Carrie Underwood has come a long way since she first auditioned for American Idol and
today she's one of country music's most successful stars. But although Underwood is enjoying
her life in the limelight, there's still a lot many people don't know about this hugely
talented entertainer.
In 2005, Carrie Underwood became the fourth winner of American Idol, propelling her to
a level of fame beyond her wildest dreams. But when Underwood first appeared on the show,
she was still a college student at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. When she began
her Idol journey, in fact, she was just three credits shy of graduating, with just one semester
left to go.
According to People magazine, Underwood promised she would return to Northeastern and complete
her degree at some point, telling the magazine that she was planning to capitalize on her
newfound fame and all the opportunities it presented. She said:
Underwood made good on that vow in 2006, when she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's
degree in mass communications. Northeastern even permitted her to use her time on Idol
as an internship credit, making up for her missing semester and allowing her to graduate.
She told People magazine:
In a 2015 interview with Us Weekly, Underwood revealed 25 things that fans don't know about
her, and one of them was a little bit of an eyebrow-raiser. She told the publication:
If zombies do rise up, Underwood will know just how to deal with them as she's a hardcore
fan of AMC's The Walking Dead. Underwood has been vocal about her love of the show over
the years, including tweeting out her excitement at meeting the show's star, Norman Reedus,
in 2014.
During a 2017 appearance on Today, Underwood even said she'd be open to taking a "walk-on"
part on the show but would rather play a zombie than a hero.
"It's super fun, but you do sign up for hours in a chair."
"I mean, I do that anyway."
Carrie Underwood is actually a pretty big fan of horror in general. In a 2006 interview
with Kidzworld, the singer was asked to name her favorite movie. She responded:
Underwood's appreciation of horror has made its way into her own artistic endeavors, with
the music video for her single "Two Black Cadillacs" being inspired by Stephen King's
Christine. In the novel, which was adapted into a 1983 film, a haunted car terrorizes
its victims in much the same way that a car hunts down and kills people in Underwood's
video. In a behind-the-scenes interview about the making of the video, Underwood elaborated
on her passion for Stephen King stories.
"My mom was such a huge fan. I guarantee she's read everything he's ever written. I would
borrow her books and read her books."
Before going ahead with the video, Underwood even insisted on receiving King's blessing
first.
"I told him I would never want to do this if you didn't sign off on it first."
It seems that Underwood is also a fan of science fiction or the star of one particular sci-fi
TV show, at least. When she revealed those 25 things facts about herself to Us Weekly,
one of the secrets she shared was that she has, in her words, a "massive crush" on Patrick
Stewart, noting:
"Always have, always will."
Soon enough, the Star Trek actor caught wind of Underwood's crush, and responded with a
tweet, noting that:
Underwood replied pretty much how anyone else would, tweeting:
But it isn't just Patrick Stewart that Underwood loves about Star Trek. In her Us Weekly piece,
she shared the one superpower that she'd pick above all others, saying:
In 2010, Carrie Underwood married hockey star Mike Fisher. Before she met Fisher, however,
Underwood's more famous partners included Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Gossip
Girl's Chace Crawford. Speaking with OK! magazine in late 2007, Crawford neither confirmed nor
denied the two were an item, simply saying:
Apparently, however, the relationship didn't last long. In April 2008, Underwood confirmed
the pair had split and that they did so in kind of an awkward way. The star told Extra:
Shortly after, Underwood elaborated on their break-up, telling People magazine:
When Underwood competed on American Idol, the show still had its original trio of judges:
Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul. Of the three, Cowell was indisputably the
most outspoken, earning the nickname "Mr. Nasty" for his blunt, unvarnished, and occasionally
hurtful assessments of aspiring Idols. When Kidzworld asked Underwood in 2006 to single
out her favorite judge of the three, however, her answer was a little unexpected. She confessed:
More than a decade later, Cowell reunited with Underwood when she received her star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. In his speech, Cowell recalled predicting that
Underwood would become American Idol's most successful alum.
"I think it was after you sang 'Alone' where I made a prediction that you would become
the best-selling Idol winner, which you are."
Before her experience on American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah,
Oklahoma. And in Underwood's family, traveling was done on wheels, not wings during a 2019
appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she revealed that, up until her time on Idol,
she had never actually been on an airplane. Admitting she was actually a little freaked
out by air travel, Underwood told the late night host that that hadn't really changed,
either.
"What was that first experience of being on a plane. 'Cause that can freak you out, right?"
"Terrifying! I mean, it still freaks me out."
In fact, Underwood actually missed her connecting flight to Los Angeles and feared she wouldn't
make it there in time for the taping of American Idol.
"I'm on the phone with whoever our contact person was, and I'm, like, 'Please don't kick
me off the show."
Carrie Underwood's hit single "Before He Cheats" became the breakthrough crossover hit that
cemented her status as a bona fide country music star. And while the song has become
closely associated with Underwood herself, the songwriters behind "Before He Cheats"
originally intended for the track to be recorded by another singer.
Speaking with The Boot, songwriters Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins revealed they were trying
to pen a track for singer Gretchen Wilson, who had burst onto the scene with her hit
"Redneck Woman." Tompkins admitted:
Kear went on to explain:
In an interview with A Taste of Country, Underwood was asked if she ever finds herself with one
of her own songs stuck in her head. She admitted:
Whenever Underwood catches herself singing without realizing she's doing it, she says
she becomes horribly embarrassed. When it comes to wanting to listen to her own music,
however, she revealed that it really does depend on the song and the situation. If one
of her songs pops up on the radio while driving, for example, she said:
That doesn't hold true for all her tracks, though. Underwood explained:
Not only is Carrie Underwood a longtime vegetarian, but she's also a sexy one or at least that
was the verdict of a number of polls undertaken by PETA. The organization voted Carrie Underwood
as PETA's "sexiest vegetarian" in 2005 and again in 2007. In an interview with PETA,
the star said:
In an interview on VH1's Behind the Music, Underwood revealed that she had first begun
to question meat when she saw her parents castrating calves on their farm. After that,
she was pretty much put off eating beef for life. She explained:
In January 2019, Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher welcomed their second
child, son Jacob. They'd previously welcomed their first, Isaiah, in 2015. As Underwood
later revealed, however, there was some hidden heartbreak on the road to those happy arrivals:
She had three miscarriages in the course of two years. Speaking with The Guardian, Underwood
revealed how that experience inspired her song "Cry Pretty" from the album of the same
name. She said:
She admitted that singing "Cry Pretty," as well as the other songs that were inspired
by her miscarriages, was difficult yet therapeutic. She also noted that the experience was not
something that she was easily able to shed. Underwood explained:
At the same time, Underwood was also celebrating the birth of son Jacob, whom she described
as "incredible" and "the sweetest little baby." She shared:
In 2019, Underwood sat down with The Guardian ahead of her performance at the famed Glastonbury
Music Festival. In the piece, new mom Carrie Underwood was described as enjoying a glass
of cabernet sauvignon during her interview backstage after a show. She admitted:
As she explained, her husband and their two sons had joined her on tour. This, she said,
happened to lead to some unusual sleeping arrangements on the tour bus. Underwood revealed:
At the end of the interview, Underwood poured herself a glass of wine before heading back
to the bus but not before pointing out that women really do it all… and in high heels,
no less. She said:
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