Carrie Underwood: The Hit Maker
Carrie Underwood isn't like many of today's music artists. One difference is that she was discovered on a televised singing competition, but it doesn't stop there. Carrie has turned her stint on American Idol into a promising career that has produced numerous awards, a leading role in a Sound of Music remake, several endorsements, and of course many Billboard hits. Singing on a reality talent competition does not guarantee success, but Carrie has achieved that success. With hits such as "Jesus Take the Wheel", "Before He Cheats", "Cowboy Casanova", and others, Carrie Underwood has become a household name, not only in country music, but popular music as well.
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| Carrie's "Before He Cheats" is her most successful single, and the fourth best selling country song of all time, selling over 3,314,000. It reached the top of the US Country Songs Chart and entered the top ten of numerous charts, including the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Before He Cheats" was Carrie's fifth single released overall for her album Some Hearts. The song is about a female taking revenge on her cheating boyfriend by damaging his beloved vehicle.
Chorus:
And he don't know...
That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up four wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats... I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires... Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
The chorus is the foundation of the song. The rhyming lyrics make it easy to remember, but it is also something that everyone can relate to: being cheated on and wanting to retaliate. Country females today aren't the submissive people from the 50's anymore. Carrie is an advocate for women standing up for themselves, even if it may involve breaking the side mirror of their boyfriend's Toyota. Many women like Carrie are supporting female empowerment, and that seems to be the main theme of the song. At the same time Carrie sings about her cheating boyfriend's bad choice in females in the verses.
Verse 1
Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond tramp,
and she's probably getting frisky... right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink 'cause she can't shoot whiskey... |
Verse 2
Right now, she's probably up singing some
white-trash version of Shania karaoke..
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk"
and he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on
3 dollars worth of that bathroom polo...
And he don't know...
white-trash version of Shania karaoke..
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk"
and he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on
3 dollars worth of that bathroom polo...
And he don't know...
The verses also show that today's women aren't the stereotypical females. The first verse seems to be implying that the "bleached-blond tramp" (uncool, fake woman) only drinks fruity beverages because, unlike Carrie (awesome natural blonde), she can't drink whiskey. Carrie is tougher than the average girly girl, strength wise and drinking wise. Carrie also inserts a Shania Twain shout-out.
The video is straightforward in visually depicting the story of the song. Carrie portrays a tough leather-wearing woman who pretty much smashes a red truck to pieces. From scratching the paint to cutting the seats, Carrie destroys the truck. Towards the end of the video, her rage seems to grow so much that she gets super powers and destroys the street she's walking down. Her ex-boyfriend has certainly learned his lesson.
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| "Just a Dream" earned Carrie a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 2010. |
"Just a Dream" is a mid-tempo song, that has haunting violins, piano and guitars playing throughout. Carrie's vocals are very heartfelt. She has quite a few belts in the song, which seems to express her sadness. Talking about never being able to see the future with her husband, Carrie growls the word "never" towards the end of the song. Her singing the words "just a dream" is Carrie telling herself and hoping that the death of her husband isn't real.
Accessed through YouTube.com
Carrie Underwood has the ability to emote and connect with a song. She sings songs that people can relate to, even when the songs themselves are through the eyes of a female. Her songs are catchy, yet meaningful. It is no surprise that she is so successful today, and remains one of the most well-respected country artists today.
Works Cited
"Carrie Underwood | The Official Carrie Underwood Site." The Official Carrie Underwood Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/us/home>.
"Carrie Underwood." Billboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.billboard.com/artist/carrie-underwood/657654>.
"CarrieunderwoodVEVO." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/user/carrieunderwoodVEVO/videos?flow=grid>.
"GRAMMY.org | The Official Site of Music's Biggest Night." GRAMMY.org | The Official Site of Music's Biggest Night. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.grammy.org/>.
I thought your analysis of Carrie's "Before He Cheats" in both the music video and the lyrics was very successful and I really liked your observation of the notion of female empowerment she portrays. I also thought you did a great job in your song choice by choosing one that is very blunt and hardcore and one that is more melancholic and meaningful, while tying them together by their appeal through people’s ability to relate to them, which is something Carrie's songs often possess (and is probably the reason she is such a “hit-maker”). Your choice of song is interesting because most people can relate to both songs in different ways, which is arguably the reason for both of their mainstream success. I thought your explanation of her bad-girl, whiskey-drinking persona in the video and your analysis of the first verse of “Before He Cheats” was pretty spot-on and you did a great job of picking up on her mocking his choice in woman as an inauthentic girl who doesn't know how to play pool and drinks fruity drinks. Whether people actually buy the persona Carrie portrays or not, her presentation of herself as a leather-wearing, whiskey-shooting girl does contextualize her authenticity and makes her pretty likeable, especially to girls who wish they could seek this kind of revenge on a man. Overall I thought your blog was very tastefully executed and well thought out.
ReplyDeleteI very much appreciated how you chose two very contrasting songs to represent Carrie Underwood. While she is a very "tough cookie" as you imply, she, like most tough girls, is always going to have a soft side to show and I am glad that you covered both. I thought that the blog post was well done in that it included the videos right there to watch and also has pictures to make things visually stimulating and also add to the readers understanding of carrie's image. I also liked the language you used in the blog. It was very down to earth and conversational.
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