Carrie Underwood

Anyone who predicted that Carrie Underwood's second album would start with a sugary radio song might be surprised by the sultry, sassy, country-rocking "Flat On The Floor." But not to worry, pop fans - "All-American Girl" is a soaring, triumphant song that sounds like a hot hit, fresh off Music City's grill, and the moving and romantic "Wheel of the World" is chick-flick soundtrack friendly. As a singer (and co-writer of three songs), Underwood really comes into her own on Carnival Ride, reminding country music fans why she was the first countrified American Idol and usurper of Faith Hill's throne.

On "American Idol," Carrie Underwood was the country girl who never sounded
comfortable trying to come on tough. Especially when she was belting Heart's "Alone," the
top Idol pick for wussy girls copping an attitude. For her debut, Some Hearts, Underwood
dabbled in mainstream pop, but the smash "Before He Cheats" proved her heart was all the
way country; the way she sang about a rival singing "some white-trash version of... More >