Live Music Performance: Carrie Underwood Performances From CMT Invitation Only

by Willis

Live Music Performance: Carrie Underwood Performances From CMT Invitation Only

Video: Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats (From Invitation Only)

Video: Carrie Underwood - So Small (From Invitation Only)

Video: Carrie Underwood - Last Name (From Invitation Only)

Video: Carrie Underwood - I Told You So (From Invitation Only)

Video: Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Casanova (From Invitation Only)

Video: Carrie Underwood - Undo It (From Invitation Only)

Video: Carrie Underwood - Temporary Home (From Invitation Only)

source

CARRIE UNDERWOOD FLAUNTS HER BIKINI BODY

Trading in the chill for some sun, Carrie Underwood was spotted enjoying a vacation at The Cove resort in the Bahamas on Sunday (December 6th).

Cute. The "Cowboy Casanova" songstress has reasons to celebrate her album 'Play On' is well on its way to platinum and her special 'Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special', garnished a hefty 8.54 million views.

source

Carrie Underwood, 'Temporary Home': Story Behind the Lyrics

During her recent CMT Invitation Only performance, Carrie Underwood revealed to the audience the inspiration behind her latest single, 'Temporary Home,' which she wrote with Luke Laird and Zac Maloy.

This [song] means so much to me. I was a co-writer on it. I was reading a book called 'Purpose Driven Life.' It talks about how this world is temporary. It's a temporary home, and we're on our way to someplace else, and we need to do everything we can here now because this isn't it. It's not over.

That is something I believe down to my core. One day I was getting ready to write, and it just comes in like a flood. It's a sad song, but it's a joyful song because these people are on their way someplace else. This is just a stop on the way.

Next Story

Download 'Temporary Home' | Read the lyrics

source

So Much to Love About the Carrie Underwood TV Special

By: Alison Bonaguro

After watching Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special last night for two straight hours, I couldn't help but feel a little up in the air. Yes, Underwood did a wonderful job entertaining the world. But what about her poor sister, Stephanie? Carrie tried repeatedly to find her sister a man, but by the end of the show, nothing.

That family drama aside, the special really did have something for everyone. It wasn't even all that Christmasy. Just kind of an old-school variety show. But Underwood managed to show her range vocally (which she always does) and dramatically (which is kind of new for her).

There were her big hits like "Cowboy Casanova," "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel," obviously. But her new songs, such as "Songs Like This" and the outstanding mandolin-laced "What Can I Say" that she did with Sons of Sylvia, were huge standouts, too.

And then, there was Dolly Parton. She was clearly a musical influence on Underwood growing up, but it looks like she may have had an effect on her sense of humor as well. That's a good thing. And she also covered the Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn hit "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" with a via-satellite Brad Paisley.

But it wasn't all old-time country music. David Cook was also there to wow the audience with his brilliant "Lie" tune, about how "I'm OK with the quiet." And Kristen Chenoweth and Christina Applegate joined Underwood for a medley of songs from '60s girl groups with "Be My Baby," "Then He Kissed Me," "Leader of the Pack" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."

Best though, by far, was Underwood's powerful pipes on "O Holy Night" toward the end of the show. O night divine, indeed.

source

Carrie Underwood Song Exclusive Preview: 'Undo It'

First, Carrie Underwood gave us the sassy stomper "Cowboy Casanova." Then it was the moving ballad, "Mama's Song," and after that came the deeply personal "Temporary Home." Now, the country star is previeiwng her new song "Undo It, from her upcoming album "Play On," exclusively on Billboard.com.

On "Undo It," Underwood channels her inner mancrusher again, with an angsty mid-tempo number that recalls not only "Casanova" but one of her biggest hits, "Before He Cheats." "I only have myself to blame for falling for your stupid games/I wish my life could be the way it was before i saw your face," she sings. "You stole my happy, you made me cry/You took the lonely and took me for a ride/And I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh undo it."

Carrie Underwood's "Play On" is due Nov. 3 on Arista Nashville. Go here to read her Billboard cover story, where the "American Idol" winner dishes all the details on her new album and more.

lay On doesn't live up to star's standards

By JOEY GUERRA

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood's path to superstardom has been cut down the middle with savvy, razor-sharp precision. She's a good girl who occasionally goes bad, a Barbie doll with sporadic Bratz tendencies.


