American Idol. The show's co-creator and acerbic judge Simon Cowell had predicted during the competition that she would win and that she would outsell all of Idol's previous winners. He was right on both counts. Carrie’s debut album, Some Hearts, is the biggest-selling American Idol album to date, selling more than 6 million records in the U.S. alone. Her debut CD, Some Hearts, released in 2005, has been the best-selling female country album of 2005, 2006 and 2007. Carrie hit #1 with every single she has released to date, and has won two Grammys as well as a host of trophies from the AMA, ACM, CMA, People’s Choice and Billboard, among many others.
Her own favorite metaphor for the journey, taken from the Hillary Lindsey/Chris Lindsey/Aimee Mayo song "Wheel Of The World," which closes her eagerly awaited second album, has become the project's title.
"This part of my life has been absolutely crazy," she says, "and to think it all started from one little decision I made to get on that ride. That's why Carnival Ride works as my album title, because it describes the wonderful craziness I've been through over the past couple of years."