Carrie
Underwood was born March 10, 1983.
Her family already owned the farm in Checotah, Okla., though Underwood
was born
in the next town over,
the one made famous in Merle Haggard's song, "Okie From Muskogee." Her
father, Stephen, worked at a paper mill, and her mother, Carole,
was an elementary school teacher. Underwood is the youngest of three
sisters. Shanna is 13 years older
and Stephanie is 10 years older. Underwood was just 4 years old when
Shanna moved out on her own but says her siblings have always been
there for her.
Music didn't run in the family, but Carrie
Underwood started singing at church when she was 3. Once she was in school,
she sang solo roles
in student plays. By the seventh grade, people were taking more notice
of her voice as she entered local talent shows. She was told she
had a "big voice" for "such a little girl."
Her taste in music was varied, thanks to her parents
(who liked oldies) and sisters (who favored '80s pop). She started
listening
to country music in the car. She was involved in her high school
music program, but she kept telling people she was going to become
a famous
singer. Then she
enrolled at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., and
became more serious about her career choice. She chose broadcast
journalism for her major and produced a student-run television program
and wrote for the school paper, The Northeastern.
Music wasn't completely out of the picture.
While in college, she had a role in a country music show where
she learned about country
legends like Patsy Cline and the Carter Family. She was still taking
her college classes when friends encouraged her to audition for American
Idol. At first, she resisted. However, she soon realized if she didn't
audition, she would graduate, get a job and may never have a chance
to try out for the show again. So one night after wrapping an appearance
in the college country music show, she piled into the car with her
mom, a friend and her mother and drove all night, arriving in St.
Louis at 6 a.m. They had to be at the stadium by 8 a.m. to receive
wristbands to be eligible for the auditions. Then she waited eight
hours before singing Martina McBride's "Phones Are Ringing All
Over Town" for American Idol supervising producer James Breen.
Carrie Underwood didn't
think she sang it well although she was invited to come back the
next day and sing for executive
producer Nigel Lythgoe.
She sang another McBride song for Lythgoe, "Independence Day." On
the next round, Underwood sang Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make
You Love Me" for the show's judges, who sent her to Hollywood
on her first-ever airline flight. As the weeks went by, the other
contestants were voted off the show one by one, until the finale
on May 25, 2005, when it was Underwood vs. Bo Bice. When Ryan Seacrest
announced the winner, Underwood became America's new idol. She signed
to 19 Recordings/Arista Records and released the single "Inside
Your Heaven", which debuted as the best selling song in the
nation with sales of 170,000. She broke Billboard chart history as
the first country music artist ever to debut at No. 1 on the Hot
100. Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven" also became the first
song from a country artist to go to No. 1 on the Hot 100 since Lonestar's "Amazed" did
so in 2000. However, the single was scarcely played on country radio.
Following her win, she performed on the American
Idol tour and signed advertising deals for Hershey's chocolate
and Skechers shoes. She
released the single "Jesus, Take the Wheel" to country
radio later that year; her debut album Some Hearts followed in November,
less than six months following her Idol win. Some
Hearts proved to be a huge hit, leading to the No. 1 hits "Jesus,
Take the Wheel," "Don't Forget to Remember Me" and "Before
He Cheats." She toured with Kenny Chesney as well as Brad Paisley
in 2006. She also won her first CMA Awards in 2006, in the Horizon
and female vocalist.
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Cate Blanchett Stars
in the Return of Indiana Jones
Everyone's favorite archeologist adventurer dusts off his hat and trusty whip
for yet another globetrotting trek as Indiana Jones returns to the big screen
nearly 20 years after racing for the Holy Grail alongside his father in Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Harrison Ford reprises his role as the iconic,
snake-loathing screen hero. View
Full Story |
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Cameron Diaz and Ashton
Kutcher in What Happens in Vegas
Two strangers find themselves
wed and in bed after a wild night of Las Vegas shenanigans in
this 20th Century Fox comedy.
When they both recover to find that one of them won a jackpot the night before,
the game is on as the two greedily vie for the loot, eventually discovering that
maybe this ill-planned love connection isn't quite as off the mark as they originally
believed. View the Movie Trailer
Cameron Diaz Bio and Photos |
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Sexy Kate
Hudson Stars in Fool's Gold
Ben "Finn" Finnegan
is a good-natured, surf bum-turned-treasure hunter who is obsessed
with finding the legendary 18th century Queen's Dowry--40 chests
of exotic treasure that was lost at sea in 1715. In his quest,
Finn has sunk everything he has, including his marriage to Tess
Finnegan and his more-rusty-than-trusty salvage boat, "Booty Calls."
Continued
in Movie News |
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Gwyneth Paltrow in Marvel's Iron Man
Gwyneth
Paltrow It
would only seem natural that this daughter of TV producer Bruce
Paltrow and stage and screen actress Blythe Danner would chose
to follow a path in show business. Nevertheless, Gwyneth Paltrow's
parents tried to dissuade her from a career as an actress, but
she was determined Continued
in Movie News |
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Lindsay Lohan to
Portray Manson Cult Girl
US actress Lindsay Lohan is to portray one of the cult followers
loyal to convicted murderer Charles Manson, in a new
movie called "Manson Girls," US media reported on Thursday. E! News said it had
learned Lohan, 21, would star as Nancy Pitman in the movie, produced by Brad
Wyman of Junction Films. Full Article |
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Beautiful Blake Lively from Gossip
Girl
Blake Lively started
out in film with a bit role in Sandman in 1998. In 2005, Lively
played Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, for which
she received a Teen Choice Award nomination for "Choice Movie
Breakout - Female". Full
Bio on Blake Lively |
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Jennifer Lopez Gives
Birth to Twins
NEW YORK (AP) — Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins early Friday,
making the singer and husband Marc Anthony the parents of a boy and a girl after
one of pop music's most closely watched pregnancies. Lopez representative Simon
Fields told People magazine the babies were born shortly after midnight on New
York's Long Island, with the 5-pound, 7-ounce girl arriving first, followed by
her 6-pound brother minutes later. Full Article |
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Carrie Underwood to
Join Grand Ole Opry
NASHVILLE (Billboard)
Country superstar Carrie Underwood, who once told Billboard
that if she hadn't won American Idol in 2005, "I probably wouldn't have pursued
music much further at all," has been invited to join the Grand Ole Opry. The
invitation was extended March 15 by Opry member Randy Travis Full article |
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Elisha Cuthbert Returns to TV in CBS
Drama
Former "24" heroine Elisha
Cuthbert is returning to television as the female lead
in CBS' drama pilot "Ny-Lon." Cuthbert will play a New York literacy
teacher/record store clerk who embarks on a transatlantic romance
with a London stock broker. The project is based on a British
series starring Rashida Jones and Steven Moyer. After her breakthrough
role as Kiefer Sutherland's daughter in the first three seasons
of Fox's "24," the Canadian actress focused on movies. Her upcoming
features include "My Sassy Girl" and "The Six Lives of Henry
Lefay. |
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Mariah
Carey to Rule U.S. Singles Charts
Mariah Carey is on
track to collect her 18th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles
chart
next
week. "Touch
My Body," the
first single from her upcoming album, dipped one place to No.
15 on the latest survey, issued Thursday. But the fresh availability
of a digital download should send the song hurtling to the
top next week. Full article |
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