| Carrie Underwood |
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Information AboutCarrie Underwood |
BIOGRAPHY Early years Underwood was born at Muskogee Regional Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma to Stephen and Carole Underwood. She was raised on her parents' farm in rural Checotah, Oklahoma . She has performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show every year since childhood. At the age of 13, 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 majored in Journalism and Mass Communication . Underwood is a member of 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 is currently dating NSU Oklahoma student Chad Eagleton. Pictures surfaced after Chad Eagleton placed photos of him and Carrie at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards on his facebook account. 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 Martina McBride's " Independence Day ", Simon Cowell 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. On her last song of the night in the final two, Carrie's performance of "Angels Brought Me Here" had Simon saying, "I think you've done enough to win the competition." And Randy Jackson gave Carrie his very first and last standing ovation during the season. On May 25 , 2005 , she became the fourth winner of ''American Idol'', beating Southern Rocker Bo Bice , and joining Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken as the only contestants who had never been one of the "bottom three" singers during any week's results. {Link without Title} During the competition, there were rumors of Carrie dating fellow contestant Anthony Fedorov , but those rumors were put to an end when Underwood said that he was just a friend, and confirmed that she was not "two-timing" her boyfriend Drake. {Link without Title} Post-''Idol'' career As part of her title, Underwood gained a recording contract with 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 Jingle s 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 setting a record on the country charts, which only has been beaten by Connie Smith who had 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. Her initial album release, entitled '' awards in New York City. When the week's sales figures were tabulated, ''Some Hearts'' entered the Billboard 200 chart with 315,000 copies sold. The large first week sales of ''Some Hearts'' made it #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the biggest debut of any country artist since the advent of the SoundScan system in 1990. 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. {Link without Title} The album's title track, " Some Hearts ," was released to Pop and Adult Contemporary Radio . It received moderate airplay and made it to #13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Top 40 . Carrie Underwood returned to ''American Idol'' on March 2 2006 , to perform her single "Jesus, Take The Wheel". "Don't Forget To Remember Me" has been announced as the next single to be released to country radio. On March 18 , 2006 , at the Grand Ole Opry , Carrie performed a rendition of Tammy Wynette s signature song " Stand By Your Man " and received a standing ovation from the audience for her performance. Carrie Underwood's album was released in Australia on Feb 19, 2006. Carrie will be named one of Teen People 's "''25 Hottest Stars Under 25''" for their June/July issue. Both her and ''American Idol'''s first season winner, Kelly Clarkson, made the list. 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. Trivia Underwood was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" in 2005 by animal-rights organization PETA . She beat out such stars as Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for the honor that she shares with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin . Previous winners include Andre 3000 , Shania Twain , and Alicia Silverstone . After Carrie Underwood's performance of Heart's "Alone" Simon said she would sell more records than any other previous American Idol winner, and it turns out that he guessed right. Up to date Carrie has sold more albums with her debut CD than Kelly, Ruben, and Fantasia's debut albums. However, with the success of Breakaway , Kelly Clarkson is still ahead of Carrie in terms of total album sales. Underwood collects bunnys. Carrie Underwood has a lucky pair of Care Bear Underwear . From May 22-28 {Link without Title} ] issue of TV Guide : "Producer Simon Lythgoe strolls into the make-up room and asks Carrie, "Do you want to know who's getting kicked off tonight?" "Yeah!" she says. "It's a surprise," teases Lythgoe. "We're bringing back Constantine and kicking him off again." Meanwhile, Carrie has forgotten her Wednesday good-luck Care Bears underwear. "It {Link without Title} like i have to have them on," she says, but the blood drains from her face." {Link without Title} {Link without Title} DISCOGRAPHY Albums Singles
#"Inside Your Heaven" debuted at #1 and spent one week in the top spot of the US Hot 100 . #"Independence Day" was a B-side to the "Inside Your Heaven" single. Due to high sales and some airplay, "Independence Day" debuted at #84 on the US Pop 100 . #"Jesus, Take The Wheel" spent six weeks at #1 on the US Country chart. This tied Faith Hill 's "Breathe" as the runner-up of the longest-running female number one in the chart's history. #"Before He Cheats" has not officially been released as a single. AWARDS 2005 Billboard Music Awards
2006 Gospel Music Association Music Awards
2006 Country Music Television Music Awards
2006 Academy Of Country Music Awards
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