Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer and songwriter from Checotah, Oklahoma. She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol. She has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award winner, was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, is a three-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist winner, and the current ACM Entertainer of the year.
 
Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified seven times platinum, and is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It is also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. Some Hearts yielded three number one hits on the country charts in the United States: "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Wasted" and "Before He Cheats", her biggest hit to date. Some Hearts was recently titled the Top Country Album of the Decade. More about Carrie Marie Underwood >
Her second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. It has so far sold over 3 million copies, and produced five number one country hits, "So Small", "All-American Girl", "Last Name" , "Just a Dream" and "I Told You So".
Underwood released her third album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. It has so far sold over 1 million copies since its release. Her first single off the album, "Cowboy Casanova", was released to country radio on September 14, 2009. The single peaked at number one on the country charts, which made Underwood the artist with the most top 10s on the country chart among solo women of the decade, followed by Faith Hill and Martina McBride each with 9. In November 2009, Underwood attained total domestic album sales of 11 million and became the highest-selling American Idol artist in the United States, surpassing Kelly Clarkson by approximately 800,000 units. Clarkson, however, remains the highest-selling American Idol alum overall, with over 23 million albums sold worldwide to Underwood's 14 million. |
