Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood entered pop culture through American Idol's fourth season victory in 2005, launching a career that would redefine female country stardom. Born March 10, 1983, in the US, Underwood is a singer and songwriter recognized for her vocal range and dynamic stage presence. Her debut single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and the only solo country artist to reach that peak during the 2000s. Her first album, Some Hearts, became the best-selling debut of all time by a solo female country artist, spawning crossover hits "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats," and earned her three Grammy Awards including Best New Artist. Carnival Ride followed in 2007 with over half a million first-week copies and two Grammy wins, while Play On made her the only woman to achieve eleven consecutive top-two singles and the first since the 1980s to reach ten number-ones at country radio. Later albums cemented her dominance: Blown Away won a Grammy in 2012, her 2014 compilation album spawned the Grammy-winning "Something in the Water," and Storyteller made her the only country artist with all first five studio albums reaching the top two on the Billboard 200. Cry Pretty debuted with the largest female album opening of 2018 and made her the only woman to top the Billboard 200 with four country studio albums. In the 2020s, she released the Christmas album My Gift, won a Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album with My Savior, and returned to country-pop with Denim & Rhinestones in 2022. As a Life Path 7 and Pisces, Underwood embodies the introspective depth her genre is known for. Singers perform live, record albums, and shape cultural conversations—roles Underwood has mastered across three decades. She stands as the highest-certified female country artist by total US units sold (over 95 million albums and singles) and by digital single sales (over 72 million), with 16 number-one singles on the US Country Airplay chart. Her honors include eight Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 17 American Music Awards, seven Guinness World Records, Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grand Ole Opry inductions. Rolling Stone called her "the female vocalist of her generation in any genre," Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in 2014, and Forbes declared her the most successful American Idol winner.