Carrie Underwood

One of the biggest stars to ever emerge from a reality TV series, Carrie Underwood broke the mould when she triumphed in the fourth season of American Idol in 2004, going on to score the best-selling debut country album of all time with 2005's Some Hearts. Born on March 10th, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, she competed in talent contests and beauty pageants as a child. Following Some Hearts' release, she earned hits like "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Some Hearts," "Don't Forget to Remember Me," and "Before He Cheats," all of which established her as one of country music's biggest crossover acts. Underwood's second album, Carnival Ride (2007), marked her development as a songwriter, and by 2008 she had nine Number 1 singles to her name. 2009's Play On featured "Cowboy Casanova" and debuted at the top of both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums Chart. 2012's Blown Away achieved the same feat. After becoming the first female artist to earn 18 Top 10 hits on the Country Airplay Chart, she released Greatest Hits: Decade #1, which also featured the gospel crossover hit "Something in the Water." Storyteller followed in 2015, with Cry Pretty arriving in 2018. After penning a book about health and fitness, she returned in September 2020 with a Christmas covers album, My Gift, then released the gospel record My Savior in 2021. She appeared on Jason Aldean's chart-topping hit "If I Didn't Love You" in late 2021 and released another studio album, Denim & Rhinestones, in 2022.