Previous albums have balanced pristine ballads (Jesus, Take the Wheel; So Small; Just a Dream) with fiery rave-ups (Before He Cheats, Last Name). Those discs were far from perfect, but they managed to showcase some flickers of real personality.


Play On, online and in stores Tuesday, could (and should) have been an artistic turning point. Underwood is now a bona fide country queen, and the title allows her the liberty to take real chances. That's what ultimately makes this disc, her third, so disappointing.


She seems oddly detached from much of the material here — not dirty enough during the up tempos and not able to conjure the drama needed for the breakup songs. Yes, she sounds terrific. And to be fair, it's not like the material allows her much wiggle room. Everything stays safely in the narrow confines of country radio.


That's fine for a post-Idol newbie. But Underwood should not only be raising the bar, she should be setting it. Play On will likely sell millions of copies and spawn several hit singles. But it feels lazy and uninspired.


Underwood is most appealing when she isn't trying so hard to please everyone. First single Cowboy Casanova is the country-rocking-est anthem Mutt Lange never wrote for Shania Twain. Songs Like This is a twangy shot of girl-power that rouses the princess out of her gauzy slumber; and Quitter boasts a featherweight vocal delivery that works with the tune's springy arrangement.


What Can I Say gets some much-needed zip from newbie group Sons of Sylvia (the sibling trio who won Fox's Next Great American Band as the Clark Brothers). It's nice to hear Underwood's crystalline vocals against a male counterpart. And the title track equates Underwood's professional journey with a more generalized life statement.


But the rest of the disc — more than half — is filled with cheap sentimentality and power notes for the sake of powering. Just because you can sing long and loud doesn't mean you always have to.


Mama's Song is a sequel of sorts to superior earlier hit Don't Forget To Remember Me, with the country girl finding her farmer. Someday When I Stop Loving You has some understated charm but doesn't resonate with the needed pain or wistfulness.



Those aren't Play On's most groan-inducing moments. Change could've been recorded by many country singers, Underwood just got to the Hallmark store first.


“Whatcha gonna do with the 36 cents sticky with Coke on your floorboard? When a woman in the street is huddled in the cold ... .”


Temporary Home also comes with liberal doses of sap, weaving a tale that involves a foster child, a single mom and a dying man in a hospital bed.


Play On's final third is filled with interchangeable, generic love-isms. Maybe Underwood isn't interested in truly spreading her musical wings. And maybe fans don't care if she ever leaves her ice castle. But with so much vocal talent, Play On's underwhelming tunes put Underwood's potential on pause.

joey.guerra@chron.com

New CD releases: Carrie Underwood, Weezer, Shwayze

by Ed Masley

Carrie Underwood should have no trouble topping Billboard's album chart - again - with her soon-to-be-platinum third release, "Play On." But this week also brings new sounds from Weezer, Slayer, Shwayze and the much-anticipated solo album from Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas.

Carrie Underwood, "Play On" (19/Arista Nashville)

With lead-off single "Cowboy Casanova," Underwood became the female artist with the most Top 10 appearances on Billboard's country singles chart this century. A Top 5 smash, it found producer Mark Bright slipping in some synthesizer, and there may be even more pop touches on the album, which finds the American Idol working with Max Martin and "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi. Earlier this year, there were reports that Underwood had also worked with R&B star Ne-Yo on a track, but Underwood told USA Today she wasn't sure if it would fit within the context of the album, and the song was shelved.

Julian Casablancas, "Phrazes for the Young" (Cult/RCA)

How did frontman Julian Casablancas let so many other Strokes get solo projects out before his? In September, Rolling Stone reported that the singer's album finds him dabbling in synthesizers, drum machines and violins. "Introducing new instruments into the Strokes would be like adding a new character to a sitcom," he explained. "With this CD, I wanted to do everything." The title is a reference to Oscar Wilde's much wordier title, "Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young." The eight song album was produced by Jason Lader, with additional production by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk fame. Casablancas has already pulled in raves from Mojo, NME and Spin.

Weezer, "Raditude" (Geffen)

Other than the opportunity for headline writers to have their little fun with "When Weezer met Weezy," is there any good that could possibly come of Weezer hooking up with rap star Lil Wayne? Find out when "Raditude" arrives. Lil Wayne appears on "Can't Stop Partying," which also boasts production by Jermaine Dupri. And Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo promised Pitchfork Weezy "really tapped into the spirit of the song." The album title, by the way, was a suggestion from the great Rainn Wilson of "The Office," "Six Feet Under" and "The Rocker" fame.

