Born March 10th, 1983 in Muskogee Oklahoma, Carrie Underwood found her love for music when she started singing in her church choir at the tender age of just 3 years old. By the time Carrie was in the 7th grade, she had taken her gift to the next level, competing in local talent shows where she became known to many as the “Little girl with the big voice”.
After she graduated from high school, Carrie Underwood enrolled at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah Oklahoma, choosing broadcast journalism as her major. During her first year of college, Underwood produced a student-run television program and wrote for the school newspaper “The Northeastern.” However, her friends knew of her love of music and encouraged her to try out for American Idol’s season four.
Carrie decided that she would give it a try and figured that if it didn’t work out, she could always return to school and finish her degree. So along with her mother and younger sister, Carrie headed for the St. Louis auditions.
After wowing the judges with her rendition of Martina McBride’s “Phones are Ringing All Over Town,” Carrie Underwood worked her way to the top twelve with performances of “Independence Day” another McBride chart topper and “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt.
On May 25th, 2005, Carrie beat out runner up, Bo Bise to become America’s next idol. Soon after, she released her debut single “Inside Your Heaven”. This hit soon became Billboard Hot 100′s first country album to make the number one spot since Lonestar’s “Amazed” in 2000.
Carrie Underwood has since won several awards including her first CMA in 2006 as female artist of the year and the coveted Horizon Award. In 2008, Carrie was asked by fellow singer Randy Travis to become a member of the Grand Old Oprey.
Randy surprised her with the offer when she made an appearance on the Oprey stage singing one of his hits “I Told You So.” Carrie Underwood has since released a duet of the hit with Randy Travis, which soared it’s way, along with the rest of her singles, to the top of the charts.