Carrie Underwood - Profile of an Oklahoma Entertainer

After skyrocketing to fame as the winner of the 4th season of the Fox television series "American Idol," Oklahoman Carrie Underwood became a multi-platinum selling country music recording artist. Below is a full profile of the star with information on biography, albums, awards and more.

Personal Information

Full Name - Carrie Marie Underwood
Born - March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Hometown - Checotah, Oklahoma
Marital Status - Married Mike Fisher: July 10, 2010

Born in Muskogee and raised on a farm in Checotah, a small town in east-central Oklahoma, Carrie Underwood is the youngest of three girls. Her mother Carole was an elementary school teacher while her father Stephen worked in a paper mill.

Education

Carrie Underwood attended school in Checotah and was an excellent student, graduating from high school in 2001 as the salutatorian. She attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004. She graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication.

Musical Background:

A singer from very early in her life, Underwood never had any formal training but performed often as a child at talent shows, town events and at Free Will Baptist Church in Checotah. Her parents hired Underwood an agent, and she was very nearly given a contract with Capitol Records in 1996 at 13 years of age.

However, the company had management changes, and the contract never happened. She continued performing in college, though, appearing at NSU's Downtown Country Show in Tahlequah before her big break came in the summer of 2004.

Winning American Idol

Underwood traveled to St. Louis, Missouri with friends to audition for the 4th season of the hit Fox television series "American Idol." She stood out immediately with a performance of "I Can't Make You Love Me," and the show spotlighted her farm-life background.

An early favorite, Underwood cruised to the top 10.  Judge Simon Cowell predicted she would win and even outsell previous show winners. Show producers later said that Carrie dominated the season 4 voting, and she was crowned the winner over runner-up Bo Bice on May 25, 2005.

After American Idol

It didn't take long for Carrie Underwood to make an impact on the music charts. Her debut album "Some Hearts" was released in November 2005. The album sold over 300,000 copies in its first week, placing it #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and marking the biggest debut of any country artist since tracking began in 1991. It produced numerous hits including "Jesus Take the Wheel," "Don't Forget to Remember Me," "Before He Cheats," "Wasted" and the title track. It was only the beginning of a meteoric rise to stardom, and Underwood has become one of the most recognizable singers in the country.

Albums from Carrie Underwood

• Some Hearts
  Released: November 2005
  Sales: 7 million
  Singles: "Inside Your Heaven," "Jesus Take the Wheel," "Some Hearts," "Don't Forget to Remember Me," "Before He Cheats," "Wasted"
• Carnival Ride
  Released: October 2007
  Sales: 3.4 million
  Singles: "So Small," "All-American Girl," "Last Name," "Just a Dream," "I Told You So"

• Play On
  Released: November 2009
  Sales: 2.3 million
  Singles: "Cowboy Casanova," "Temporary Home," "Undo It," "Mama's Song"
• Blown Away
  Released: May 2012
  Sales: 1.7 million
  Singles: "Good Girl," "Blown Away," "Two Black Cadillacs," "See You Again"
• Storyteller
  Released: October 2015
  Sales: 752k
  Singles: "Smoke Break" 

Awards

The list of prestigious Awards won by Carrie Underwood is long and includes 11 American Music Awards, 7 Grammys and 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, as well as many from Billboard, the Gospel Music Association, CMT, People's Choice, Teen Choice and more.