Slayer, "World Painted Blood" (American Recordings)

Are the members of Slayer as "loud, fast and ready to thrash" as the headline on a recent article in Rolling Stone suggested? In the article, guitarist Kerry King wonders "Why do I write this (expletive) at my age?" - rhetorically speaking, of course. "It's (expletive) brutal," King continues. "It's exciting to be part of it and I'm excited to be writing this heavy (expletive) (expletive). It's still in the blood." Speaking of blood, the album was executive produced by Rick Rubin, who produced a crucial chapter in the Slayer legend, "Reign in Blood," in 1986. This is Slayer's second album with the original lineup since the return in 2002 of founding drummer Dave Lombardo.

Shwayze, "Let it Beat" (Suretone/Geffen)

The question here is, "Can they top the title?" They've certainly tried, recruiting Kanye West, Vince Vaughn and Snoop Dogg. Yes, Vince Vaughn, not your typical rap accessory, but maybe that's the genius of it. Only time will tell. The album was preceded by a filthy lead-off single, "Get U Home," about a very kinky girl whose favorite pickup line is "Take me in the bathroom. Take my clothes off. Make love to me up against a dirty wall." It somehow failed to make an impact on the pop charts, but it bodes well for the album.

New Album Releases Nov. 3, 2009: Nirvana, Rolling Stones, Carrie Underwood, Weezer, Julian Casablancas, Glee

Author: Josh Hathaway

Each week we draw closer to the mystical Black Friday and the official kickoff of the Christmas shopping season, and each week we see our new album release schedule just a little fuller than the last. Last week's offerings had two major offerings that I happily scooped up, and the same is true for this week.

Nirvana
Bleach (20th Anniversary Edition)
Live at Reading

It must be time to help the widow Cobain pay for some of those lawyers because we have two big releases from the Nirvana vaults this week. First up is a re-release of the band's SubPop debut, Bleach. This is the album that featured the song they'd later make famous on Unplugged, "About a Girl." To mark the occasion, SubPop has had the album remastered and has expanded it, adding a complete 1990 performance by the band in Portland, Oregon from the Bleach tour, prior to the arrival of drummer Dave Grohl.

The Stones in '72. Dylan in '74. Springsteen on the Darkness tour. The Beatles and Elvis on Ed Sullivan. These are some of the landmark live performances that stand out in rock history. Nirvana had two such moments. The first was their performance at the Reading Festival in the UK in 1992. British fans and rock journalist hipsters all claim to have been there that day because this is one of those events we all wish we could have witnessed. The audio and video have smoldered in the vaults until now. Live at Reading is being released as a CD/DVD package as well as a standalone CD. Note: The DVD contains one song not found on the CD.

I've preordered both of these.

Weezer
Ratitude

I love the Weezer. Rivers Cuomo is brilliant and the first several Weezer records are essential. I don't know if it's me or Rivers, but Make Believe and "The Red Album" just haven't delivered the goods for me. I like "Red" better than MB but neither stand with the debut, Pinkerton or "Green" for me. I'm sure I'm going to try this one out, but the Lil' Wayne cameo already has me heading for the door.

The Rolling Stones
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (40th Anniversary Edition)

The only essential Rolling Stones live album from that aforementioned '72 tour is getting the deluxe treatment to mark its 40th birthday. The album has been remastered — not sure if this is the same remaster from the SACD transfer undertaken by ABKCO a few years back or yet another remaster — and a second disc has been added that contains five previously unreleased tracks from the band's two-night run at Madison Square Garden, the source for the original release. A third CD has been added that includes performances by the opening acts for those shows: B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner. There's also a DVD, bringing this set out to 3 CD/1DVD.

source

New Music Preview: Carrie Underwood’s “Play On,” “Glee” Soundtrack

By Christopher John Farley

Tuesday is the traditional release date for new music and two notable albums drop this week: Country singer Carrie Underwood’s “Play On,” and “Glee: The Music, Volume 1.”

The television show “Glee” follows a group of misfit students at fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio who are members of a high school show choir. One of the comedy-drama-musical’s chief selling points is that it’s multimedia–the songs that are featured in the show (mostly covers of pop hits) are also made available for purchase on iTunes. Watch the show, buy the song.

