For Underwood, there's no holding back on 'Play On'

NASHVILLE — This time, Carrie Underwood feels as if she has some room to play.

She has a healthy string of chart-topping singles under her belt since winning American Idol in 2005. Her latest, the almost-urban Cowboy Casanova, is in the top five on USA TODAY's country singles airplay chart and climbing. Her first two albums have sold well enough that a good first week for her third –Play On, out Tuesday – could push her past the 10 million mark.

"I wanted to get out of my comfort zone," Underwood says. So she took familiar Nashville co-writers and added outside influences such as Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, fellow Oklahoman Zac Maloy (who once fronted the rock band The Nixons), Canadian singer/songwriter Chantal Kreziazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida.

I'd take some other small element and bring it into our world to see what we could do with it," Underwood says. "Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but I think it ended up being different and progressive."

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