Carrie Underwood-Reakening the Dream
Carrie Underwood is an outstanding country music singer that almost gave up on her dream of singing during high school and parts of college (Newsmakers). She stated, “I had reached a point in my life where I had to be practical and prepare for my future in the real world” (Bella, 18-19). Carrie was finally persuaded by her family and friends to audition for American Idol Season Four (Bella, 19).
Carrie had a challenging dream for three main reasons: it allowed her to reawaken her singing dream, audition for American Idol in St. Louis, and compete in Hollywood. Carrie took a chance and tried to reawaken her singing dream. It was during the fall of 2004, when she was about to begin her senior year of college when auditions for season four of American Idol were just beginning. Carrie was doing extremely well in college and was looking forward to graduating in the following spring.
After high school she pretty much gave up on her dream of singing (Newsmakers). Auditions were being taken place in various cities around the country and when she came home one weekend from college and saw on the news broadcast a segment about American Idol auditions which inspired her. When Carrie was at home she saw on the news that many people were in Cleveland, Ohio, sleeping outside in hopes for auditioning for the 2005 season of American Idol. People always told her she should try out for the show, but she never thought she could handle it. But her family and friends thoughts were way different (Bella, 19). Carrie was soon researching information on where the nearest auditions would be taken place and if she would meet the criteria.
St. Louis, Missouri, was the closet audition site to her hometown, yet it was still eight hours away by car. “One day, I thought, ‘I’m going to graduate and I don’t know what I’m going to do, so why not try out for American Idol? What’s the worst that could happen? If I don’t make it past the audition, nobody’s going to know,” she told Reader’s Digest (19). Carrie thought deeply and decided to try out for American Idol season four auditions in St. Louis, Missouri.
One night, after performing at a college show, Carrie’s mom drove her to the auditions in St. Louis. They drove through the night and arrived at 6 a.m. the next morning. Carrie waited in line with thousands of other singers, all of them hoping to be the next American Idol (20).
After waiting for several hours she was asked to sing for one of the show’s producers. She sang a song by Martina McBride, her favorite country music singer. The song was called “Phones Are Ringing All over the Town.” When she finished performing she was extremely disappointed in her performance (21). But surprisingly, she was invited back to perform for one of the show’s executive producers the next day.
That day, she sang another song by McBride called “Independence Day.” Again, she made it to the next and final round (21). This time it would be a little different, instead of performing for another American Idol producer; she would be singing in front of the show’s three judges. This performance was the most important of the auditions. If Underwood did well then she would be invited to Hollywood to appear on the show and compete against other semifinalists for a recording contract. If she didn’t do well, she would be going home.
For this audition Carrie sang a song called “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” by Bonnie Raitt. Her charm and pretty voice captured the attention of the judges and invited her to Hollywood (21-22). Carrie went through three struggling auditions before getting invited to perform in Hollywood. Her trip to Hollywood was her first plane ride and she had afear of flying (Biography in Context). “On the way to the airport, my mom stopped at a store.
I started to cry in the car with my dad,” Carrie told Reader’s Digest. “I said, ‘I don’t want to fly.’ And her dad said, ‘Well, we can turn around right now and go back home if you want.’ She thought how something silly like not wanting to get on a plane might keep her from doing something cool. She faced her fears and got on the plane, and made it safely to Hollywood (Bella, 23). In January 2005, the fourth season of American Idol began to air on television.
American Idol airs episodes that show highlights from the nationwide auditions (23). Carrie’s final audition appeared on television. When it aired many people predicted she would be the next American Idol (23). Bo Bice ended up making it to the finals, competing against Carrie Underwood for the 2005 American Idol title. They both became fan favorites throughout Season Four (23). Carrie took on a challenging opportunity running for American Idol.
Her immense talent and extraordinary work ethic paid off (www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com). More than thirty-seven million people voted for the Season Four winner of American Idol (Biography in Context). A fan favorite from the beginning, Carrie was named the new American Idol winner on May 25, 2005 (Bella, 30). After the finale she celebrated her victory with a party at Skybar in Los Angeles, California (Newsmakers).
She became only the second winner ever to be voted in the bottom three during any point of the show’s season. As the winner of American Idol, she received a $1 million recording contract with Arista Records Nashville (Bella, 30). At the beginning of Carrie Underwood’s career she has released many songs and many more to come. “I have known all my life that being a country music singer would be the most wonderful thing that I could ever do” (39).
