It wasn’t just the video – which featured Carrie Underwood in black mascara tears – that the “American Idol” winner was worried about when she released the album “Cry Pretty” in September of 2018, her first for her new label, Capitol Records Nashville. The album was the first one co-produced by Underwood, and she was worried that her quest for more responsibility would be met by laughs from her manager when she approached her about taking on a producing role on her sixth album.
“I remember talking to my manager about potentially taking that next step and taking more ownership in my music,” Underwood said during her talk at Country Radio Seminar 2020, an event that brings together music industry and radio professionals for education and networking opportunities. “It was a scary moment, to be honest. Because I’m like, ‘Oh, you know, she would never laugh at me.’ Everybody in my life is so supportive, but there’s always that if they laugh at me moment in so many things that everybody does in life, but especially in something creative.”
Her manager, Ann Edelblute, who has been with her since 2006, absolutely did not laugh, but instead encouraged Underwood to challenge herself with new professional experiences. Underwood teamed up with David Garcia for the project. “It was just like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ And, the fact that I immediately had people that believed in me, in that capacity, and for me to go into that role meant everything. And then, David was all about it, and so it was fun. It was fun,” she said at the music industry event.
Underwood’s first co-producing project was ultimately a success, despite her initial trepidation, which was tied to the anxiety she had over the swift start of her career. In a 2013 interview with Marie Claire magazine, Underwood said she was initially nervous when performing, and prone to panic attacks. She had nothing to worry about, though. “Cry Pretty” received primarily positive critical acclaim, and made its debut at the top of the US Billboard 200, giving Underwood the distinction of being the first woman to reach that achievement with four country albums. There have been four singles released from the album, including the title track.
The year “Cry Pretty” was released, Underwood took home American Music Awards honors for Favorite County Music Album and Favorite Female County Artist – an award she also won at the Billboard Music Awards. In her private life, she is married to Mike Fisher, a Canadian hockey player with the Nashville Predators. “He is Mr. Nicest Guy on the Planet,” she told Marie Claire in the 2013 interview, adding dryly, “I skew the other way.” The two have two children, Isaiah Michael Fisher, born in 2015, and Jacob Bryan Fisher, born in 2019.
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Bless Your Heart!
