American Idol Blog Video Fan Site

Are you a fan of Kellie Pickler? Now is the time to show your support! Vote for “I Wonder” for USA Weekend Breakthrough Video Of The Year, Performance Of The Year and Tearjerker video of the year over at CMT!

In the meantime, take a stroll down memory lane with Kellie’s season five Transformation Gallery.

Original Post By Google News Click Here For The Entire Article

Who would have thought that the shy, small town girl we saw in Carrie Underwood during season four would have gone on to win three Grammys and countless other prestigious awards? Well, I guess you could say Simon knew, as he predicted on the show that, not only would she win, but she would go on to earn more than any other previous AI winner. Her post-Idol career has been a whirlwind, with her debut album, Some Hearts, getting certified 7x platinum along with being the fastest selling debut country CD in Nielsen SoundScan history. It yielded five #1 hits, including her biggest hit to date, “Before He Cheats.” Carrie also scored another Top 10 Billboard hit with her take on “I’ll Stand By You,” which she sang during the charity event, Idol Gives Back, on AI last year. As part of her involvement, Carrie traveled to South Africa to visit and perform for schools, orphanages, hospices and health care centers.

And, as they say, the hits just keep on comin’. Carrie’s sophomore album, Carnival Ride, was certified double platinum as of December of 2007. Her recent hit, “All American Girl,” is a top seller on iTunes, and the video is CMT’s fastest #1 in history. It has earned Carrie her sixth consecutive #1 on the country airplay charts, and is also the second consecutive co-written single to secure the #1 spot. Her website reports that Carrie is glad to give her fans a little bit more of herself in this second album. “It’s a collection of songs I would want to hear on the radio,” she says, “and songs I want to sing. I really hope my fans will get a little bit more of me out of these songs.”

In 2006, Carrie performed over 150 shows on tour with Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley. She ended the year headlining a USO Tour during the Christmas holiday season and performing for U.S. troops in Kuwait and Iraq.

In November of 2006, Carrie received two nominations for the American Music Awards, and she won for Breakthrough Artist of the Year award. On December 4th of that year, she took home five Billboard Music Awards! On December 7th, Some Hearts received four Grammy nominations. Carrie received two Grammy awards for “Best New Artist” and “Best Female Country Vocal Performance” while “Jesus, Take the Wheel” won “Best Country Song” and received a nomination for “Song of the Year.” In 2007, Carrie was nominated for five Academy of Country Music awards, and she won three of her nominated categories. In that same year, she won the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Before He Cheats.”

On the heels of her most recent Grammy win, Carrie appeared on “Saturday Night Live” on February 23, 2008, which was the first show back in production after the writer’s strike. She’ll be performing at the 2008 CMT Music Awards on April 14. And American Idol fans will get a real treat in April as well, as she will be returning to appear on this year’s Idol Gives Back special.

Some interesting tidbits about Carrie that you might not know–she was so determined to finish her journalism degree, she finished her credit hours and earned her B.A., graduating magna cum laude in May 2006…despite her already burgeoning career. In fact, she had originally decided on a television news career until she heard about the American Idol tryouts in 2005. Carrie is also an accomplished guitar player, and has accompanied herself during some of her live shows as well as on albums. Carrie is also a vegetarian, a huge animal lover, and is a major support of the Humane Society.

Happy Birthday Carrie! Catch the video for her most recent hit, “All American Girl,” right here on americanidol.com. Also, make sure to watch our latest Q & A session with Carrie as she candidly discusses her rise to fame.

Original Post By Google News Click Here For The Entire Article