Carrie Underwood

[razorbacker]

I was also surprised that Carrie lost to Sara Evans. I would have expected her to lose to Martina of the three ladies she was up against. And I must say, Sara Evans' performance was not very good.

I think that Simon got his wake-up call on the profitability of country music when 19E passed on Josh Gracin, and Josh turned around and made a name for himself in country. This was a bit of good fortune for Carrie - and boy, am I glad! What a beautiful, talented young lady! I have no shame in saying I voted furiously for her last year and believe you're right in saying that she will likely be the most successful Idol winner in the long run.

Sara Evans has been around & been nominated for years. Maybe, it was just her turn. But you are correct her performance was brutal. She never hit a proper note. It was cringe worthy. And she did the same thing at the CMA awards last Nov. only it was a different song. Carries turn will come, I have no doubt.

Just a reminder for everyone 4pm. Sunday on Fox Carrie will be doing a pre race concert & then singing the National Anthem. I'm not sure if the concert will be shown, but NASCAR always televises the Anthem.

[razorbacker]

Is anyone planning on attending this show tonight? If so how about a review in the next day or so?

http://www.beacheventsfun.com/beachs...b_site_050.htm

PATRIOTIC FESTIVAL

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Saturday, May 27, 2006

5th Street Beach Stage - (4:30pm-11:00pm) Phil Vassar, Carrie Underwood, Raul Malo, and Lost Trailers

(ticketed show - tickets on sale NOW through Ticketmaster)

Oceanfront - fireworks from 7th Street at 10:30pm (or the conclusion of the concert)

[razorbacker]

Carries tour schedule begins cooking big time in June. For anyone that may want to see her here ya go. It's going to be a pretty big month.

June 1 Kenny Chesney Tour Evansville In.
June 2 Kenny Chesney Tour Grand Rapids Mi.
June 3 Kenny Chesney Tour Grand Rapids Mi.
June 6 Grand Ol Opry Nashville Tn.
June 8 Country Fever Fest Pryor Ok.
June 9 Comstock Windmill Festival Comstock Ne.
June 10 CMA Fest Nashville Tn.
June 13 Kenny Chesney Tour Oakland Ca.
June 15 Kenny Chesney Tour Glendale Az.
June 16 Kenny Chesney Tour Mandalay Bay Las Vegas Nv.
June 17 Kenny Chesney Tour Carson Ca.
June 21 Kenny Chesney Tour Salt Lake City Ut.
June 24 Country Jam Grand Junction Co.
June 29 Kenny Chesney Tour Greenville SC.

[bbnbama]

Sara Evans has been around & been nominated for years. Maybe, it was just her turn. But you are correct her performance was brutal. She never hit a proper note. It was cringe worthy. And she did the same thing at the CMA awards last Nov. only it was a different song. Carries turn will come, I have no doubt.

Just a reminder for everyone 4pm. Sunday on Fox Carrie will be doing a pre race concert & then singing the National Anthem. I'm not sure if the concert will be shown, but NASCAR always televises the Anthem.

Didn't see the NASCAR performance but I did find a pic for ya...

[razorbacker]

She did the Anthem really well, a capela, as she always does. Seacrest introduced her to the audience as the Triple Platinum recording artist & there was no mention of American Idol winner. I love the fact that she is being accepted on her own now & that title is hardly mentioned any more. Carrie never refuses to acknowledge the title or thank the Idol franchise whenevr she gets a chance, but I'm glad to see it going by the wayside. She had a concert before the race, but they only showed brief glimpses of her on stage.

[roses4me]

Those pictures of Carrie are amazing!

Hey Razor, our girl is fabulous and we'd expect nothing less, eh?

[razorbacker]

Those pictures of Carrie are amazing!

Hey Razor, our girl is fabulous and we'd expect nothing less, eh?

She is most definitely coming into her own, & her stage show from all reports is astounding. Including the Guns & Roses & Accoustic version of Inside You Heaven where she plays guitar.

[dahoney7]

I also thought she did very well yesterday but I wasn't too happy to see Ryan be the one to introduce her, lol. I've seen enough of him lately.

