Carrie Underwood | Carrie Underwood's parents | Source: Getty Images | Instagram.com/carrieunderwood
Country singer Carrie Underwood may not have had the successful career she enjoys today if she didn't have the support of her family, especially her parents.
As she became a superstar and constantly made it to the Forbes' top country earner list, Carrie Underwood knew the next natural step would be to spoil her parents.
However, her parents don't let her spoil them. She once bought something for her father because she knew he had wanted it, and she got into trouble for it.
Carole Underwood, Carrie Underwood and Steve Underwood at the CMA Music Festival Fan Fair 2007 | Source: Getty Images
RAISING A SUPERSTAR
Carrie's mother, Carole Underwood, was always there for her daughter and helped her start her singing career. Carole would take Carrie to local talent shows and auditions when Carrie was a child.
Her mother would call and ask if they would let Carrie sing. Carrie hated it because she was shy when performing in front of her friends. However, when she got on stage, she would perform beautifully.
For the talent shows and events, Carole would sew Carrie's costumes. She understood that some outfits needed to be sparkly as a country music singer, and she would use sparkles and sequins to create Carrie's costumes.
THE AMERICAN IDOL
As Carrie grew older, she still performed in local shows, but her parents never thought her talent would become a career. So Carrie went to college and graduated with a Mass Communications degree.
Carole Underwood and Carrie Underwood at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards | Source: Getty Images
By having this degree, when she told her mother that she wanted to participate in "American Idol," she agreed. Carole wanted Carrie to be on an international stage.
Carole knew the stage would be good exposure for Carrie and might help Carrie become an anchor on one of their local TV shows in Tulsa. She said,
"We never even considered that she could win it at all, but at least maybe she could have some face and name recognition, and she would get to be an anchor."
So they went for the nearest auditions the next weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. Carrie got a golden ticket at the auditions, and her parents knew she was going to the Hollywood round but had to keep it a secret.
Carole Underwood and Carrie Underwood during Carrie Underwood Triple Platinum Sales Presentation at Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville | Source: Getty Images
As they were taking her to the airport, she was nervous and admitted her nervousness to her father, Steve. Her father told her they could turn around and return home if she no longer wanted to travel.
Carrie was determined to go because she said she would never know if she didn't take the step and go. Once they dropped Carrie off at the airport, they waited for her plane to take off before they left.
During the show, her mother dreaded Tuesdays and hated Wednesdays because Carrie's songs went off on Tuesdays, and the experience was too harrowing for her. Thankfully, Carrie became the fourth winner of the series.
Carole Underwood and Carrie Underwood after Carrie was named the new American Idol on May 25, 2005, in Hollywood | Source: Getty Images
CARRIE ALWAYS WANTED TO SPOIL HER PARENTS
After her career took off, Carrie became a regular occupant on Forbes' annual list of highest-paid country artists. In 2013, she made it to number 46 with thirty-one million dollars.
In 2019, she didn't make the top ten list of Forbes' country top earners, but she made it to number 16 with sixteen million dollars and just below Dolly Parton.
She has always wanted to spoil her parents with her millions, even just by buying simple things for them. Her parents still stay in the house she grew up in.
Carole Underwood and Carrie Underwood celebrate the new CALIA By Carrie Underwood Mother's Day campaign at (R)evolve on May 3, 2018, in New York | Source: Getty Images
One Christmas, there was a generator she knew her dad needed for his welding. It cost four hundred dollars, and so she decided to get it for him and got into trouble for that.
Carole believes that regardless of Carrie's money and fame, she doesn't want her daughter to change who she is. Her mother said people usually don't realize that celebrities are just people who do normal things.
A LOVING DAUGHTER THROUGH AND THROUGH
Carrie believes she's the black sheep of the family because she once played in Oklahoma, her dad didn't attend because it was hunting season.
Carrie recalled that when she was growing up, she had felt like an only child because her sisters were ten and 13 years older than her making her feel like she was the accident. It also made her a little more independent.
Irrespective of how she grew up, Carrie has always been vocal about her love for her family. On Father's Day 2021, she took to Instagram to celebrate her father and her husband.
She posted a collage photo of her dad in four shots. The first shot showed her father walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. In the second and third shots, her parents were together.
The third image showed her parents celebrating with a cake, while the final image showed her father holding a dog. In her caption, she revealed that she is beyond blessed to have two amazing fathers in her life.
She also put up a throwback image for Mother's Day that showed her mother's pregnancy. In her caption, she was shocked and blessed to call Carole her mother.
Her love for her mother is so great that she released a touching song called "Mama's Song." The song is the fourth and final single from her third studio album, "Play On." For the video of the song, she featured her mother in it.
The tear-jerking country ballad was a goodbye song to her mother just before Carrie got married. Towards the end of the video, she embraces her mother and pleads with her not to worry.
We can all agree that Carrie is a great singer, but she had to have gotten her talent from somewhere. At the same time, fans wondered while Carrie revealed the truth on the Instagram page.
Undoubtedly, from the image Carrie shared, the talent runs in the family. In her caption, she revealed that she and her mother were singing an epic duet to "Does He Love You."
The duet took place at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards, where Carrie gushed that of all the people she has been blessed to sing with, her mother is her favorite.
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