Review: Underwood proves compassion can come with talent

Via Dayton Daily News...

Carrie Underwood graced the Miami Valley with her gorgeous presence last week at Country Concert in Fort Loramie and did not disappoint.

Sure, her voice was beautiful and as always, she was absolutely stunning, but one of the prettiest things about the new Mrs. Mike Fisher had nothing to do with her outward appearance, but her inside — her heart to be exact.

Carrie has been a long time supporter of the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp in Nashville, which focuses on putting more music in the lives of talented campers with developmental disabilities. It was founded by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and is aimed at teens and young adults from around the country with Williams Syndrome and other genetic conditions like Down Syndrome.

Just before coming to Fort Loramie, Carrie visited the camp, singing some of her biggest hits with campers., including “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Undo It.”

“I sing because I love to sing, and that’s what they love to do, too,” she told Nashville.com in an interview.

And the campers?

Of course, some were overwhelmed by the superstar, “I was like shocked,” Mackenzie Mansour, a 16-year-old from Lone Oak, Texas, told the Associated Press. “I didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘Um, should I say hi to her or should I hug her?’ I was like, ‘Gotta think.’”

Mansour likewise made a huge impression on Carrie: “I said, ‘Do you want me to sing with you?’ She said, ‘No, I’ll sing to you.’”

Carrie was inspired by fellow Country Concert alumni Darius Rucker’s performance with a group from Lifting Lives at the ACM Awards in April.

Last weekend, Carrie showed her own kind of love by inviting a group of special needs kids backstage before she went on Friday. She smiled, posed for pictures and passed out plenty of hugs and kisses. But most of all, she took her time, answering their questions with kindness and compassion.

At the Lifting Lives camp, Carrie said, “I think we all kind of forget what a special gift that we have and we’re able to participate in every single day. And music is definitely a universal language. Anybody can speak it. Anybody can love it.”

And now there’s one more reason to love Carrie Underwood.

Carrie Underwood’s tour put up big numbers — or did it?

Via canada.com...

Carrie Underwood had a successful tour in 2010 with Play On but how successful was it exactly? According to Underwood’s PR people, over one million fans took in the tour during it’s schedule of 108 dates.
Yet Pollstar’s listing of the top 50 worldwide concert tours has Underwood at a signficantly smaller number — 778,930 fans attending 102 dates.
How much of a difference are the two figures? Well, if Underwood’s totals are to be believed, she averaged 9,259 fans per show. Using Pollstar’s figures, Underwood averaged 7,637 fans per show.
When I first received the news release from Underwood’s camp, I didn’t think there was any reason to question the numbers. I took in Underwood’s show in Saskatoon on June 20 and I’ve got no doubts that she was definitely capable of selling a boatload of tickets. But I then started doing a little research and there are a number of websites where fans are expressing their displeasure at Underwood’s camp claiming her tour attracted one million fans.
So who is right in this dispute? Well, I’m sure Pollstar would stand behind the figures used in its listings and I’m just as sure that Underwood’s people can prove that their figures are from a reliable source. My best guess is that this is a case of comparing apples vs. oranges. It’s most likely that the sources, although trying to reach a similiar goal, used different methods to come to their final figures.
What interested me most about the Pollstar listing was that the artists were ranked according to gross sales per tour. Six country tours made the list: Tim McGraw (No. 25, $42.9 million); Brad Paisley (No. 26, $42.4 million); George Strait/Reba/Lee Ann Womack (No. 27, $41.6 million); Taylor Swift (No. 28, $40.4 million); Underwood (No. 32, $38.3 million); and, Rascal Flatts (No. 48, $28.4 million).
Of the six country tours that made the list, Underwood played the most shows (102), Strait/Reba/Womack had the highest average ticket price ($84.30), McGraw sold the most tickets (871,708) and Swift had the largest average crowd (17,873).

Country Fest announces lineup

Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins and Lady Antebellum are headlining Country Fest this summer.

Chippewa Valley Music Festivals, which operates both Country Fest and Rock Fest, has not announced the performers for the rock festival, which is July 14-17 on the fest grounds north of Cadott.

Following is the Country Fest lineup for June 23-26:

Thursday, June 23 — Brett Eldredge, 3 p.m.; Joey & Rory, 5 p.m.; Lonestar, 7 p.m.; Gretchen Wilson, 9 p.m.; Trace Adkins, 11 p.m.

Friday, June 24 — Steel Magnolia, 3 p.m.; Justin Moore, 5 p.m.; Craig Morgan, 7 p.m.; Gary Allan, 9 p.m.; Miranda Lambert, 11 p.m.

