How American Idol changed Carrie Underwood’s life

American Idol winner Carrie Underwood made history today when her debut 19 Recording/Arista Records album, Some Hearts, moved more than 314,000 units in its first week of release, making her the highest debuting new artist in the country genre since SoundScan began. Carrie also earned the distinction of selling more units than any other debuting female American Idol star to date. In addition, Carrie’s album is the highest-charting album for a debut artist in 2005. The sales numbers easily put Some Hearts (released locally by Sony/BMG) at the top of Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart, with an overall rank of No. 2 on the Billboard 200 which ranks albums of all genres.

That’s an excerpt from a news release dated Nov. 23, 2005, and datelined New York sent to Funfare by Sony/BMG as backgrounder for a 15-minute phone interview with Carrie (who was in L.A.) over the weekend. In fact, Carrie has been "making history" since she topped the popular talent search last year. Stay tuned.

How has American Idol changed your life, if it did?

"It changed pretty much everything. Nothing in my life has ever been the same again since then."

What’s the upside of being an American Idol?

"Hmmmm. I got to be a part of the music business, make an album and go on tour."

And the downside?

"Hmmmm. Being away from my family most of the time."

What about loss of privacy?

"Oh, it’s a bit bothersome but I understand that it’s part of the territory. I guess people have to be, you know, superhuman when they reach kinda celebrity status, so...I can manage, thank you."

Could you tell us more about Some Hearts (its two hit singles are the title track and Jesus, Take The Wheel)?

"We did it pretty quickly. I did the tour for the American Idol last summer and I was recording during my off days. All in all, I think we made an album we should be proud of."

What kind of music do you want to specialize in...the kind of musician that you want to be?

"Country music. That’s the genre I want to specialize in."

Do you have any country-music artist as role model?

"I look up to a lot of women in country music that I grew up listening to. There are so many I can’t name just one."

But what song do you consider memorable, one that touches you the most?

"That’s a tough thing! You know, I can’t pick just one; there are so many!"

What sort of family did you come from?

"I have two older sisters; they are both teachers. My mother was a teacher. My father worked in an industrial plant for 30 years."

From whom did you get your knack for music?

"I don’t know. Nobody else in my family is musical. It’s just something that I enjoyed since I was little."

How old were you when you realized that you wanted to be a singer?

"That’s tough! You know, I can’t pinpoint the exact time when I told myself I would be a singer. As I’ve said, I just loved music, I just wanted to sing. People saw that I was very good at it."

Didn’t you want to be anything else but a singer?

"Growing up, I didn’t really think of what I wanted to be until I was in college. I don’t know. I guess I wanted to be whatever or wherever the wind would toss me."

You’re so busy now with recording and the tour. How do you find time for yourself? Do you have a love life?

"I usually use my off days to unwind. How? I just relax. Like one time, we were staying at a hotel by the beach, so I spent most of the time lying by the pool."

Before American Idol, what were you doing?

"I was in school in Oklahoma and studying to be a journalist. I graduated in May last year."

What would you consider your most memorable moment on American Idol?

"Of course, I think it was winning. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Aren’t you coming to the Philippines to promote your album?

"I have a pretty full schedule right now in the US but I’d love to go to the Philippines, why not?"

Any word for your fans here in the Philippines?

"Oh, thank you! I want to thank everybody out there for their support. That was just incredible! It’s so far away and I haven’t even been there but there’s some sort of a connection. I would like to go there and visit everybody."

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