From Among the Country Stars
You gotta hand it to the people who dream up shows for network television. No idea is too simple, even some that sound really dumb. Just imagine the conversation when someone pitched the concept for American Idol."Hey, let's put a talent show on national TV. Tens of millions of people will tune in. We'll make hits! We'll make music stars! We'll make billions!"
You would have said no. I would have said no. We would have been wrong.
Carrie Underwood, who won the American Idol competition last season, would not have said no. And in just 12 months, the Oklahoma-bred Underwood has now gone from unknown to the A list, all thanks to her Idol win. She's the first country singer to take the show's top honors, which includes a recording contract. Her Some Hearts CD debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, and in April was certified triple platinum. Some Hearts has made Underwood what she longed to be -- a peer among the country stars she loves. And she'll be sharing the spotlight with the biggest of them at the live telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 23, where she's nominated for four trophies, including top female vocalist.
Just a few days after celebrating her 23rd birthday, Underwood, wearing a sweatshirt from Oklahoma's Northeastern State University, where she returned this year to finish her undergraduate degree, settled in for her Reader's Digest interview. Topics of discussion: animal rights, her fear of flying, and what it's like to be an overnight sensation.
RD: Tell me the truth -- what do you really think about Simon Cowell?
Underwood: He says what he thinks. I don't think he's malicious; I don't think he's out to hurt somebody; I think that's what he gets paid to do. End of story.
RD: How did you end up auditioning for American Idol in the first place?
Underwood: Even when I was little, I was singing all the time. But, being practical, I went to college and studied broadcast journalism. Then one day I thought, I'm about to graduate, and don't know what I'm going to do, so why not try out for American Idol? What's the worst that could happen? If I don't make it past the audition, nobody's going to know. And I'll get some experience in front of the camera.
RD: Did you ever in a million years think you would win?
Underwood: Not at all. Then, the further I got, it was just about staying one more week, one more week. When it came down to me and Bo Bice, I was like, Everybody loves Bo. I love Bo. I would probably vote for Bo myself if I were watching.
RD: Did it hurt when the judges criticized you?
Underwood: At first it stung pretty bad -- not because of the millions, but because of the 20 to 30 friends and family I knew were watching.
"This Is My Time"
RD: You're one in a handful of musicians who have come out of American Idol and met with great success. What's the secret?Underwood: Nowadays, if you're a four out of ten vocally, but you're a ten out of ten physically, then you're in. That's what the music business is about, and I think that keeps a lot of great talent out. American Idol is all about normal, everyday people who have a great talent and are trying to do something with it.
RD: Why do you think the show is so popular?
Underwood: It's Cinderella stories all the way. People can say, "That girl or that guy is just like me."
RD: What did you learn from the experience?
Underwood: I learned that anything is possible, from me growing up wanting to be a country music singer to it actually happening. It's crazy.
RD: Tell us about your life before American Idol.
Underwood: I grew up on a farm, went to high school, graduated, went to college and was about to graduate, and then tried out for American Idol. The end.
RD: The beginning in a way.
Underwood: Yeah.
RD: What was your childhood like?
Underwood: I definitely was a tomboy. I climbed trees, and I'd jump hay bales and play with the cows, and Dad would take me fishing. I have two older sisters, and my parents -- my mom was a teacher, and my dad had a job in a paper mill -- worked hard to give us everything that we needed. We were raised in church. It was your typical all-American family.
RD: I've read that you're very close to your mom.
Underwood: My sisters are quite a bit older than me. They had each other; I had my mom. She was mainly the person I hung out with. It might sound a little dorky, but we'd go shopping and to the movies together and have mommy-daughter days all the time. She's just a good person, the kind of person everybody loves even when she annoys me like nobody's business.
RD: Are you in touch while you're on the road?
Underwood: We talk several times a day, sometimes not to my liking. Sometimes I'll look at my phone and laugh because it's my mom, and she's called for the seventh time that day. But I'd rather have her call 500 times than not at all.
RD: When did you first start singing for an audience?
Underwood: Once I hit about 10 years old, I started singing in the church choir. Then I entered a couple of talent shows, though I don't think I ever won a single one.
RD: So you had an inkling, or a dream, of one day being famous.
Underwood: If you asked me what I was going to do when I was younger, I definitely would've said, "I'm going to be famous. You're going to hear me on the radio." I knew that there was another world out there that I wanted. I didn't know how I'd get there.
RD: You'd never been on a plane until you flew to Hollywood for American Idol. Were you nervous?
Underwood: On the way to the airport, my mom stopped at the store. I started crying in the car with my dad, who's not exactly a sensitive guy. I said I don't want to fly, and he said, "Well, we can turn around right now and go back home if you want." I thought how something silly like not wanting to get on a plane might keep me from doing something cool, so I said, "I'll suck it up." Now I fly four times a week, and it's no big deal.
RD: What do you think about the big world, now that you've been away from Oklahoma?
Underwood: I know there's good people everywhere, but if you drive down the street in Oklahoma and you wave at somebody, they'll wave back. The town I grew up in was very small, and I could roam the streets and my parents didn't have to worry. In New York or L.A., it seems like everybody's so busy all the time. I really like going home because you can take a step back and say, "All right, this is my time." It's the best place to do nothing. It's just beautiful scenery and good people.
Whole New World
RD: And overall, what do you think of fame: Is it a good thing or not?Underwood: The good hugely outweighs the bad. But every once in a while, things get a little crazy. Sometimes I fear for my safety a little bit, and for my parents' safety. Somebody will park in front of my parents' house and sit there for hours. I'm afraid somebody's going to steal my dog or something.
RD: You're a big animal lover, right?
Underwood: I have two cats and a dog that, thank goodness, my parents are taking care of, because I'm traveling so much now. Before I went on American Idol, I was working for a veterinary clinic. I don't think enough people stand up for animals. My heart goes out to them because, to me, every single animal has a heart and a mind and a soul. I don't believe in doing crazy things to get attention for them -- just quietly protesting and doing my part.
RD: How do you quietly protest?
Underwood: I'm a vegetarian. And I encourage people to spay and neuter their animals. I would never hunt, nor would I ever be with somebody who did. But if you love to go hunt, then that's your business. I'm not a preacher.
RD: You're a believer, though. In one of your hit songs, you sing about Jesus.
Underwood: It's how I was raised. I honestly believe that there is something out there watching over me, whether it's angels or God, pointing me in the direction I need to go.
RD: After winning American Idol and releasing an album, you went back to finish college. Why?
Underwood: I didn't want those three and a half years to be wasted. I was so close to that finish line.
RD: Now that you've experienced your own Cinderella story, what other goals do you have for the future?
Underwood: Of course, someday I'd like to get married and have children -- and I know I can't stay in the music business forever. After, I definitely want to devote more time to my other passion, animals.
RD: You saw Kenny Chesney in concert when you were 16, and now you're going to be opening for him during his summer tour. What does that feel like?
Underwood: I never in a million years thought I'd be touring with him. He's probably the biggest act in country music today, and I'm just honored to be on the roster with him.
RD: It's a whole new world for you.
Underwood: I feel like I grew up in one life, and then as soon as I got on American Idol, that life ended and I started a completely different one. People ask me, "How has your life changed?" How has it not changed? I mean, everything is different.