Idol 11 - Carrie Underwood

11. Carrie Underwood

Season 4, Winner

Carrie Underwood, one of American Idol's most successful alumni, sits at #11. Yes, almost part of the Top 10 but not quite. Ha! Well, this might come as a bit of a surprise for some of you to see Carrie this "low", but really I don't consider this an unacceptable position.

I have switched a couple of names at #11 before I was able to finalize the list - it was tough. But then, out of the 11 remaining Idols, Carrie Underwood was the only one I didn't exactly root for an American Idol win. Yes, Carrie is another contestant that I had mixed feelings about during the show. Let me explain.

When Carrie first auditioned, I thought she was quite good - a little lifeless but she had a nice tone to her voice and she sang pretty well. It didn't take long for me to realize that Carrie was an absolute contender to win the whole competition. I mean, when the semifinals started, I thought she started off the show very strong with Could've Been. However, it also didn't take long for her to have a bit of a misstep with Piece of My Heart the next week. Now, was the performance bad? Not at all. It was just not what she needed to do at that time to strengthen her fanbase - well, not that it needed any strengthening. Ha!

The week after that, she was back on again and then off again the next week. Basically, that was my Carrie Underwood experience on American Idol. She, arguably, was the most inconsistent winner - aside from Lee Dewyze, of course!

I think when people hear the name Carrie Underwood, most of them think of performances like Alone, Independence Day, or Making Love Out of Nothing At All. They think of performances she has done since her American Idol stint. They think of songs from her hit albums. But people really forget her rough time on Idol. I mean, she made it absolutely hard for the judges to pimp her just because they had to criticize her every other week, basically. Ha! Oh, and it definitely didn't help that Carrie was completely dull in the personality department. She was easily the most boring winner to come off the show.

The thing that makes someone who was so inconsistent this high on my countdown was the fact that when Carrie is on, she's definitely on. She has such a full and beautiful tone to her voice that it could actually fill a room. So, even though she gave some real stinkers on Idol, she'd always win me back with that beautiful tone on some other song. See, Carrie was quite ambitious on Idol, and it's kind of sweet seeing how hard she tried during her season. On many occasions, she felt the need to "get into character" during her performances, dress like she was from the 80's or 50's - whatever it may be. It's kind of endearing, actually. But she didn't need to do that. All she had to do was sing, and the fans would come.

Now, if I were taking into consideration post-Idol materials when deciding my favorites, Carrie would definitely be a bit higher. I mean, she is a superb recording artist. I admit, I hate country music, but Carrie absolutely can make me enjoy it. Every single she puts out is gold to me: Cowboy Casanova, Temporary Home, Undo It, Last Name, Jesus, Take the Wheel, So Small, Before He Cheats, and Just A Dream. I love them all! That, to me, is an amazing feat - to make someone who hates country music love country music. Oh, and let me just say that her performance of Praying for Time during Idol Gives Back was by far one of the most breathtakingly beautiful performances that I have EVER seen on Idol. Bar none. It was sheer vocal perfection. So, I am quite proud that Carrie has represented American Idol VERY well, and she has made up for any off performances she had 5 years ago in spades.

Favorite performance(s): I'm going to have to be boring and say that Alone is my favorite Carrie Underwood performance. Carrie often tried to step out of the box and deliver some non-country performances or, at the very least, give non-country songs a country spin. But, this was one of maybe two that really worked out beautifully for her. Her voice had never sounded more powerful on the show. I also really loved Independence Day. I think that was the first time she really showed us how great of a modern country artist she could be. I also love Carrie for introducing me to God Bless the Broken Road. I had never heard of it before she sang the song during the Finale, but I instantly fell in love with the song and her performance of it. I must add her performance of Prayer For Time because it's one of the most beautiful guest performances ever!

Alone

Independence Day

God Bless The Broken Road

Praying For Time