My all-time favorite Carrie Underwood songs!

Since meeting her seeing her live, I haven't been able to fully overcome my Carrie Underwood fever as of yet. My mind is literally non-stop reminiscent of that night I was lucky enough to have experienced her sold-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall. All this excitement has prompted me to write a new blog revealing my all-time favorite Carrie Underwood songs. The following list counts down 20 of my most-loved Carrie songs in order:

20. Lessons Learned
A song I feel every teenager can relate to, "Lessons Learned" talks about dealing with past regrets leading towards you becoming a stronger person, despite life getting harder along the way. It's all about accepting everything you've experienced in life to be able to be to move on as it is all behind you. After listening to this song, it personally makes me feel a lot more positive towards life and to be thankful for the life I have been granted.

19. Before He Cheats
In this song, Carrie portrays her anger towards her cheating ex-boyfriend who, whilst slow-dancing with a bleached-blonde tramp in a bar, is unknown to the fact that Carrie is right outside digging her keys into the side of his car, before slashing holes into its tires. Whilst not your typical Carrie Underwood song reflecting more mature problems, this revengeful song became her biggest ever hit and is still as popular 6 years after its official release.

18. Just A Dream
From what you'd gather from the beginning of the first verse, this song would be about a girl, who's just turned 18, in her wedding gown about to walk down the isle to be married. However, this is not the case. Instead, she is attending her late husband-to-be's funeral who appears to have died at war whilst they were engaged. We are made to believe that the girl has still not accepted that he has died so would attend his funeral just as she would if it were their wedding day. This song has to be one of the most emotional songs Carrie has ever sung which describes the girl's hurt and hoping it all to be a dream instead.

17. Nobody Ever Told You
Onto a more positive route, "Nobody Ever Told You" is an inspirational song which tells girls that they're beautiful just as they are. This song is a great feel-good song and is to me P!nk's "Perfect", Demi Lovato's "Believe In Me" and One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" all mixed into one to create this truly impressive piece of music.

16. Play On
Another song which helps you to make you feel better about yourself and to never give up, even if you think you're wrong, as everything is worth a sacrifice. Sort of a "Nobody Ever Told You" meets "Lessons Learned", this song tells you that it's okay to make mistakes and that you have to play on, even when you think you're all alone.

15. Quitter
Like Carrie mentioned at her concert at the Royal Albert Hall, this song is a very "backwards" song. It starts with how her love-life has been all her life, which she explains to have been very negative because of boys who have acted like jerks. The song soon changes once she meets a new boy who makes her feel completely the opposite and that she never wants to give up on him.

14. Songs Like This
Carrie sings about another ex-boyfriend who has constantly lied and cheated on her. Despite her Christian faith, she admits to wanting to hunt him down to "rip his heart right out", though she probably didn't mean it quite literally. To prevent any violence, she puts all her anger into this song and speaks of all the revenge she would like to plot on him.

13. There's A Place For Us
When I first heard this song, it was the b-side to Joe McElderry's 3rd single "Someone Wake Me Up". Having not heard of Carrie Underwood before then, I thought his version was very applaudable and it soon become one of my most-played songs of his. I then discovered that this was originally a Carrie Underwood song. Although it didn't tickle my fancy as much as Joe's did on first listen, I gradually become more loving towards it and it has now found its way into my top 20 all-time Carrie Underwood songs!

12. Starts With Goodbye
"It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life.. starts with goodbye" - one of my favorite Carrie Underwood lyrics, which couldn't be more true! In aid of coming over a difficult break-up, you have to have some time-out from them in your life. As the song says, it's going to hurt a lot, but after crying and letting go of things you have loved, you will soon find yourself stronger and on the other side and you will soon find that time will heal your heartbreak.

11. How Great Thou Art
Although not an original Carrie Underwood song, I felt it would be a sin not to include her magnificent version onto my countdown! This song is the most important song that Carrie will ever sing in her whole career, and I feel utterly privileged to have witnessed her sing this song, live, at her concert in London.

10. See You Again
Having been unsuccessful in becoming the theme for the movie 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', in which "There's A Place For Us" won the title instead, we finally got to hear it on Carrie's latest album instead. This song features the same themes the song just mentioned. Having not seen the movie this song was written for, I'm unsure whether it's about seeing a lost-loved one again who has previously died or just a loved-one. It is still a beautiful song and I relate to it myself about hoping to see Carrie again.

