With her innocent charm and pure, pretty voice Carrie Underwood was the first country singer to win American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released soon after and became a smash hit. The lead single, “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for six weeks and won Single Record of the Year at the ACM Awards. She also won Top Female Vocalist, Breakthrough Video and Best Female Video at the CMT Awards. “Before He Cheats” became her fourth number one. That December, she won five Billboard Music Awards. Underwood won three awards at the 2007 CMTs for “Before He Cheats” and took home two Grammys. Underwood released Carnival Ride in October 2007. Four of the album’s tracks hit the top of the country charts, pushing the album to multi-million sales and earning her an additional Grammy. Two years later, Underwood released Play On. She co-wrote seven of the tracks, including, “Cowboy Casanova.” It and the two follow-up singles all reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart. In 2010, Underwood won her fifth career Grammy for her duet with Randy Travis, “I Told You So.” In early 2011, the Hollywood Reporter declared her to be the top earner among American Idol alumni with over 12 million albums sold. Underwood and Brad Paisley co-hosted the CMA Awards shows in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In May 2012, she released her, Blown Away, featuring the single, “Good Girl.” Storyteller followed in 2015. Carrie Underwood continues to blow audiences away with her stellar performances.