[razorbacker]

The effect of Jesus Take The Wheel are felt by many. Especially the song writer. Here is an interesting article about the Canadian guy that was one of the co-writers.

http://www.canada.com/topics/enterta...647c87&k=62497

What happens to your career when Jesus takes the wheel
Gordie Sampson's trip to Nashville from Nova Scotia

Canadian songwriter Gordie Sampson says he knew almost nothing about country music when he moved to Nashville last year with his wife and baby and the beginnings of a hit song percolating in his head.

A year later his simple, heartfelt tune "Jesus Take the Wheel" -- inspired by a real-life car crash in Cape Breton -- has dominated radio airwaves across the continent for months, broken industry records and turned the 34-year-old Nova Scotian into one of the hottest songwriting talents in Nashville.

"Jesus Take the Wheel," co-written by Sampson and a pair of American collaborators -- and recorded by 2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood -- recently ended a phenomenal six-week run in the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard country music charts.

Its success was affirmed this week when Underwood's debut album won best single record of the year at the prestigious Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Watching from the audience and basking in the glow of both his and Underwood's triumph was Sampson, who calls his first Vegas awards show "a pretty crazy experience," followed by a long night of partying among country music's biggest stars.

"The song's success has worked wonders for my music career," Sampson said last week in a telephone interview from Nashville. "It lets the industry know that I mean business, and that I take songwriting seriously and work hard. It definitely makes for a cooler ride."

"Jesus Take the Wheel" led Underwood's album to an industry record earlier this year when it became the fastest triple-platinum CD in history to deliver a Billboard No. 1 hit.

The song also came close to matching a 55-year-old Canadian record owned by legendary singer Hank Snow, another Nova Scotian. Not since 1951, when Snow's tune "The Rhumba Boogie" spent eight weeks atop Billboard's country charts, has a Canadian-written song spent six or more weeks in the No. 1 spot.

Not even Shania Twain's "Love Gets Me Every Time" lasted that long, falling from the top spot after five weeks in 1997.

"In all of country music history, only 24 songs written by Canadians have ever reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts," says Larry Delaney, editor of the Ottawa-based Country Music News. "What Gordie Sampson did with this song, being No. 1 for six consecutive weeks, it's unheard of. It's amazing."

Delaney says a good deal of the song's popularity stemmed from the millions of American Idol fans who flocked to Carrie Underwood's first album after she won the talent contest last year.

But while Idol fans may have boosted sales of Underwood's album, Delaney says they had little to do with the presence of the hit song on the Billboard charts, which are determined by the radio play offered by music executives on the hunt for enduring songs.

"I thought it was a strong song," Delaney says. "It dealt with a lot of the emotions and passions found in today's country music."

Sampson, who has spent most of his career in Cape Breton as a modestly successful roots-and-rock recording artist, says his famous country tune was inspired by the death of an acquaintance two years ago in a car crash on a Nova Scotia highway.

One day, driving past the site of the accident, Sampson says he remembered another story his aunt once told him about losing control of her own car on the road.

"She was a deeply religious person, and she told me she just took her hands off the wheel and asked God to take control of the car," Sampson says.

"For some reason my friend's accident triggered that memory of my aunt, and I wrote a few words about it in my little black book.

"I don't know if the eventual song would ever have been recorded if Carrie didn't pick it up for her album," he says. "She just happened to come along at exactly the right time."

Around Nashville, doors have opened for Sampson ever since. He has written songs for Faith Hill and Trace Adkins, and is now co-writing an album with Australian recording star Keith Urban.

Nashville executive Ralph Murphy, the Canadian-born vice-president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, says he's cheering Sampson's every move.

"It was almost an act of God the way it all came together for Gordie, with Carrie Underwood winning American Idol and then recording this great song. Everything just came into play. As a Canadian, it was great to see."

[John]

This guy's aunt is a moron. I know whenever I'm stuck in traffic, I take my foot off the brake pedal and ask God to control my car. One of these days, he could at least pick up the ticket for me.