9. I Just Can't Live A Lie
This song deserves its place in my top 10 as it has helped me a lot. It is about missing someone you still love and coming to terms with the the fact that are still not over them. Carrie sings of a heartbreaking confession about how she is still in love with someone and all the good times that they have been through together and her desperation to tell this person the truth instead of living a lie.

8. Flat on the Floor
Flat on the Floor is song about feeling stalked from a certain boy and relating the situation to like being trapped inside because of a storm. Not one of Carrie's more emotionally depth written songs, this song is a lot of fun to listen to and always manages to get me on my feet dancing.

7. Temporary Home
Singing about 3 different people of separate walks of life, Carrie tells each of their stories in each verse about the hard times they have had to face in their lives. Firstly, she sings of a young boy who appears to have been in-and-out of foster homes that it all feels normal to him, but is still certain that he will one-day find his true home and it's just one more step to where he's going. The second character in this song is a young, homeless mother with nowhere to go who is finding it extremely difficult to find a job or someone to turn to for support. One of the more uplifting parts of this song is where she whispers to her baby girl, "someday we'll find our place here in this world". The next person she sings about is an old man surrounded by his family as he lays down in his hospital bed. He tells them that he will see them all soon before looking up to say, "I can see God's face". This song is definitely the most emotional song Carrie has ever sung. It has been beautifully written to the core and I never listen to it without tearing up.

6. Jesus, Take The Wheel
Another upsetting song which tells the story of another mum driving to Cincinnati on a snow white Christmas Eve to her parents' house. With too many issues plaguing her mind, she loses control of the speed of her car and suddenly sees both her and her baby's lives flash before her eyes. She looks over her shoulder to find the baby unalarmed, "sleeping like a rock". She finally gives in and puts her arms in the air and surrenders to God that she has been living her life terribly wrong and she pleads for one last chance. This is definitely one of Carrie's most iconic pieces of music and has been declared a "classic".

5. Fix You
Okay, so this may not be a Carrie Underwood song, but after seeing her perform this song live, it should be. When I saw her sing this version live I was instantly impressed and was just amazed throughout the whole performance. I have never really been a Coldplay fan before, but have heard the original version of this song many times but never really thought much of it. Hearing Carrie perform this song live blew me away and I now think very highly of it to the extreme that I believe Carrie should release her version of this as single herself as it is truly a masterpiece.

4. Who Are You
It is very rare for Carrie to sing a song about true love, but when she does, this is the result of it. "Who Are You" is a powerful ballad taken from her 4th studio album, "Blown Away", and was a significant highlight from it. Being the last song on the album (unless you have the UK edition), some would find it a case of 'save the best until last'. I can honestly say I was stunned by this song when I heard it and long for a day when I can, hopefully, relate myself to to it.

3. All-American Girl
This song, I believe, was written about Carrie. It tells of how a man's dreams changed of having a baby boy which he'd hoped for, to having a beautiful baby girl becoming the centre of his whole world. Years later that baby finds love of their own and falls in love with the senior football star, who she later marries before wanting to try for a baby of their own. She asks him what baby he would like, and as romantic as it sounds, he says that he would like "a sweet, little, beautiful one just like you. I want a beautiful, wonderful, perfect All American Girl!".

2. Good Girl
A fairly new release of Carrie's, "Good Girl" advises a, um, good girl, that the guy she's dating isn't all he makes out to be. Being the sweetheart she is, Carrie tells her that she is worth a lot more than him and that she deserves a lot better than someone who will say one thing but mean another. She tells her before she gets too attracted to lock up all her love and go and throw away the key before he finds his away in, preventing her from getting hurt. After seeing this song live, it was the only song to give me an instant thrill (probably because it was the first song she performed, but hey). I had goosebumps all over me throughout the performance and was amazed by Carrie's guitarist during his solo. Since then, I have loved this song a whole lot more than I initially did.

1. Ever Ever After
Admittedly, I first discovered Carrie Underwood after seeing the movie "Enchanted". As you may already know, Carrie sang the theme song for this movie which is called "Ever Ever After". This song honestly changed my world and gave me a new outlook on life. It has changed the way I think about a lot of things and that there is always joy beneath everything which is to be claimed. Being a huge fan of fairytales, and Disney in general, the song's theme relates to all of that and is everything I love all in one piece of music. Also, let's not forget the video. I don't think anyone has ever looked as beautiful as Carrie did in the song's music video. Her smile and cheerfulness in the video never fails to brighten up a miserable day. From the first listen, this song has remained my all-time favorite song and I don't suspect it ever being replaced. It is truly an outstanding piece of music.