Saturday, June 25 — Josh Thompson, 3 p.m.; Collin Raye, 5 p.m.; Chris Young, 7 p.m.; Dierks Bentley, 9 p.m.; Carrie Underwood, 11 p.m.

Sunday, June 26 — Bucky Covington, 2:30 p.m.; Jerrod Niemann, 4:30 p.m.; Clay Walker, 6:15 p.m.; Josh Turner, 8:15 p.m.; Lady Antebellum, 10:30 p.m.

Carrie Underwood Concert Review - Vancouver

VANCOUVER — The masses couldn’t have picked a more worthy winner when they crowned Carrie Underwood as the 2005 American Idol.

In just five short years, the country starlet has not only lived up to her title but charged ahead full speed with it, thanks to her honest and catchy songs about one-night stands, Casanova cowboys and the bitter taste of heartbreak.

Underwood has chalked up an impressive Billboard legacy, which includes making the Top Artists of the Year Chart in 2009 and 2010, and the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Year Chart in 2005. And that’s only the beginning. Her resume also boasts numerous Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards, CMT Music Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards.

In short, she’s lapped every other American Idol in the success department except for Kelly Clarkson—and even then, she’s outdone Clarkson in album sales.

Maybe we should forget about dubbing her as an American Idol. Underwood, a blond charmer originally from Checotah, Okla., has become more of a World Idol than anything.

The 27-year-old Underwood proved she was fit for the international title at Rogers Arena Thursday night as she played to a packed crowd of plaid shirts and cowboy hats for nearly two hours.

Fans, ranging from eight-year-old kidlets to mother/daughter entourages to 20-something-year-old males, hopped about in excitement at the sight of the curly-haired songstress.

Some fans used the concert as an opportunity to bond with friends, singing along and taking photos of themselves as they documented their girls’ night out.

Underwood rose from a platform under the stage, lounging on a red velvet couch. She emerged wearing a glittering grey overcoat and with her brilliant blond locks pulled into a side ponytail.

She looked and sounded spectacular. Secretly, every woman in the building wished she were Underwood.

Cowboy Casanova, a track she co-wrote on her third release, 2009’s Play On, kicked off the show and got the crowd revved. “He’s a good time, cowboy Casanova / leaning up against the record machine / He looks like a cool drink of water / But he’s candy coated misery,” Underwood sang with a feisty, no-nonsense growl.

Like clockwork, female fans began dancing dangerously and punching the air in unison. Underwood may be sailing on superstardom, but her toes are still buried in the farmers’ fields back home. She could relate to every female in the audience, and whenever she locked eyes with fans they looked as though they were sharing giggles over late-night lounge drinks.

Underwood was backed by an eight-piece band, two jumbo screens on the side and some grey velvet curtains. Nothing fancy, but just enough frills to give her an air of class and sophistication.

“Good evening Vancouver! Thanks for being here,” she said with a twang.

“Tonight is about you. If you want to sing or dance or stomp your feet, please do so.”

Underwood went on to Quitter, another upbeat track from Play On.

Wasted was up next, a song that brought fans back to her 2005 record Some Hearts.

Underwood gave her Canadian fans a special treat when she changed the lyrics of All-American Girl to All-Canadian Girl. You can guess how loud things got every time she mentioned the country.

The show got glitzier as it rolled along, with Underwood changing into a number of glamourous dresses and shiny tank tops.

But the biggest spectacle was when she decided to float above the audience in a blue pickup truck as she sang. Talk about flying high.

Despite the airborne stunt, a number of mellow songs in a row caused the energy to take an unfortunate dip.

Thankfully, the ultra-feminine anthem Undo It brought the crowd back to life.

"I like a good sassy song," Underwood joked playfully afterwards.

Throughout the show, Underwood made it clear that she was born to entertain. For her, American Idol wasn’t just a reality television popularity contest to give her fifteen minutes of fame before a quick fade like so many other Idols.

She’s a talented songwriter, as her personal and revealing record Play On can attest to. She’s a gifted singer, who sent collective shivers down everyone’s spines as she held every end note. And let’s not forget, she’s a genuine all-American Girl.

As she sang Just A Dream from 2007’s Carnival Ride, she did so with heartbreaking honesty, embracing the audience with every lyric.

It may have been a song about loss, but Underwood’s smile assured us she won’t be leaving us anytime soon.

Carrie Underwood Plays Foxwoods Dec. 30

Carrie Underwood returns Dec. 30 to MGM Grand at Foxwoods; tickets go on sale Friday at 9 a.m. for $150, $125 and $100. The Judds are there March 19; tickets go on sale Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. for $75, $65 and $50.

