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)

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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.

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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.

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Download 'Temporary Home' | Read the lyrics

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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.

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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.