Carrie Underwood: "Play On" Era, Part III

[43dudleyvillas]

OK, enough is enough. First of all, a couple of people here continue to be so gullible as to not look at someone's posting history prior to getting all uber-defensive in their support of Carrie. They should know who they are because I've had conversations with them about this issue in the past. I'm working on other things and don't have time to get into the same conversation with those people again. Bottom line: some posters are best ignored because they aren't looking to have a real conversation.

Sweeping proclamations based on anecdotal observations are worthless. If a poster isn't willing to limit his/her own observations to his/her own experience, s/he probably isn't looking to be reasonable (in other words, Mike Hunt is a good example of someone who is obviously -not- trying to stir things up).

Don't let uber-defensiveness become an epidemic here. Don't throw out words like "agenda" at other posters, because it's not your place. Just check posting histories on your own and figure out for yourself whether it's even worth engaging a poster in conversation. If you think someone is trolling, PM me instead of taking it up on the board.

If you liked Carrie's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," great. If not, fine. Either way, there's no need to post your opinion more than once unless you have something truly new to add to the conversation. Some of the rehashing reads a lot more like insecurity and an inability to own your own opinion than anything else.

[carrieidol1]

Feb 8, 2010 15:28:00 GMT -5 singalong said:

What did she say in her blog about her performance? Did she mention anything about any technical differculties? ???

She said, at the time it sounded better to her. She was a good sport though, she doesn't really care, she's happy people know she did it live and realizes now why people would want to pre-record it.

[TFMachado]

Sunday's Super Bowl was the most-watched program in TV history.

An estimated 106.5 million viewers tuned in to CBS to watch the New Orleans Saints' nail-bitting 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts, according to Nielsen.

That tops the previous record of 105.97 million for the 1983 finale of "M*A*S*H," which until Sunday stood as the most-watched program of any kind.

[...]

The audience for Sunday's game was up 8% from last year's Pittsburgh-Arizona game, which was watched by 98.7 million viewers.

[...]

It should be noted, there are more televisions in use in 2010 versus 1983, and millions more homes with televisions.

In New Orleans, a whopping 82% of the sets on were tuned to the game, the largest percentage of the major markets released by Nielsen.

Indianapolis had 80% of the sets tuned to the game.

And in Washington, 73% of the sets were tuned to the game.

Researchers predicted Sunday's game could have a record audience because the economy would result in more people watching at home, rather than going out to bars, where their viewing wouldn't count.

Likewise, the blizzard that hit parts of the East Coast the weekend prior to the game probably kept more viewers near their TVs than in years past.

Following the big game, the CBS telecast of new series "Undercover Boss" was watched by 38.6 million people.

www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/02/08/2010-02-08_super_bowl_ratings_preliminary_numbers_show_highest_viewership_in_20plus_years.html


So Carrie was a part of the biggest audience EVER on TV... I wonder how much of that would turn into records sold next week!!!

[dbhmr]

Feb 8, 2010 15:48:36 GMT -5 carrieidol1 said:

About not hearing herself, keep in mind what we hear on our TVs at home is what directly goes into the microphone, even then you could hear the crowd. Imagine what it sounded like to Carrie, all that noise while she was singing - no noise blocking device, and no track playing in her ear. At the last phrase, I doubt she was able to hear herself over the crowd. At that point, I personally believe she was singing from Vocal memory - basically singing what felt right to her. Obviously there are other theories as to why she went flat, but that's mine.

Again, this isn't quite right. First of all, we aren't getting a direct mic feed. You can tell when you're getting those, there is zero echo and generally the singer's voice is almost unusually loud compared to the other noise (e.g. crowd, background music, etc.). This is usually done with cheaper technology because they don't have a way to incorporate and balance the mic feed with background noise to make it sound more like you were a member of an audience. If these professional live shows were done this way, you would hear every little mistake an artist makes (an example, though it isn't on youtube, is the version of I'll Be Home For Christmas that Kelly gave her mom--it was a direct mic feed...if anyone has a link to it, it might help to hear what it sounds like). Of course, it won't be as forgiving as actually being in the stands with all the acoustics, but still isn't quite the same as a direct mic feed.

And while there was no track playing in her ear, her voice certainly was with the earpiece. With all the noise at the end, I'm sure it was harder to hear, but she had that to keep her on pitch.

