January's Glamour Cover Girl
When Carrie Underwood flew to Los Angeles in the fall of 2004 to audition for American Idol, it was the first time she had ever set foot on a plane. Since then, this small-town girl from Checotah, Oklahoma, has been moving at warp speed. Barely a year later, she released Some Hearts, which went platinum six times over and became the fastest-selling debut album in country music history, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Underwood has also collected piles of awards, including two Grammys, and just released her second album, the critically praised Carnival Ride. Between touring and performing for the troops in Iraq, hopping on a plane is now one of the things she tosses off without a thought.
Underwood’s flash transformation from reality-show contest winner to genuine star may be complete, but processing her sudden fame? That’s taking some time. There’s the stuff that still freaks her out: The 24-year-old learned quickly that she can go to the mall and Target, but only during school hours; that way she avoids being mobbed by overexcited kids. She’s also getting used to hearing her name attached to persistent rumors, like the one that said she refused to sign an autograph for a five-year-old. (“I’d never do that,” she says.) But then there are the unexpected perks: When the self-confessed “horrible driver” was recently pulled over by a police officer for an expired license plate, Underwood signed an autograph. She says with a laugh, “The cop said, ‘I’ll just give you a warning.’”
So when Underwood plops down on a couch after her daylong Glamour cover shoot, curling up in gray sweats and tucking her bare feet beneath her, I’m not sure what to expect. Is she still the aw-shucks girl from American Idol, or is she getting comfy with her fame? She is a little guarded: She doesn’t shake hands when we meet and has a businesslike, let’s-get-down-to-it demeanor. But it soon becomes clear that Underwood is not unfriendly; she just doesn’t indulge in any showbiz fakery. This is a woman who will never be the silly Chihuahua-in-the-purse type. She’s thoughtful, composed and appealingly levelheaded as she talks about dating, dieting and the pleasures—and hazards—of being Carrie Underwood, country music superstar.
GLAMOUR: Carnival Ride is the perfect title for your second record, given what you’ve been through in the past few years.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD: It’s part of a line from my favorite song on the album, “Wheel of the World.” It sums up everything that’s happened to me. It’s nuts to think of where I was a couple of years ago. [What’s happened since then] has completely been blind luck, or fate, or whatever you want to call it.
GLAMOUR: Now wait a minute—why do you think it was luck?
CU: There were so many people on Idol who were way more talented than any of us who ended up in the top 10. I promise. They just didn’t get there, for some reason.
GLAMOUR: But Carrie, you made your own luck too. You wouldn’t have gotten where you are without a healthy dose of ambition. After all, you entered American Idol in the first place.
CU: But I have no clue why I did that. I was terrified of graduating college and not knowing what I was going to do. I saw the auditions for Idol and thought, Why not? I always liked to sing. You know when they asked, “Are you the next American Idol?” I said yes, but I didn’t mean it. [Laughs.] I was thinking, I don’t know. Probably not! Don’t know why I’m here! But I see these things on E! True Hollywood Story that say, She knew she was going to be a star. She would do anything to get to the top. That wasn’t me at all.
GLAMOUR: So it was something to do before you had to get yourself a real job?
CU: Yeah. It was kind of like, Well, this could be the last opportunity that I have.
carriefan
