Your cart is currently empty!
20 Years Ago Today, Carrie Underwood Was at No. 1 With the Best-Selling Debut Album by a Female Country Artist in History
These days, Carrie Underwood sits behind the judging panel on American Idol. In 2005, however, the then 21-year-old was just an aspiring singer from small-town Oklahoma chasing a dream. That dream came true when viewers crowned her the winner of season 4 over Alabama country-rocker Bo Bice. And far from 15 minutes of fame, Underwood’s time in the spotlight has stretched for two decades and counting. On this day (March 30) in 2006, her freshman record, Some Hearts, topped the U.S. country albums chart for the first of a cumulative 27 weeks.
Videos by American Songwriter
‘Some Hearts’ Marked the Start of a Historical Run for Carrie Underwood
“I really hope, obviously, I have a long and successful career,” Carrie Underwood said in a 2006 interview with PopEntertainment. “I hope people look back and my music and say, ‘She’s done this for a long time and she’s done it well.’”
Mission accomplished—by just about every metric. Released in November 2005, Some Hearts remains the best-selling debut album by a solo female country artist. Going on to sell more than 10 million copies, it was also the first of six straight Carrie Underwood albums to debut at No. 1—making her the first artist to accomplish this feat in the history of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
As far as awards go, Some Hearts won nearly every trophy it was nominated for, including Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Meanwhile, two singles—”Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Before He Cheats”—gave the American Idol star back-to-back Grammys for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Both “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Before He Cheats” were major crossover hits, peaking at No. 20 and No. 8, respectively, on the all-genre Hot 100.
[RELATED: Here’s Why (And How) an NHL Team Honored Carrie Underwood]
She Was Hesitant to Release This ‘Some Hearts’ Single
Two decades later, “Before He Cheats” remains Carrie Underwood’s signature song. It’s a powerful display of catharsis for anyone whose partner has even been unfaithful to them. However, the 16-time ACM Award winner admitted she had some reservations about recording it.
“I remember even when we were talking about recording that song, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, is this too aggressive? Is this too…’ ” Underwood, 43, told People magazine in January. “Because I was like a sweet farm girl on [American Idol] — and I hope that’s who I still am — but it was almost, ‘Maybe we don’t do this song.’”
Fortunately, those worries proved meritless. “But everybody loved it so much, we went for it and it … worked,” she said. “But, yeah, 20 years later, we still see people perform it, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Featured image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.