[carrieidol1]

Feb 8, 2010 16:43:37 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

Feb 8, 2010 15:48:36 GMT -5 carrieidol1 said:

About not hearing herself, keep in mind what we hear on our TVs at home is what directly goes into the microphone, even then you could hear the crowd. Imagine what it sounded like to Carrie, all that noise while she was singing - no noise blocking device, and no track playing in her ear. At the last phrase, I doubt she was able to hear herself over the crowd. At that point, I personally believe she was singing from Vocal memory - basically singing what felt right to her. Obviously there are other theories as to why she went flat, but that's mine.

Again, this isn't quite right. First of all, we aren't getting a direct mic feed. You can tell when you're getting those, there is zero echo and generally the singer's voice is almost unusually loud compared to the other noise (e.g. crowd, background music, etc.). This is usually done with cheaper technology because they don't have a way to incorporate and balance the mic feed with background noise to make it sound more like you were a member of an audience. If these professional live shows were done this way, you would hear every little mistake an artist makes (an example, though it isn't on youtube, is the version of I'll Be Home For Christmas that Kelly gave her mom--it was a direct mic feed...if anyone has a link to it, it might help to hear what it sounds like). Of course, it won't be as forgiving as actually being in the stands with all the acoustics, but still isn't quite the same as a direct mic feed.

And while there was no track playing in her ear, her voice certainly was with the earpiece. With all the noise at the end, I'm sure it was harder to hear, but she had that to keep her on pitch.

I understand. However, my point is: what we hear is much different than what she was hearing. Imagine listening to music through headphones with all that noise. It would still be really hard to hear. Whether she was able to hear herself or not, whatever was coming through the ear piece was likely very hard to hear. After "Free" the audience goes wild, and all that noise would almost certainly cancel out whatever was coming through her earpiece. With that said, no one will really know what Carrie was hearing/feeling so everyone's take on what could have happened is never going to be confirmed or denied.

I also don't know if it was posted yet but Carrie Underwood has a new character on Sesame Street called "Carrie Underworm" and Carrie recorded a song called "The Worm Anthem". It's quite funny to hear Carrie's singing voice behind a puppet. Nevertheless, it's quite entertaining the episode Carrie Underworm is featured in will be aired four times, the first of which being Thursday February, 11th.

[tsharky]

twitter.com/PaulaAbdul

Paula Abdul liked Carrie's performance! :)

^I admire Carrie's attitude on her blog. She admitted it was not her best but she accepted responsibility instead of making excuses or lashing out at others. Props to her for that.

On another note------ I bought the Cosmo today with Carrie on the cover and the colors look SO much better on the actual magazine then on the online version. The one I bought is pretty much a red (or some sort of pink that closely resembles red) background that nicely matches Carrie's dress, rather then the strange color scheme of pink and red on the online version. It looks much better in the print version somehow, thankfully.

[Stephen]

Just heard the Worm Anthem. MESS, haha. It was cute. Carrie is really branching out, isn't she.

[Rick]

The worm anthem is........... nice. I'm glad to see Carrie really starting to put her name all over the place. I mean the biggest tv audience ever watched her last night, that's a pretty big deal!

As for that performance, I thought it was great! The last note was a little jank, as some have, said, but overall I thought she did a great job. I hate that Carrie was hard on herself in her blog, but we are our worst critic. It makes you just want to give her hug though, doesn't it?

[jptexas]

espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls?pCat=46&sCat=1031

Poll by sportsfans, but it is what it is. National Anthem score:

25,276 votes at this time:

Grade A-----37%

Grade B-----35%

Grade C------18%

D----5%
F---- 5%

I'll take the two 5% scores like I take the russian judge at the Olympics. lol

[tsharky]

Apparently Ricky Martin told CMT Insider that he is doing some sort of charity thing with Carrie as they met at the Grammys. On twitter tonight, I read a rumor that it is something for his Habitat for Humanity foundation. That would be amazing if true! I love that charity!

[BurnItUp (with Kerosene)]

A bit late on the NA conversation, but I'm genuinely curious as to whether it was actually confirmed that she wasn't singing to a backing track (via her in-ears, but not played over house speakers)? In my experience it seems strange that she wouldn't have a track, which is why I'm wondering and I thought maybe she mentioned it in her blog.