Foxwoods Website

Concert Review: Carrie Underwood, further idolized at Prudential Center in Newark

She flashed those game-show chops that helped her secure the popular vote on "American Idol." Carrie Underwood, an impressively forceful singer and surprisingly effective storyteller, belted out her best for more than ninety minutes at a sold-out Prudential Center in Newark. Underwood, who has made her name by straddling the line between Nashville industrial-strength country music and MOR pop, barely needed a break to breathe. And when she finally took one -- right after the barn-burner “Undo It” -- she felt the need to apologize to the crowd.

Underwood is five years removed from her prime time win, but she still has the controlled demeanor of a television performer. The Oklahoma native is likeable, but somewhat emotionally remote. She does not stride into wild-girl country rock territory, as Gretchen Wilson does, or indulge in drama club antics like Taylor Swift, or spazz out, cartoon-style, like Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. She keeps her act machine-pressed and maintains her impeccable appearance for the stadium‘s video cameras. Even when she goes for those high notes on those heartrending ballads of hers, she remembers to smile. She told the audience, twice, that she considered herself incredibly fortunate. In a sense she still seems to be basking in a victory.

>> Full Story

Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts to headline 2011 Stagecoach Festival

From LATimes.com...

Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood will headline the fifth Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, slated for April 30 and May 1 on a weekend that also will feature country veterans Loretta Lynn, Rodney Crowell and Ricky Skaggs as well as newcomers including the Secret Sisters, Easton Corbin and Steel Magnolia.








Leon Russell, Darius Rucker, Wanda Jackson, Truth & Salvage Co., Josh Turner and Jack Ingram will help fill out the weekend bill, for which tickets will go on sale Nov. 5. The full lineup and details on camping and other arrangements are posted at the Stagecoach website. Two-day festival passes will cost $99, and children 10 and under are free. Stagecoach is held on the grounds of the Empire Polo Field.

Concert review: Carrie Underwood's 'Play On' Tour

From Tampabay.com...
Before Carrie Underwood even took the stage for the Tampa leg of her national Play On tour, the St. Pete Times Forum was swarming with excitable fans of all kinds. American Idol followers, country music lovers, and pop fanatics all joined together from her sweeping fan base to sing along to #1 hits like "Jesus Take The Wheel" and girl power break-up anthems including "Before He Cheats" and "Undo It" from the tour's eponymous album, "Play On."

The opening acts, however, were geared more towards the country fans in attendence. First on stage was Sons of Sylvia, a country trio of brothers known for their recent single "Love Left to Lose." They were an obvious choice, since they had recently collaborated on Underwood's song "What Can I Say" from her current album, were introduced by her when they performed on the results show of her alma mater, American Idol, and align with her combination of country and pop influences. Last night, the country-fried Jonas Brothers were a fun start to the show, but didn't really shine until Carrie called them back onstage with her later in the show to perform their duet.

Carrie Underwood plays on in Oklahoma City

From NewsOK...

In more ways than one, Carrie Underwood soared back into her home state Wednesday night.

Whether cruising above the audience in a flying pickup truck or sending her voice into the rafters as she nailed the big notes, the two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year dazzled the sold-out crowd at Oklahoma City’s Ford Center with a nearly two-hour performance.

Wednesday’s stop on her blockbuster “Play On Tour” was the 2005 “American Idol” winner’s first headlining appearance in the Oklahoma City arena. She last played the Ford Center as part of the 2007 Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular; she also opened for Brad Paisley at a November 2006 concert in the venue.

Since then, Checotah's favorite daughter has grown up into a coolly confident, perfectly polished entertainer. Bolstered with an impressive string of huge hits and a bevy of inspirational anthems, Underwood performed with a poised style and immense voice that mesmerized her fans even in the midst of a first-class concert spectacle featuring slot-machine-style video tricks, glittery wardrobe changes and her soaring truck ride.

Underwood has look and sound of a winner

From Omaha World-Herald...

For about two hours Sunday night, Carrie Underwood wowed the Qwest Center Omaha crowd with her voice, her good looks and some fancy stage theatrics.

With a six-piece band behind her, Underwood sported no fewer than five costumes during her 21-song set.

Donning a tuxedo, a denim top/frilly dress combo and a few dresses, Underwood’s frequent changes involved her descending into or rising out of the center of the stage.

She even rose out above the crowd in a classic blue pickup truck to sing John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads.”

Carrie Underwood has a voice to idolize

From The Kansas City Star...

