Welcome to a new year and a new limited series which we are calling ‘What the Year Ahead Holds.’ In this series we’ll be looking at what you can expect from your favourite Country music stars in 2024 in both a personal and professional capacity. Previous episodes have focused on Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen and now we turn our thoughts to Carrie Underwood.
Carrie appears to be at something of a crossroads in her career right now. 2023 saw her release a deluxe version of 2022’s ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ album but none of the songs on the album have really captured the hearts & minds of people and radio beyond her very loyal fan base. She also missed out, again, on winning the Entertainer of the Year award at the CMA awards – an accolade that easily should have been given to her in either of the previous years thanks to her constant touring, the quality of her shows and her ambassadorial presence within the genre. Underwood could sense this was going to happen and didn’t even attend the ceremony, which set tongues wagging a little in the media.
Carrie’s love of and workrate within Country music seems to be slowing down now. ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ is the only album of original Country songs Underwood has done since 2018’s ‘Cry Pretty’ and she seems to be facing the same reception at radio and on TV as many of her peers like Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan as they transition their careers from ‘hot young things’ to something akin to grandees or legends. The years in between ‘Cry Pretty’ and ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ have seen Underwood tinker with Christmas albums, Christian albums and Vegas residencies as she stretches her star power and bends the industry to her creative and familial impulses.
2023 also saw Underwood touring a bunch with Guns N Roses and playing around a little with Rock music. She appeared at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame to sing a cover of Geroge Michael’s ‘One More Try’ as he was posthumously inducted into that institution and she has spent the year covering a wide range of Rock songs from the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead and Pat Benatar!
2024 will see Underwood back in Vegas with dates for her ‘Reflections’ residency running from March through to August. This will give her time to record the follow up to ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ but what that album will be is up for speculation right now. Is Carrie on the verge of releasing a rock album? Would it be covers or originals? Has she been writing with any notable rock artists or is the recent expression of interest in that genre just something she does to keep her amused and interested at live shows?
If we are being brutally honest Underwood hasn’t released a killer album since ‘Storyteller’, which was jam-packed with drama and emotional heft. ‘Cry Pretty’ had its moments and ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ isn’t a bad album, it’s just poppier and lighter than we’d ideally like from an artist with the best lungs in the business. Underwood’s next album is quite an important statement – will it be a personal passion project, like a rock album or will it be another country album?
As the Underwood brand extends into radio stations and fitness projects is her mind really on her music at this stage in her career or is the brand and commerce muddying the waters of her creativity? Has Underwood reached that stage in her career, like many of her peers who emerged in that early to mid noughties period, where she can take her foot off the pedal somewhat now and begin to relax into life as a Country music grandee and leave the award ceremonies and the airwaves to a younger generation? 2024 is looking like something of a pivotal year in Underwood’s career – it’ll be fascinating to see which direction she goes.