[Stephen]

Feb 8, 2010 21:19:53 GMT -5 BurnItUp (with Kerosene) said:

A bit late on the NA conversation, but I'm genuinely curious as to whether it was actually confirmed that she wasn't singing to a backing track (via her in-ears, but not played over house speakers)? In my experience it seems strange that she wouldn't have a track, which is why I'm wondering and I thought maybe she mentioned it in her blog.

She specifically said that now she sees why people lip it. I doubt there was a backing track. If there was, it would have sounded better, IMO.

[Typo]

Yeah, the blog would suggest that their wasn't a backing track.

Temporary Home has ascended to #8 on the Billboard country chart.

[Mike]

Her eleventh top 10! :o

[43dudleyvillas]

Stephen and Typo, neither of your posts above answered BurnItUp (with Kerosene)'s question. She was asking whether there was a track playing in Carrie's in-ear piece, not whether there was a backing track played over the house sound system (there obviously wasn't). Unless I'm missing something, Carrie did not address that in her blog.

[Stephen]

Feb 8, 2010 21:46:12 GMT -5 43dudleyvillas said:

Stephen and Typo, neither of your posts above answered BurnItUp (with Kerosene)'s question. She was asking whether there was a track playing in Carrie's in-ear piece, not whether there was a backing track played over the house sound system (there obviously wasn't). Unless I'm missing something, Carrie did not address that in her blog.

My bad, I thought she meant over the house speakers. I have no idea BurnItUp, possibly. I'll have someone ask her on the fan club.

[tsharky]

Great editorial about Carrie's Superbowl Performance! :)

www.countrystandardtime.com/d/editorial.asp?xid=345

[musicrocks]

Feb 8, 2010 21:41:52 GMT -5 Mike said:

Her eleventh top 10! :o

She got into the top 10 last week! But it's still awesome!

[BurnItUp (with Kerosene)]

Feb 8, 2010 21:51:39 GMT -5 Stephen said:

My bad, I thought she meant over the house speakers. I have no idea BurnItUp, possibly. I'll have someone ask her on the fan club.

I think it'd be an interesting gauge on how much clout and respect she has as an artist/singer (regardless of the outcome of the performance). Given the Superbowl NA history, I would imagine she (or her camp) would have had to fight pretty hard just to get them to let her sing live, and if they let her sing sans in-ear backing track that'd say a lot about both her pull in the industry and her reputation.

Anecdotally, in 1998(?) I remember when Jewel sang at the Superbowl her lip-sync track started early and started a brouhaha among her fans because she's not someone known for lip-syncing. Eventually she made a statement to fans basically confirming she wasn't singing live, and that she wanted to sing live, but wasn't allowed. She went on to say she acquiesced to singing to a track, because it was a huge opportunity and they would find someone else to sing if she didn't.

I'm not sure how much of that was spin by Jewel's camp, or how much the rules have been relaxed since then (I don't follow football), but that's why I find the details of how Carrie was allowed to perform to be so interesting (more so than the actual performance) and quite telling of how respected she is becoming as a reliable performer.

[vinman]

Planet46.com, brainchild of THE OKLAHOMAN launches their new entertainment portal with indepth coverage of Carrie.

Entertainment is universal, and the entertainment universe just expanded with a big bang. Welcome to Planet 46.

This new entertainment portal, which launches today at Planet46.com, delivers the richest entertainment story of the day — period. The idea, according to The Oklahoman’s Features Editor Matthew Price, was to harness the talents of The Oklahoman’s entertainment staff to deliver stories that matter to everyone, no matter where they live.

Advertisement
"The idea behind Planet 46 is to create a focused entertainment site with daily updates,” Price said. "At Planet 46, readers will get a deeper look at a particular entertainer, trend or project every weekday.”

Planet 46 goes supernova on its first day with an in-depth profile of Carrie Underwood, a superstar whose appeal, like Planet 46 itself, extends far beyond her Oklahoma roots. The former "American Idol” star who released her third disc, "Play On,” in November just earned her first movie role in the upcoming film "Soul Surfer.” Brandy McDonnell’s interview with Underwood shines a light on the singer-actor’s global appeal — an ideal subject to put Planet 46 into focus.

