Carrie Underwood’s Early Life:
American country music musician Carrie Underwood was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on March 10, 1983. She leveraged her triumph on the television singing competition American Idol into a successful recording career. Some Hearts (2005), Carnival Ride (2007), Play On (2009), and Cry Pretty (2018) are a few of her best-selling albums.
In the little Oklahoman town of Checotah, Carrie Underwood grew up on her family’s farm. At an early age, she started singing, first in church and then in school productions and talent shows. She planned to pursue a career in broadcast journalism when she enrolled at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, in 2002. She took a break from her studies two years later to try out for American Idol’s fourth season. After being chosen as the crowd favorite, she advanced through the competition and eventually took first place in 2005.
She signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings/Arista Records after winning. She became one of the most successful American Idol graduates after her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), sold over seven million copies and became a huge commercial success. She accompanied the record with a 150-show tour in 2006, headlining her own shows and sharing the stage with celebrities like Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney. Despite her hectic schedule, she went back to school and received magna cum laude honors for her B.A. in mass communication from Northeastern State University that same year.
Carrie Underwood received two Grammy Awards in 2007: Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best New Artist. With over 300,000 downloads, one of her songs—which was only available digitally on Apple’s iTunes—became the first digital-only release to rank in the top 10 of the Billboard singles chart. She received Single of the Year at the 2007 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards for her ferocious hymn of retaliation, “Before He Cheats.”
In its first week of release, her second album, Carnival Ride (2007), sold over half a million copies. She joined the ranks of legendary country musicians like Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Martina McBride when she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry at the beginning of 2008. Later following year, she took home the Female Vocalist of the Year CMA Award for the third time in a row.
Carrie Underwood continued to demonstrate her broad appeal with Play On (2009). Her duet with Randy Travis, “I Told You So,” which was first heard on Carnival Ride, earned her a Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Country Collaboration. In the same year, she received her second consecutive Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year award.
Blown Away, a potent compilation of songs that demonstrated the range of her vocals, marked her comeback in 2012. The album’s title single garnered her another Grammy Award in 2013, and it became her third release to reach the top of the Billboard album list.
Carrie Underwood published a best-of collection the next year, which was a huge success. With her fifth studio album, Storyteller (2015), which debuted at number one on the country album chart—her sixth consecutive release to do so—her popularity continued. She became the first female to have four country albums debut at the top of the Billboard chart with Cry Pretty (2018).
Later, she put out the gospel-inspired My Savior (2021) and the Christmas album My Gift (2020), both of which peaked at number one on the country album list. She started a residency show called Reflection in Las Vegas in 2021. The next year, she released Denim & Rhinestones.
Carrie Underwood has been performing Sunday Night Football’s opening theme song on NBC since 2013. She introduced her workout apparel brand, CALIA, in 2014. Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life (2020) is another self-help book she produced. She made a comeback to American Idol in 2025, this time serving as a judge.