Since winning the fourth season of “American Idol” in 2005, Carrie Underwood has become one of the most successful country musicians in history. Where did she grow up before finding fame?
Carrie Underwood was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on March 10, 1983. She grew up on her parents’ farm in Checotah a town in McIntosh County, also in Oklahoma. In her teens, she attended Checotah High School and then Northeastern State University, having abandoned her dreams of a career in music before auditioning for “American Idol”.
For more on Carrie Underwood’s early life and her amazing success, read on.
Growing Up
Carrie Marie Underwood was born on March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the daughter of Steve Underwood and his wife, Carole Shatswell.
Steve and Carole lived on a farm in nearby Checotah, Oklahoma, with Steve working in a paper mill while Carole worked as an elementary school teacher. The couple already had two daughters, Shanna and Stephanie, when Carrie was born.
Carrie grew up on her parents’ farm and discovered her love of singing at an early age, performing in local talent shows, and at the local church, First Free Will Baptist Church.
High School and College
Underwood attended Checotah High school, where she played basketball and softball, was a cheerleader and an Honor Society member.
During her high school years, a local fan arranged for Underwood to visit Nashville for an audition with Capitol Records in 1996. Her audition went well and Capitol Records were prepared to sign her but a change in management meant that the deal never materialized.
On reflection, Carrie believes it’s a good thing that this early brush with stardom didn’t amount to anything. She believes she wouldn’t have been ready for the spotlight, had she found fame in her teens.
Underwood graduated from high school in 2001 and decided not to pursue music as a career, accepting that she needed to be realistic about her prospects and focus on long term employment. To this end, she enrolled at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, graduating in 2006 with a degree in communication, focusing on journalism.
American Idol
Despite accepting that the chances of ever finding success in music were slim, Underwood continued performing. During her time at NSU, she performed at the university’s country show.
She attended a St Louis, Missouri audition for the fourth season of “American Idol”, performing “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt.
Judge Simon Cowell endorsed Underwood throughout this time on the competition, first saying that he thought she would be one of the favorites to win, then later saying that he believed she would win and sell more records than the previous three winners.
The swell of support for Underwood throughout the show saw her fans taking the name “Carrie’s Care Bears” and their support saw her become the likeliest choice to win. Show staff members have said that Underwood won every week’s audience vote by a wide margin and she was the eventual winner of the competition.
On winning “American Idol”, Underwood was awarded a recording contract, a Ford Mustang convertible, and access to a private jet for twelve months.
Underwood’s first single, “Inside Your Heaven”, debuted at number one in the Billboard chart, becoming the first country artist in history to debut in the top spot of the chart.
She followed this success by releasing her debut album, “Some Hearts”, which immediately topped Billboard’s country albums chart and placed second on their top 200 albums chart. In time, it became the best selling album of 2006 in the United States, as well as the top-selling country album in both 2006 and 2007.
It remains the highest-selling album by any “American Idol” contestant and went on to be certified eight times platinum, selling more than nine million copies worldwide.
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