Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983)[2] is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut single, "Inside Your Heaven", made her the only country artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history and the best-selling country album of the last 17 years. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist.
In December 2005, Underwood was named Oklahoman of the Year by Oklahoma Today.[62] In December 2006, Underwood joined Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, and Josh Groban to sing "For Once in My Life" on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[63] That same month, she paid tribute to Dolly Parton, by singing "Islands in the Stream" with Kenny Rogers (originally by Parton and Rogers) at the Kennedy Center Honors, which honored Parton that year.[64] Underwood performed with the USO Christmas Tour in Iraq during the 2006 Holiday season.[65] Underwood also performed at the 2007 Idol Gives Back concert, singing "I'll Stand By You", a cover of The Pretenders hit. Her version of the song debuted at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs
On September 19, Underwood performed "You Really Got a Hold on Me" in tribute to Smokey Robinson, as he was presented with the Ella Award at the Society of Singers annual dinner. Robinson returned the favor to Underwood by singing "My Girl" to her. At the same event, they sang together with Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole and other artists a medley of multiple songsGrady Smith of The Guardian has praised her, saying "Carrie Underwood has emerged as the leader of country music".[335] Time listed her in their 100 most influential people in the world in 2014, in which Brad Paisley wrote "not only has she earned her place, she's also raised the bar: she's a prolific songwriter, a trendsetter and an Opry member", and further considers her to be "the best singer in any format of music."[210][336] Vince Gill has also stated: "The possibility of Carrie's longevity is through the roof. There are fine singers, and there are gifted, great singers, and she's one of those. Her vocal skills are off the hook".[336] Melissa Etheridge also adds saying "she has a power in her country music, in her singing. She can crossover to Rock in a second".[317] She has further received public commendation from Stevie Nicks,[337] Steven Tyler,[338] Tony Bennett,[339] Dolly Parton,[327][340][341] and Loretta Lynn.[342] David Wild of Rolling Stone has stated that "Carrie Underwood is the greatest thing that American Idol ever gave us".[317] She was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame