CARRIE UNDERWOOD
MUSINGS OF AN IDOL

Two months after she won American Idol in 2005, Bob Yehling sat down with Carrie Underwood to discuss her future. At the time, she was performing on Idols on Tour! and starting to record tunes for her debut CD, Some Hearts. Now, she is a two-time Country Music Award winner (including Female Vocalist of the Year), a college graduate with a Broadcast Journalism degree, and only the second person in country music history to exceed 4 million debut albums sold (the other was Gretchen Wilson).

When you read Carrie’s words, and see how she embodies her career in her work ethic and sense of humility, you can see how this discussion anticipates her road to stardom. We present it to you in Carrie’s words, from start to finish:

HOBBIES: I’m very audio-visual. I love movies, I have a big CD collection, and I’m not a big TV person. I play guitar and piano. What will surprise a lot of people is that I love horror movies, absolutely love them, old movies like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm St., Friday the 13th, Alien.

FAVORITE GROUPS: Martina McBride, Garth Brooks, Rascal Flatts, Green Day, Foo Fighters.

CHANGES IN HER LIFE: My life is completely different in every single way possible. I wasn’t really doing anything in my hometown, going to school and stuff like that. Now I’m always on the road, and I don’t see family and friends as much. It’s all about touring and getting the album out now; my life has flipped upside down.

I’M A THINKER: I’m a thinker, not a big dreamer. My thoughts were, every little kid when growing up wants to be famous, a movie star, a music star, whatever. 99% of the time, it never happens. As a little kid, I used to pick four-leaf clovers out in the pastures and my wish was always the same: “I want to be a music star.” But my thoughts were, ‘What makes me special?’ After high school, nothing had happened, so I figured it was time to grow up and get a job. It was important to go to college, learn a trade. I felt so young when I was graduating high school, so not ready for the world out there.

GOING TO COLLEGE: I’m almost done with college; I have 1 semester left; actually, not even that much, about nine hours. We’re going to work something out. My major is in broadcast journalism, so certainly, I hope they count my experiences with the show as an internship! I’m totally learning how to interview other people right now by watching the way they interview me, the questions they ask. I sit there sometimes thinking, “Would I ask that question? What different kinds of questions would I ask?” What I really like – and what I would do if I was the interviewing journalist – is when people already know something about me and they really get in there, make me think a lot about the answers. What I don’t like are really boring questions.

BROADCAST JOURNALISM CAREER: In college, I made sure to prepare myself in a well-rounded way. I worked with TV, I wrote for the school paper, I tried both newspaper and magazine writing. I also took advertising and PR classes; they are really valuable to me now. I like taping things, being behind camera, doing things like editing snippets and segments, stuff like that. I also like to write. But I like the TV side more, took advertising classes, PR classes. You know those little snippets they showed about all of us before each show? I came to the point where I knew what they were looking for. Later, people said how “naturally” good I was at it, how I made things move better and I sounded better. Well, the truth is that I studied this in school, then studied how the producers of the show were doing it.

The producers were really helpful. They knew I was interested in a broadcast journalism career. I asked a lot of questions of producers – why are you doing this? Just little things. I paid attention to little things. A lot of times, I got to go back in the production room, to where parts of show were being done. They were always so good to answer my questions. I wasn’t asking about my place on the show; I was trying to get some tips from the pros on how good shows are produced, how they come together.

The people in journalism I admire the most are the women who paved the way – Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, these people who have been there forever and have overcome a lot of obstacles on their way to the top. For a long time, no women were in there. It would’ve been impossible for me to do what I do without them.

AUDITIONS: I’ve always seen the other seasons of the show, wondering if I should ever audition, and you know, it was kind of a fate thing. The TV was on, and the guy on the news was talking about people sleeping outside in Cleveland. I was like, ‘Whoa, it’s that time of year again.’ I got on the Internet to see if anything was happening in Tulsa or Dallas, somewhere like that, and found out the nearest audition in St. Louis. That sucked. I asked Mom how far away St. Louis was, and she said eight hours. I said, ‘Oh, forget about it,’ and she said ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I don’t want you or anyone else to have to drive all the way up there with me just so I can lose out in the auditions and we have to turn around and go right back home.’ Then, the next day in town, Mom met up with one of my good friend’s Dads, and he said, ‘You have to take her.’ She came home and said, “If you want to go I’ll take you.” I said, “Are you kidding?” And she said, “No. Let’s go.”

WORKING WITH CAMERAMEN: That was probably the hardest part of the show, that and learning all these new songs, especially the last few weeks of the season. They want you to look in front of the cameras, because that’s your voting audience, so it’s very important to look in those cameras. It’s like, ‘I just learned my song yesterday. Where’s the red light? Where’s the red light?’ I don’t think I ever really got comfortable with it. Got better when it was more of a routine; about halfway through, I knew cameras start out there, usually move to here. Fortunately, because of all that, it’s made me more prepared to do the news shows and talk shows I’ll be doing now.

PERFORMING BEFORE CAMERA: Thanks to my experience on American Idol, I got a lot more comfortable with the camera. Now I have to sing a lot on TV programs and stuff. I’m doing different media circuits and talk shows, and I find I’m a lot more prepared. Learning new songs on the show every week was crazy, but I figured out ways to learn them quickly. Now that my album is coming out, and I’m dealing with a bunch of songs again, I know how to get them down. Of course, I’m learning more songs than there will actually be on the album.

FAMILY SUPPORT: My family isn’t exactly an emotional family. I never really grew up that way, we’re not big huggers. We’re kind of a quieter family. For good or bad, I have a lot of my dad’s personality traits, and he’s a stoic man who gets things done. I really don’t get real excited about anything. A lot of times, I think that people’s emotions should remain within themselves. You seem to have a lot more power and energy that way.

SISTERS: My sisters are 10 and 13 years older, both teachers, Mom was a teacher. Growing up, we weren’t very close because of our age difference. Now that I’m getting older, we talk to each other on a completely different level. They are completely supportive of me. Shayna, the oldest sister, teaches Kindergarten. Stephanie, 2nd Grade.

HER UNEMOTIONAL STANCE DURING THE SHOW: It’s a good thing because most of time, I’m able to keep myself composed and not get too crazy about it. But on the other side, it kind of kept people from really getting to know me, because I didn’t share my emotions as readily. That’s not such a good thing. I’m definitely working on being more personable. For the first time in my life, I’m dealing with people who live and work at a completely different level, so I put myself out there more, lose control a little bit. It sure helps that the competition aspect’s gone and that type of pressure is off.

MOMENT OF VICTORY: When you win something, well, that’s when you forget the cameras are on you. When Ryan said those words, “The new American Idol is…CARRIE UNDERWOOD!”, wow…just talking about them makes those words echo in my ears all over again. I let it go then; I was so happy. I will never forget that moment, that excitement, the fans in the audience screaming. How could I not let go?

ON BEING VEGETARIAN: The big reason is that I love animals. I was always around animals, and we raised farm animals; after awhile, the thought of eating them kind of grossed me out. These cows, some of them I bottle fed. I raised them, I nurtured them, and the thought of eating them bothered me. I don’t preach about it to anyone; my family eats meat, most of the other Idols eat meat. It’s just the kind of thing that’s wrong for me.

HONOR FROM PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS: That was amazing, to be honored in any positive way by anybody, especially company I was in. I’m very familiar with organization.

ENDORSEMENTS FROM HERSHEY’S & SKECHERS: I was really surprised to get these endorsements so quickly. I don’t remember previous Idols doing these things before, especially right after show was over. Hershey’s was really into the image I want to portray; they never tried to make me do something I didn’t want to do. We were on the same page right from the beginning. The same thing with Skechers – they target younger people. Both were very sensitive to what I wanted to do; plus I’m really happy to get free shoes and free chocolate. Those are two of a girl’s favorite things!

CHRISTINA AGUILERA: I’ve heard a lot of it already: first Britney, then Christina, now Carrie. I’m honored to be mentioned in the same sentence. I’m hoping the success they’ve enjoyed, and then doing the Skechers ads and promotions, is the sign of a good thing for me. Of course, I did ask Skechers if I had to wear the same types of clothes Christina does. When they said ‘No,’ I was relieved.

ON BEING A ROLE MODEL: I want to do a lot of charity work. Not trying to be a role model; just being myself, and if people can relate to it, that’s wonderful. I just want to be myself. If I try too much to be a role model, won’t work. It’s really important that people such as myself who have been really lucky give something back, make appearances, animal work, use my animals as examples.

OTHER IDOLS: These people are the only people who can understand everything I’m going through. I still talk to Lindsey and Mikalah, even though they’re not on the Idols Tour; those two will always be my best friends. One day we were sitting in dressing room and Jessica said, ‘We’ll probably talk to each other for rest of our lives.’ We’ve been together since the final auditions in LA in November, so that’s going on 10 months now, and we’re like a family. We really love each other, but sometimes, we get into fights and arguments, then we make up and we’re a family again.

BEST CONCERTS ON IDOLS LIVE TOUR: In Oklahoma, the crowd was best. Every single person who came off that stage said, ‘Wow, great crowd.’ It was a smaller venue, crowd so happy to be there. Really important to not make it about me when we’re in other’s hometown, not that I do it anyway, but when we’re in St. Louis, I give it up for Nikko. When we were in Birmingham, we all gave it up for Bo. Everybody has tried to do that. It’s your special night when you’re in your hometown, and all of the other Idols realize it.

ON TOURING: I’m singing songs I sang on the show, but a couple of people singing songs they didn’t do on show, songs they really like and perform well with. Of course, I do the ones that got me into this position, “Independence Day” “Inside Your Heaven,” Bo and I do “Bless the Broken Road,” which was the song I did with Rascal Flatts.