Monday through Friday, Planet 46 will offer a new story each day. In the coming days, readers can see George Lang’s analysis of the fallout from NBC’s Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien shake-up, a DVD/Blu-ray focus on the release of Michael Jackson’s "This Is It,” a look at Mel Gibson’s comeback thriller "Edge of Darkness,” and Gene Triplett’s appreciation of the first two "Godfather” films, now debuting on Blu-ray.

Whether readers are looking for the hottest star profiles, music reviews or expert showbiz analysis, Planet 46 is now suitable for habitation. It’s entertainment for Oklahoma — and beyond

.


blog.wimgo.com/planet46/2010/02/02/carrie-underwood-will-play-on-in-2010/

After spending the last four years conquering the music business, Oklahoma-born superstar Carrie Underwood is expanding her repertoire — into acting.

In January, Underwood made her acting debut filming a guest spot on the hit sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” She plays a love interest for the show’s lead character Ted (Josh Radnor) on the episode, airing March 1 on CBS.

This month, the Checotah native is shooting her first feature film role, a supporting part in the inspirational biopic “Soul Surfer,” about champion teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, now 19. After losing her arm in a shark attack at age 13, Hamilton made an unlikely and surprisingly swift comeback to professional surfing.

Underwood is set to play Sarah Hill, a church youth leader influential in Hamilton’s life. The movie also will star Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, AnnaSophia Robb, Kevin Sorbo and Lorraine Nicholson (daughter of Jack Nicholson). Filming on the biopic began last week in Hawaii, according to Variety.com.

Of course, the country superstar, 26, got her start on television, winning the reality singing contest “American Idol” in spring 2005. Since, her crooning career has caromed from one high point to another.

Despite her move into acting, Underwood seems to have no plans to leave music behind. She performed on her biggest stage yet Sunday, belting out the National Anthem before Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Fla., in front of what is traditionally the biggest TV audience of the year. (Some Internet reports had Underwood jetting to the “Soul Surfer” set hours after her “Star-Spangled” performance.)

“More than anything, I know I am excited. … (I) just want to do a good job. Represent,” Underwood said in a news conference prior to the big game.

Her Super Bowl sing came just a week after winning her fifth Grammy Award, for best country collaboration with vocals for her remake of “I Told You So” with Randy Travis. (She attended the awards show with her fiancé, pro hockey player Mike Fisher.)

Making room for her new golden gramophone may not be an easy task: the “All-American Girl” has consistently racked up awards since her “Idol” breakthrough. She is a three-time Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music female vocalist of the year winner. Last spring, she not only took home the ACM’s female vocalist trophy, she also earned the academy’s top award, entertainer of the year.

“I’ve had a lot of good moments in the past four years. This one takes the cake. Thank you God, thank you fans, and thank you ACMs for nominating me in the first place. … I never expected to be nominated,” she said in her acceptance speech.

On March 11, the Grand Ole Opry member will launch her new “Play On” tour in Reading, Pa. The headlining tour is in support of her third album, “Play On,” which debuted last fall in the No. 1 spot on both the country and pop album sales charts.

It has since been certified platinum, joining the ranks of her 2005 debut “Some Hearts,” now seven-times platinum and named Billboard’s top country album of the last decade, and her 2007 sophomore effort “Carnival Ride,” which has earned three-times platinum status.

Underwood, who in spring 2009 was named the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, hasn’t just been notching hits, she also has been delving deeper into songwriting. She co-wrote seven of the 13 songs on “Play On.” She helped pen four tracks on “Carnival Ride” and one on “Some Hearts.”

“This one, I had a lot more time to do a lot more writing, and I feel like I’m a lot more comfortable in myself as a writer. That just happens — the more you do it, the better, the easier it gets, I suppose,” said Underwood, who received her mass communications degree in 2006 from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

While she is best known for belting out feisty breakup songs, uplifting anthems and soaring ballads, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Famer has also demonstrated a knack for helping craft her hits. Three songs she co-wrote for “Carnival Ride” — “So Small,” “All-American Girl” and “Last Name” — topped the country charts.

For “Play On,” she set out to stretch her songwriting skills.

