Interview:Carrie Underwood: 'I'd put on a happy face, then go home and fall apart'

[maddkat]

really nice interview, she talks about general stuff and being on stage, the miscarriages

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jun/26/carrie-underwood-interview-glastonbury

Saturday night on the banks of the Ohio River, and the most American of scenes is unfolding. At the Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds are playing the Texas Rangers, while at the US Bank Arena next door Carrie Underwood is making the latest stop on her global tour. Fans spill together through the muggy streets, a mingling of scarlet baseball jerseys and tan cowboy boots.

This is Underwood’s first tour since 2016, a huge two-hour, 60-date monolith of a show in support of last year’s album Cry Pretty. Reaching UK arenas on Friday, it features a hydraulic stage, multiple costume changes and fearsome pyrotechnics, and it will carry her from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan, via the Glastonbury festival this weekend.


The most successful winner of American Idol, triumphing in the TV talent show’s fourth season in 2005, Underwood has since recorded six albums, sold over 65m records, won seven Grammys, and earned more than $83m (£65m). She is beautiful and blonde, and married to a retired ice hockey player: at first glance an unlikely addition to the Worthy Farm lineup.

When we meet backstage after the show she is out of her costume but still in her stage makeup – teary glitter circles smudged beneath her eyes. “I got us wine!” she announces from the sofa, pouring a large glass of cabernet sauvignon. “This is actually a treat for me because normally I go straight to my bus, and I have a crying baby.” Underwood’s second son, Jacob, was born in January, and now he, her four-year-old, Isaiah, and her husband, Mike Fisher, have joined her on tour. “I actually kicked my husband out of the bed and he sleeps on the couch up front,” she says of their onboard sleeping arrangements. “It’s just a lot easier to wake up in a moving bus and grab the baby and feed him.” She says she has puzzled over how to adapt her set for Glastonbury, deciding to largely play the hits, “try to keep it eclectic” and perhaps bust out an Aerosmith cover.

cont. at the link

 

[AdamJ]

Thanks D for posting this article. Carrie has gone through a lot of heartache and stress and continued to work. I am so happy that she had Mike to help her through the tough times. He is a really nice guy. If people could look past the glitz and glamour they would see that Mike and Carrie are just regular people trying to do their best in life. Bless them both.....

 

[Louisa]

I’m glad Carrie showed a bit more of her heart and was raw on this album. Songs like “Cry Pretty” and “Low’ are some of the best she’s made. I’m happy she finally has her happy ending with Jacob. He’s beautiful.

 

[LilUnderwood]

Loved this article thanks for posting! Also did anyone catch how it said her latest single The Bullet? Has it been released in the UK as a single or is this a teaser that it will be her next single after Southbound?

 

[jaymiee]

^I hope not lol, I actually really like The Bullet but we need DA or Low!!!!

Great article btw thanks for posting!

 

[Joey Orfino]

I love how self aware she is with the current state of country radio and what they play. That's probably why she went with "Southbound" as the third single after realizing that country radio may not be as interesting in a song about hardship like "Cry Pretty":

"A recent study found that lately country music has moved away from its familiar subjects of hardship and heartbreak towards party songs. “There’s a lot of songs that aren’t actually saying too much,” she says. “Fun songs to listen along to; party vibe.” She pauses. “It makes my skin crawl when I hear somebody say ‘Gurrrl’ in a song, you know?”

 

[Farawayhills]

I like this article a lot. Laura Barton has a degree in English literature, and has published a novel of her own (about a small town girl, facing the biggest decision of her life). I think she can meet Carrie (who is also a graduate) as an equal, and bring out points that other interviewers may tend to overlook. The discussion of politics, and why Carrie refuses to present complex issues in over-simplified terms is an example. (Allen Shamblin, who co-wrote "The Bullet" also tends to take that approach, which is probably why they focused on that song - but the effects of gun violence on people's lives is also mentioned in the lead lines to "Love Wins", which Carrie herself co-wrote - an aspect which many commentators seem to have missed.)

I also like the discussion of her approach to her stage singing: "A lot of times I feel like I’m alone,” she says. “I’m obviously aware of people being around me. But it’s like I’m in the song alone on stage.” It is a good place. “I like to be alone. My husband is probably the only person this planet I could’ve married – my mom, when I told her I was engaged, was even like ‘I just never really thought you’d get married.’ And so I feel like when I’m alone and singing and I hear nothing but music, it’s a nice place to be.” That sentiment expresses pretty well the sense of being immersed in a song, and letting the song come across in her mood and expression - I think that is very much the mark of a strong singer, not least in the Country genre, and puts her in a company with some of the best female song interpreters. Again, it's an aspect that seems to be seldom explored by most commentators, who tend to focus more on things like the visual effects and the vocal bravura (those are there too, of course - but without the priority given to the song, the extent of Carrie's gift would not be nearly so emphatic or complete.)

"Underwood prefers the traditional themes:the woman wronged, the sorrow worn" - that is an assessment that I find particularly perceptive (probably, because it's close to how I also see her!). Yet it's an assessment that I'd seldom expect to be emphasized by many journalists in the States - who seem to stress the lighter, more glamorous side of Carrie, placing her more in the milieu of entertainment or general pop culture. (It's a regret, that nags at me, that too many seem to hold back from seeing her as a deep genre Country singer - yet her knowledge of, and identification with, the genre are actually very strong, and come through in a great many - though admitedly not all - of her album songs). I would say that the phrase Laura Barton uses in that assessment would strike a chord with many of the Country fans in the UK and Ireland, who often do tend to relate to that aspect of the music.

 

[txacar]

^Thanks, Faraway. You made my evening. Love this.