Among the trove of trophies and awards she has collected over the past five years, Carrie Underwood has two Entertainer of the Year awards from the Academy of Country Music. Saturday night, before a full house at the Sprint Center, she showed why.

Underwood has evolved with light speed into one of the biggest stars in modern country. Since she won the “American Idol” crown five years ago, She has done it with a combination of good looks, a charming and self-effacing personality, and a voice that has blossomed — exploded, actually — into one of those voices, the kind that can make an arena feel like a corner bar.

Saturday night she treated her 15,000 or so fans to an evening of hits and songs from her three studio albums; to an array of wardrobe changes; to several on-stage sets, including a swing to a cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” delivered from the bed of a royal-blue pickup truck that rode a rail high above the crowd; and to just enough personal anecdotes and scrapbook photos (from her childhood to her wedding day) to spread a little homespun cheer.

The show lasted about 15 minutes short of two hours and included a couple of explosive moments.

Carrie Underwood Brings Her Polished Play On Tour to Nashville

Whether singing of promiscuity in Las Vegas, seeking vengeance on an old flame or the power of divine intervention, Carrie Underwood brought sass, class and irrefutable vocal power to her Wednesday night (Oct. 13) concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.

Following a brief set from country newcomers Sons of Sylvia, as well as a hit-filled performance by Billy Currington, the Nashville stop on Underwood's Play On tour began and ended on a rather magical note.

The jam-packed audience had their first glimpse of the blond star as she dramatically elevated from beneath the stage. As the backdrop faded into a busy cityscape, she appeared in the center, perched atop a rotating, fire-red sofa.

Without a hitch -- or a drop of sweat or a hair out of place -- Underwood brought Music City two hours of dynamic set and wardrobe changes to her performance. Throughout the entire evening, she managed to tastefully and effectively intertwine love, lust, nostalgia and vengeance along with a passionate dose of spirituality.

>> Full Story

Carrie rocks Tulsa: Checotah star shines at BOK Center

From Muskogee Phoenix...

TULSA — The BOK Center was silent as a mime Sunday night — until country superstar Carrie Underwood powered on to the stage.

Billy Currington had left, his crew rolling up the homey carpet that was part of his stage set.

Not many people wandered out of the BOK Center arena during the break — which was packed to the rafters.

As the crowd watched stagehands prep for Underwood, originally from Checotah, the arena got quieter and quieter, heavy with expectation.

Suddenly, bright lights came on across the stage, then another set, and another.

The black curtain stretching across the whole stage was pulled away, and the audience erupted, not a soul left sitting down.

A giant cylinder, spinning and lit with “Play On,” the name of Underwood’s tour, gently descended on the stage.

When it rose, there sat Underwood, on a red velvet lounge, dressed in silver.

Concert review: Carrie Underwood sparkles with charming naiveté at Dallas' American Airlines Center

From The Dallas Morning News...

Gotta hand it to Carrie Underwood: She and her tour engineers pulled off something downright amazing Saturday night at American Airlines Center. About two-thirds of the way through her 100-minute set, the country singer-songwriter rode out high above the audience standing in the bed of a bright blue pickup. Yes, a flying truck. Take that, Phantom of the Opera chandelier.

Somehow, despite the inherent silliness of the whole idea, it not only worked, it was perfect. Such is the power of the Underwood charm.

It appeared to be a nearly sold-out arena, and the crowd tossed wave after wave of adoration at Underwood, as well as at her opening acts, Sons of Sylvia and Billy Currington. Sons of Sylvia is a great country band, but not so great a heavy rock band. The trio of brothers veered all over the place stylistically; they need to settle into an identity. Billy Currington, on the other hand, is country through-and-through and has Toby Keith-like stardom potential, but without Keith's bombastic ego.

Last Night: Carrie Underwood At Toyota Center

Carrie Underwood is perfect for Vegas. That's not a knock - mostly.

Underwood is wholesome, engaging and dynamic. She's no Tina Turner, but she can strut onstage. Her voice is excellent - good range and control, on key and expressive. Maybe she oversells ballads like "I Know You Won't," but hey, Streisand does the same thing. And before a singer can oversell a song, they have to sell it first.

No problem there. But Underwood has a real edge to her, a fiery rock singer a la Chrissie Hynde or Joan Jett itching to tear up her All-American Girl image, or at least smudge it up a little. Wednesday night at Toyota Center, Aftermath saw just enough of that side of Underwood to make us want to see more.

But that's all we got - just a little. Maybe that's all she's comfortable with right now.

Carrie Underwood talks music, marriage, Oklahoma shows and more

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Carrie Underwood to “Play On” back to Oklahoma

Even when she returns to her native state just long enough to play a show, Carrie Underwood still feels like she has come home when she arrives in Oklahoma.

