Singer: Carrie Underwood

One of the cool things about watching Carrie Underwood rise to the highest heights of the country music industry is that those of us who watch American Idol have been able to follow her career since the very beginning. We saw the beautiful girl from Checotah, Oklahoma audition during Season 4, and it was evident from the very first that she was going to be a force. We’ve since learned that she dominated the voting each week, and she was crowned that season’s American Idol.

Simon Cowell predicted that Underwood would outsell every other Idol, not a terribly bold prediction at the time. But he turned out to be prophetic. Her debut album, Some Hearts, entered the Country chart at number one, and made it to number two on the Billboard 200. Her next two albums made it to number one. She’s had ten singles reach the top of the Country chart, and as of January, 2011 she’s sold 1.6 million more albums than the nearest Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson.

I trust Underwood has a large trophy cabinet, because she’s earned a lot of awards in her short career. Five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance (3x). CMA Female Vocalist of the Year (3x). Academy of Country Music Awards Female Vocalist of the Year (4x) and Entertainer of the Year. And many more awards from Billboard, People’s Choice, CMT, BMI, and others. And here’s the exciting thing for country music fans – she’s done all this, and she just turned 28…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdRt17G9a7o]

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