INCREASING COMFORT LEVEL AS A LIVE PERFORMER: I’ve noticed myself being able to be more comfortable in front of audience, connect with them more. Not as nervous as I would’ve been before. So much easier to perform in front of live audience. Only nights with sizable crowds during Idol were last 2 nights. Not way most people have to perform, with cameras in your faces and people walking 2 feet in front of you and the audience that matters the most for your immediate future sitting at home. What surprised me is vibe I get from crowd, they’re very happy to be there, you feel the love. People make signs – and diversity of people on tour. Got old people, young people, people from all walks of life. I think it’s because the 10 Idols are completely different; we’re really into different kinds of music. Even Constantine and Bo are into different kinds of rock music. It’s really cool; if someone out there is a Constantine or Bo fan, it gives me chance to turn them on to my kind of music. Maybe they’ll have a greater respect for country music when they leave.

ALBUM & SONGWRITING: I’m starting out as a new artist would. But fortunately, because of my exposure on American Idol, lot of songs we’re getting better than artist would normally get. Mostly written by others, but 1 or 2 that I write. That’s definitely something I’d like to get more involved in, but right now, know I don’t have the experience the writers do. I would much rather meet with writers and help them, or have them write for me, until I learn more about it. A lot of times, if I sat down and said, “I’m going to write,” it wouldn’t work. If I have good conversation or see something, I think, “that might be a good idea.” I’ve done it for awhile but never really shown them to anyone. Kind of more for me.

ALBUM: It depends on how many songs work out; I’m sure it will be the standard 10 to 15. I’ve gotten in there and started recording some, but there’s a lot more to be done. I love all types of music, so I’m sure different songs will reflect different moods of me. Definitely country first; I definitely see myself on tour singing different songs live, but the album is going to be country first. We’ve talked about Rascal Flatts and various people doing little parts, but nothing is set in stone. We’re fitting some sessions in during the tour, so on days off, we fly people down and get to work. It’s a tight schedule, but we’re getting it done. We’re utilizing any extra time I have; of course, after the tour’s over, I’m going directly to Nashville where I’ll basically live in the studio, sleeping in there if I have to, until it’s done. I’m young, and this is my chance. I’m not about to let it slip away.

NASHVILLE: It’s a wonderful place. Just being there and hanging out with the people makes me realize how much I love it. I love the people down there. I’m excited about working with them, and they’re excited working with me. The country people are so glad to have this kind of exposure on American Idol. It’s opening up the music to a bigger audience. Other people who might not give country a chance now are; it really is wonderful music.

TV/MUSIC CAREER: What if, for some strange reason, I couldn’t sing anymore? I always want to have things going for me that I can do, where singing doesn’t have to be my entire world. If I want to branch out and do other things, I want to have that freedom to do things I want to do, things I like. Certainly, music is the most important thing right now. But I went to college and intend to graduate because another career is very important to me. There’s a ton of things that make me happy, and I plan to experience them.

NORMALCY OF GOING HOME: As soon as I get home, my mom tells me to clean my room. I was just joking, ‘Mom, the next American Idol doesn’t clean her room,” and she said, ‘this one does.’ To my family, I will always be Carrie and not the American Idol. I never want that to change. Besides that, I go to the lake with my friends, go fishing. I fish a lot but I always throw them back.

LOOKING AHEAD: This year will be extremely busy. Several things coming up for November, the album, be with my family for Christmas. I’ve made it known that I want a long-term career, not just cutting one album and that’s it. I want to make several albums, make my mark, do charity work, then when it’s time to move on, I’ll get into something else. After the album comes out, there’s several things that have come up. Of course, I have to promote the album. We’re trying to figure out if I’m going to tour with somebody, but right now, we’re strictly focusing on the album.

EXPECTATIONS FOR MYSELF: I don’t have a lot of expectations. On American Idol, I obviously hoped I’d keep making it past the rounds. I really believe if you have really high hopes, you can become that much more disappointed. Once I dropped out of school when I reached the Top 44, it was like, I’m not graduating yet. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I got voted off the show.

ABOUT DREAMS AS ADOLESCENTS: It’s really important to have a back-up plan, to have some way of having a career. But never, ever, ever, ever lose sight of what you love the most, no matter what it is. Just be smart about it, too.

HOW DREAMS & PLANS CHANGE: This whole experience reminds me of something I’ve heard quite a few times: “If you want to make God laugh, make plans.”

After I won American Idol, I had to re-evaluate everything. What I was going to do before, I’m not going to do now. I’m going to be a singer for at least the next little while. There’s no more planning things out as I was doing last year at this time; now it’s screwed up in a good way. But it’s really important to keep setting goals, to keep striving. I don’t want to be one of those people who goes, ‘I’ve Achieved the most amazing thing I’ve ever done, so I can cruise now.’ I have achieved the most amazing thing in my life, but there’s so much more I’d like to do. The big change for me is that now my goals can be much, much higher than what they were a year ago – trying to find a good job out of college, work my way up the ladder – the typical business plan – find somebody, get married, have a family. Now it’s make an album, do well on it, so I can make another album, touring, promotion. After I’m hopefully an established artist one day, people will know me not just because of being an American Idol but because they’ve been hearing me a lot on the radio, and what I’ve done as a solo musician.