The new “Glee” album collects some of the debut season’s musical highlights, including the cast’s cover of the rock band Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Glee” star Lea Michele’s take on Rihanna’s “Take a Bow.” It’s fun to hear a choral take on top-40 tunes, and some of the singers on the show are quite good (Michele appeared in the rock musical “Spring Awakening” on Broadway, and the cast, lead by Amber Riley, recently sang the National Anthem at the World Series).

The show shines when the songs don’t seem too polished–then the actors can serve as surrogates for the karaoke ham inside of each one of us. If you’re a fan the show, the album will evoke fond memories of favorite episodes, giving the songs with an emotional backstory that many pop hits lack.

“Glee: The Music, Volume 1″ covers music from the show’s first nine episodes; “Glee: The Music Volume 2,” which is due out Dec. 8, will feature hits from the latter half of the season.

26-year-old Carrie Underwood, a former “American Idol” winner, is one of the biggest stars in country music (she was named Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards); her last album, “Carnival Ride,” was a multi-platinum hit.

What’s interesting about Underwood is that her songs sometimes display a feistiness that’s in sharp contrast to her pop gloss. Her debut album featured the song “Before He Cheats,” about a wronged woman who trashes the “pretty little souped-up 4-wheel drive” of a cheating man. One of the new album’s singles is “Cowboy Casanova”–a full-throttle attack on a good ole boy who inspires obsession in women. “You better take it from me,” Underwood sings. “That boy is like a disease.” On another track she wails “Wanna find some boy/ rip his heart right out…And if it wasn’t for guys like you there wouldn’t be songs like this.” Sense a trend here?

Play On | Carrie Underwood

By Andrew Senter

Carrie Underwood undeniably has a cute, folksy charm. Listeners (and watchers) are instantly able to identify with her, especially when compared to other modern divas that seem psychotic and distant from reality (re. Britney Spears). She also has a fantastic voice that can be very powerful and stirring. Unfortunately, being cute and having a great voice is not enough to produce memorable and noteworthy music. This is unquestionably demonstrated throughout Carrie Underwood’s new album “Play On.” Most of the 12 tracks are so generic that they begin to blend together in a monotonous manner. They seemed designed to demonstrate Ms. Underwood’s ability to belt and lose all sense of originality. Even though some of the songs are noteworthy, the album truly fails to impress.

One of the most glaring deficiencies of “Play On” is the fact that most of the tracks are generic pop songs that do little to captivate the listener. Songs such as “Undo It,” “Songs Like This” and “Unapologize” offer nothing noteworthy. They sound listless and stale. There is little to distinguish them from any other modern pop song, and Ms. Underwood’s impressive voice cannot repair the damages. Even when Ms. Underwood tries creative flourishes to salvage a song, such as featuring the country band Sons of Sylvia on “What Can I Say,” the results are disappointing. Instead of being a heartfelt duet, “What Can I Say” becomes a vehicle for Ms. Underwood to pointlessly sing at the top of her lungs and obscure the contributions of Sons of Sylvia.

To add insult to injury, some of the most memorable songs on “Play On” are noteworthy because of their insincerity or absurdity. In “Change,” Ms. Underwood mulls over poverty and homelessness, initially asserting, “Smallest thing can make all the difference/Love is a luck.” I was dumbfounded and confused by this conclusion, which seems non-sensical. Eventually, Ms. Underwood communicates her message that any small act of charity is noteworthy, but by that point, the song has already come across as insincere. This inability to express a meaningful thought or feeling is also present in “Mama’s Song.” Instead of writing a heartfelt song about the relationship between a mother and daughter, Ms. Underwood butchers the song and transforms it into a sappy love song in which she proclaims that she has found a man “who treats [her] like a man should.”

Fortunately, there are a few salvageable tracks on the album. Some are even memorable for their quality of musicianship. Ms. Underwood demonstrates her ability to both be charming and sing with passion on “Quitter.” Unlike most of the songs on the album, “Quitter” has a rollicking melody that is truly enjoyable. It also features one of Ms. Underwood’s most subtle and satisfying vocal performances. Ms. Underwood demonstrates her ability to be witty and perform a semi-edgy song with “Songs Like This.” Unfortunately, this charm that Ms. Underwood has is absent throughout most of the album.

Carrie Underwood’s newest release, “Play On,” is unfortunately a monotonous and listless album that does little to highlight Ms. Underwood’s vocal talents and inherent charm. Most of the album is generic and stale, offering listeners few pleasurable moments. A few of the songs do highlight Ms. Underwood’s talents, demonstrating how she can be quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between, and most of the album feels staid and boring.