Carrie Underwood Blown Away

Consider me "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood's latest album! The reigning princess of Country music infuses a little bit of a pop-rock into the darker, more-attitude filled songs ("Blown Away", "Two Black Cadillacs", "Good Girl") while maintaining a traditional country sound into the nostalgic tracks ("Thank God for Hometowns", "Forever Changed"). And then there are songs like the tropical jam "One Way Ticket" (which will surely be making its way onto many summer mixtapes!), the sassy "Cupid's Got a Shotgun (featuring Brad Paisley on guitar!), and the beautifully-written "Wine After Whiskey" (one of Carrie's best songs) which all help to make "Blown Away" a stellar fourth record!

1. Good Girl
2. Blown Away
3. Two Black Cadillacs
4. See You Again
5. Do You Think About Me
6  Forever Changed
7. Nobody Ever Told You
8. One Way Ticket
9. Thank God for Hometowns
10. Good in Goodbye
11. Leave Love Alone
12. Cupid’s Got a Shotgun
13. Wine After Whiskey
14. Who Are You

Download "Blown Away" on iTunes!

Mayday!

Mayday! Mayday!

This month, I am looking forward to... Visiting friends in Seattle. The Avengers. Studying English literature during the summer semester (yes, I have actually missed school). The NOH8 Photoshoot in Vancouver. Crowning a new American Idol champion. New music from Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Haley Reinhart.

May is going to be marvelous!

Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl" Music Video

In case you needed a reminder of why Carrie Underwood is one of the most stylish and beautiful women in the music biz, here is the music video for her latest single, "Good Girl". This will require multiple viewings as you 'ooh' and 'ahh' over all of the gorgeous outfits and hairdos she models.

Carrie Underwood 'Blown Away' Cover Art

After many months of anticipation, Carrie Underwood has finally revealed the title and cover art of her fourth-coming studio album! To be released on May 1st, Blown Away evokes a darker and mature side to Carrie that hasn't been seen before. Standing on a windswept field in the midst of a storm, she is like.a mythical goddess, equal parts ethereal and mysterious. Now that the tides have turned in terms of her imagery, it shall be intriguing to hear the music that comes out of this new Carrie era!

ETA: Tracklisting

1. Good Girl
2. Blown Away
3. Two Black Cadillacs
4. See You Again
5. Do You Think About Me
6  Forever Changed
7. Nobody Ever Told You
8. One Way Ticket
9. Thank God for Hometowns
10. Good in Goodbye
11. Leave Love Alone
12. Cupid’s Got a Shotgun
13. Wine After Whiskey
14. Who Are You

Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl"

Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl" is now available on iTunes (and is currently at #7 on the iTunes Canada charts). Like "Cowboy Casanova," this rockin' first single from her fourth studio album serves as a warning against a guy who is bad news for a good girl. Carrie sings with power and conviction on this infectious record that has the makings of a country-pop crossover hit.

Follow @CarrieUnderwood on Twitter.

Grammy Awards 2012: The Moments

Adele performing the Record and Song of the Year, "Rolling in the Deep" at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

As host LL Cool J said at the opening of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, the night was about something truly universal and healing - music. Devastated by the passing of Whitney Houston (to whom this year's ceremony is dedicated to), the music community paid their respects to the late, great vocalist by letting the beat go on. The music-makers celebrated this past year by recognizing the achievements of their fellow artists and by creating some of the finest and most memorable Grammy moments in the show's history. These were some of my favourite moments...

• Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt's cool cover of "Sunday Kind Of Love" by Etta James, in honour of the late Matriarch of R&B and Soul.
• The Regal Reba McEntire introducing Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's "Don't You Wanna Stay", one of my favourite Country duets of 2012.
• The Beach Boys set by Maroon 5 and Foster the Kids, with a special appearance by the band itself! "Good Vibrations" was especially groovy and showed that the Beach Boys, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, are timeless entertainers.
• Stevie Wonder. Need I say more?
• Folk duo The Civil Wars singing a snippet of the entrancing "Barton Hollow," their Grammy award winning song from their Grammy Award winning album.
• Tony Bennett, who received his first Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album accolade of his career for Duets II (which contains his sensational, award-winning collaboration with the late Amy Winehouse, "Body and Soul"), sang his duet with Carrie Underwood, "It Had To Be You".
• Jennifer Hudson's emotionally-charged rendition of "I Will Always Love You" was a stunning tribute to Whitney Houston (and surely brought tears to the eyes of all those who adored her).
• QUEEN ADELE. The vocal powerhouse deliver a rousing rendition of "Rolling in the Deep" (the fact that she can go through vocal surgery and sound that stellar is amazing!) which was followed by a standing ovation from the audience. She also dominated the night with a clean sweep of Grammy Awards, earning a grand total of six trophies in the categories of Best Short Form Music Video (for "Rolling in the Deep"), Best Pop Vocal Album (for 21), Best Pop Solo Performance (for "Someone Like You"), Song of the Year and Record of the Year (for "Rolling in the Deep"), and the prestigious Album of the Year for 21! With her six awards, she matched Beyonce's record of most wins by a female artist in one night. Truly, there is no one more worthy of all the acclaim than the talented and sensational Adele.
• Sir Paul McCartney (along with Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl in the band) closing the show with Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End. That Beatles medley is perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created, and it was such a pure joy to hear it performed on the Grammy stage. This powerful moment was a reminder of how good songs can be cherished for many years to come.

"In the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take."

Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler on CMT Crossroads

She's a little bit country, he's a little bit rock and roll. Together, they make crazy good music!

Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler are the latest musicians to team up for CMT Crossroads, a program that pairs country artists with stars from a different genre. Some of my favourite duos that resulted from Crossroads include Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson; and John Mayer with Keith Urban and Brad Paisley. I thought pairing Carrie up with Steven again (they performed "Undo It / Walk This Way" during last year's ACM Awards) was a really cool idea because they seem to have so much fun on stage together. Their setlist consisted of "Sweet Emotion / Love in an Elevator", "Before He Cheats", "Cryin'", "Born to Be Wild", and my favourite, an emotionally-charged mash-up of Carrie's "Just a Dream" and Aerosmith's "Dream On". I really hope that a duet between Carrie and Steven is in the works because I can't get enough of this dynamic duo!

The Search For A Superstar

During the final auditions episode of Season 11, American Idol aired this fantastic montage of Carrie Underwood's remarkable journey from small town dreams to large-scale superstardom. As they reflected back on Carrie's biggest moments, I began to wonder... After launching Carrie and Kelly Clarkson's careers, will Idol ever strike gold a third time? Since Carrie, no winner has ever become as big as she is. While many of the most recent Idol champions (Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Scotty McCreery) have been able to reach moderate levels of success, it has been a struggle to find someone who embodies that star quality that both Carrie and Kelly possess. It boggles my mind how Idol has failed to crown a female winner in the past few years, despite the fact that WOMEN are dominating the pop charts right now.

For the fourth consecutive year, my challenge to American Idol is this: Find a girl who will shine as bright as Carrie and Kelly do.

A Moment Like This... It Was Just A Dream

While confined to my sickbed due to a persistent case of the winter flu, I marathoned all of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood's music videos on VEVO. These two American Idol Queens are the most successful winners (in terms of financial earnings, popularity, and longevity) to emerge from the competition since the show started in 2002. What is their secret to maintaining that "IT" factor after all of those years? On top of possessing incredible voices, Ms. Clarkson and Ms. Underwood are able to connect with people through their music, which covers all facets of human emotion and experience. Kelly is known for her empowering anthems (Miss Independent, Since U Been Gone, Never Again, Mr. Know It All), but she can also show you the pain of being hurt by someone you care about (Because Of You, Behind These Hazel Eyes). Carrie tells heartbreaking and heartwarming stories (So Small, Just a Dream, Temporary Home, Mama's Song) through the medium of song, but she also shares her sassy side through mistakes made, acts of revenge, and warnings against getting involved with Mr. Wrong (Last Name, Before He Cheats, Cowboy Casanova).

The answer to the question of staying on top in today's rapidly-changing world of entertainment? Be relevant and be real. Luckily, both ladies have done a spectacular job of accomplishing these goals!

Good Girl Trespassing

Two of American Idol's greatest superstars are launching their big comebacks this Spring!

Carrie Underwood will be releasing "Good Girl", the first single off of her fourth studio album, on February 23rd. The Country Queen has revealed the song will be a "fun" and "upbeat" track, which will surely rally her fans' excitement for this new era.

Adam Lambert recently shared the cover art for his sophomore album, Trespassing, via Twitter. Lambert's record, due on March 20th, has received positive comments from reviewers, who praised his daring and eclectic musical stylings.