“I’m always excited to come and play hometown shows, and I’ll probably know half the people in the audience. It just makes me feel really cool because I used to play places in Oklahoma when there’d be about five people listening. So this is pretty special,” Underwood said in a phone interview last week from Los Angeles, where she was rehearsing for her sold-out show last Saturday at the celebrated Hollywood Bowl.

The Checotah native, 27, has become accustomed to much larger crowds since she won “American Idol” five years ago. She is bringing the fall leg of her hugely successful “Play On Tour” Sunday to Tulsa’s BOK Center and Oct. 20 to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center.

Touring in support of her platinum-selling album “Play On,” which debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts last November, the country music superstar will play more than 100 shows by the end of the year. The tour’s three-month spring leg sold out all 54 shows and played for nearly 400,000 North American fans.

But the perpetually in-demand Oklahoman isn’t just busy touring. This year, she made her acting debut on the hit sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” and filmed her first movie, the upcoming drama “Soul Surfer,” in Hawaii. She performed the National Anthem at the 2010 Super Bowl, the most-watched event in TV history. In April, she made history at the Annual Academy of Country Music Awards when she became the first woman to capture the entertainer of the year title twice.

And on July 10, Underwood became Mrs. Mike Fisher, marrying the professional hockey player at a lavish ceremony at a Georgia resort. Although the couple already has revisited their wedding day in the music video to her autobiographical “Mama’s Song,” the newlywed singer said they still are adjusting to their divergent schedules.

Carrie Underwood dazzled at Jobing.com Arena

More Photos

The sounds of fireworks that kicked off Carrie Underwood's Play On Tour at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale Sunday, Oct. 3, held the promise of a night filled with interesting sets, sparkling costumes and larger-than-life vocal acrobatics.

And the show delivered all three.

It's been five years since Underwood, 27, won "American Idol." Since then, the Grammy-award winning country sweetheart has released three platinum albums and 13 consecutive No. 1 singles on the Billboard country charts. She recently won Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, surpassed fellow "Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson in album sales and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, country music's greatest institution.

In Glendale, Underwood played a set that included most of the songs from her latest release, "Play On," and a selection of her chart-topping singles from 2007's "Carnival Ride" and "Some Hearts," her 2005 debut.

The first song of Underwood's 90-minute plus performance was "Cowboy Casanova." As her eight-piece band began to play, the blonde beauty made her entrance on a red velvet couch that was lifted through the stage floor by hydraulics. She shimmered in a bejeweled coat and black leather pants, and sang into a microphone stand shaped like a walking cane.

"Casanova" was followed by "Quitter," "Wasted," and "I Know You Won't." During "Some Hearts," the final song in the first of four acts, Underwood donned a guitar. She was no Chet Atkins, but she could play. Who knew?

Carrie Underwood -- Concert Review

A public suggestion to Carrie Underwood: Fireworks at the end of a Hollywood Bowl show are pretty much a tradition, but next time, try it after you're done singing so they don't drown you out, OK?

That move was one of several awkward missteps Saturday from country music's hottest female artist not named Taylor Swift. That's not to say the 90-minute-plus performance didn't have winning moments from the earnest singer.

It has been five years since Underwood was crowned an "American Idol" winner, and she has more than fulfilled the promise in terms of success: She has outsold another top "Idol" winner, Kelly Clarkson, 11.9 million to 10.6 million with one fewer album, and Underwood's current release, "Play On," has topped 1.7 million.

Twin twang: Underwood & Rascal Flatts headed to town

From Sign on San Diego...


There’s a good reason Carrie Underwood has achieved more commercial success than any other “American Idol” winner.

Rather than fiddle with a winning formula, she sounds like she’s still striving to win over the public and a panel of judges, belting out notes with well-honed accuracy while never straying from the middle of the road. Like her friend Taylor Swift , she doesn’t rock the boat so much as ensure smooth sailing for her listeners, with a proven formula that is equal parts Nashville and Los Angeles, down-home gal and uptown girl.

The recently married Underwood, who performs here Friday at the San Diego Sports Arena, specializes in power ballads and sassy, Shania Twain-styled romp-and-roll struts that suit her big voice well. Like Swift, she adds just the right amount of country flavoring to ensure maximum crossover appeal. On each of her three albums to date, Underwood’s singing is earnest and polished to a fine sheen, while lacking in spontaneity and daring. Ditto at her crowd-pleasing concerts.

Carrie Underwood Performs On NBC's Today - July 30, 2010