“I kind of branched out and wrote with a lot of people that I’ve never even met before — people that weren’t even necessarily involved in country music,” she said in September news conference in Muskogee. “We’d take like me and a good friend of mine who I’d written with before who is a staple in country music and then kind of bring another element to it, which was a lot of fun.”

For instance, she penned “Cowboy Casanova” with respected Nashville songsmith Brett James (who co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel”) and hip-hop writer/producer Mike Elizondo, known for his work with Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent. The saucy lead-off single from “Play On” zipped to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

“This is probably the fifth song I’ve written with Carrie, and she’s just delightful. She’s a fantastic person, she’s a fantastic singer, obviously an amazing singer, and she’s a really, really great songwriter,” said James, who grew up in Oklahoma City and Cordell, in a fall phone interview.

The songstress also wrote with rockers Raine Maida of My Lady Peace on the lovely ballad “Unapologize” and Zac Maloy, former front man of Oklahoma City band The Nixons, on the spiritual tearjerker “Temporary Home.”

“I had to be a fan,” she said of Maloy. “I was like, ‘I saw you when I was in high school.’ So, it was a lot of fun for me to work with him.”

Underwood has proven over the past five years that she isn’t afraid to take a risk on a new venture, like acting. For instance, she acknowledged last fall that her mix-and-match approach to choosing songwriting partners for “Play On” didn’t always work.

“Sometimes we’d get things that were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is new and fresh and awesome,’ and sometimes it was like, ‘Whoa — what have we done?’” she said. “Most of those you’ll probably never hear — that’s why they were ‘whoa, what-have-we-done moments.’ But it was a great learning experience.”

Among the collaborations that didn’t make it onto the album were songs she co-wrote with fellow Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill.

“It was still an investment in somebody you like, and a neat kid who’s got her head on straight. And you just root for her,” said Gill, who sings on the “Play On” track “Look at Me,” in a fall phone interview.

“She’s all things good.”

.

[arw3a]

Who was the last person before Carrie to sing it live?

And is it for sure Whitney and Mariah lip synch'd it?

[carrieidol1]

Feb 9, 2010 13:09:42 GMT -5 arw3a said:

Who was the last person before Carrie to sing it live?

And is it for sure Whitney and Mariah lip synch'd it?

Whitney and Mariah lip synced, and I don't know who the last person was, if anyone to sing it live.

[kt1990]

lol, I just watched the Sesame Street clip. So funny and cute!

''So I stand up nice and tall, and shout 'I'm a worm, you all'!!!'' LMAO

[Deleted]

Looks like Carrie had a VERY nice sales increase this week. Hits final estimate:

29 16 CARRIE UNDERWOOD 19/ARISTA NASHVILLE 32,047 +76%
PLAY ON

[lyrichord]

Solid sales. With Valentine's day shopping, hopefully she can collect another 30+ K next week.

[tsharky]

Do you think the Superbowl will help with sales next week? 106 million people watched. lol Then again, it's not like she sang anything off her albums, etc. Still, the exposure and good critical reviews should help her see a small bump anyway.

[carrieidol1]

Feb 9, 2010 18:10:24 GMT -5 tsharky said:

Do you think the Superbowl will help with sales next week? 106 million people watched. lol Then again, it's not like she sand anything off her albums, etc. Still, the exposure and good critical reviews should help her see a small bump anyway.

It can't hurt. She didn't sing any of her songs on the Grammys and saw a 76% increase. I'd say another increase next week because the superbowl is likely. However the increase percentage might be lighter because she'll have lost some Grammy momentum. Overall I think sales of 30-45k is a decent estimate.

[leilamaurizia]

I'm giving credit to the release of the "Temporary Home" video also for the increase in album sales, along with the $7.99 sale on iTunes. I saw a lot of great feedback for the TH video and it helped TH rise more than 40 spots on the all-genre songs chart on iTunes.

[realityBITES]

Yeah, the TH video definitely helped. On itunes, the album has fallen because the deal is gone. Though, digital sales are - maybe, 2-3K? So it's not a huge percentage. Hopefully, after Valentines week, it can stay around the 17-20K mark.

[carrieidol1]

I just watched a 'home video' of Carrie's Anthem at the superbowl, and to be honest - it's much better than the version we heard on TV. The note at the end sounds fine as well. Maybe there was something wrong with the broadcast???

www.youtube.com/watch?v=556V4oOGF9I