 Carrie Underwood at the Royal Albert Hall

Last night I attended probably the most anticipated concert of the year: Carrie Underwood at the Royal Albert Hall. If you know me, you’d know that Carrie Underwood is my all-time favorite singer ever and I obsess over everything she does, so you could probably guess how excited I was..

Having just met Carrie the day before, I was still over-hyped about having my picture taken with her; and the fact I got to see perform live the next day just topped it all off! I spent nearly the whole day getting ready trying to look my best for Carrie. I think I spent about 2 hours(!) straightening my hair. Come 6 o’clock, I was just about ready. I made my way to the tube station ready for a half an hour ride to South Kensington. After about 20 minutes on my arrival there looking around and trying to find the venue, I found myself stood in front of the Royal Albert Hall (shamefully, my first thought was: OMG THE SPICE GIRLS HAVE BEEN HERE!!)

Walking by all of the tourists on into the main door, I got increasingly more excited about the fact I was, yet again, in the same building as Carrie Underwood. I walked around the whole of floor 1 before finding the location of my seat in the Grand Tier. By the time I was sat down comfortably in my seat, it was 7:30. The show didn’t start until 8:30. A little girl then sat down in front of me with her mum wearing a Carrie Underwood t-shirt. Moments later I would be seen at the merchandise stall downstairs. I bought a Carrie Underwood t-shirt, a picture, a poster, and a keyring. It all came up to £33! So worth it! I then went into the bathroom to change into my t-shirt, before heading back to my seat.

I then had another 45 minutes to wait before Carrie comes on stage. Time soon flied by and I noticed, whilst tweeting, that the time on my phone was 8:30, yet Carrie wasn’t on stage. Seconds later the waiting music stopped and the room turned dark. I gulped. The next thing I knew Carrie was on stage.

Good Girl
The first song of the night was her current hit single “Good Girl”. I got immediate goosebumps the second she started singing and the music started playing. Throughout the performance she waved to the crowd and smiled. The people sat in the arena were soon on their feet. The middle 8 came and her guitarist came and stood near Carrie ready for his solo. This part of the performance was honestly out-of-this-world.

Flat On The Floor
Carrying on the party mood, Carrie went straight into performing “Flat On The Floor”, one of her most adored songs from “Carnival Ride”, and one of my all-time favorite Carrie songs! Again, a fantastic performance which also got people on their feet dancing!

Wasted
She then went onto singing “Wasted” from her first album. Not one of my favorite Carrie songs - but still a great performance!

 Two Black Cadillacs
“Two Black Cadillacs” was her next song, sounding just as epic and dramatic live as it does on the album! After this performance, Carrie thanked in advance for the wonderful night she’s about to have and for everyone coming. She expressed her excitement for the show and how performing at the Royal Albert Hall was such a massive milestone for her to have accomplished.

So Small
Her speech about how the littlest things in life are what’s important was such a fitting start into her next performance, in which she sung the beautifully written “So Small”, a track  from her 2nd studio album.

Temporary Home
Carrie then deemed her next song to be the most personal song that she’s ever co-written, which is “Temporary Home”. If you own her 3rd album, you have probably heard this song before or seen the video and how important the message behind it is. I knew as soon as she started singing the first verse that I was going to get emotional throughout this song.  It is definitely one of her most vital pieces of music and I’m thrilled that she sang it live for us!

Last Name
Before leading us on into emotional breakdowns, Carrie picked us all up and performed her  2008 smash “Last Name”, which is so big that it was also sung in the first season of Glee! She strutted her way up and down the stage for her fans singing about a very drunken night, indeed!

Just A Dream
The next song of the night was the Grammy-nominated ballad “Just a Dream”. Another emotional performance which received a huge cheer from the audience.

I Told You So
Continuing with her ballads, Carrie went on to singing “I Told You So” from her 2nd album, a song originally sung by one of her biggest idols, Randy Travis. I do feel she over sung the chorus in this song, but still very good!

 Leave Love Alone
Back to her country roots, she performed the very county “Leave Love Alone” from her current newly-released album “Blown Away”. Not one of my favorite performances of the night, the chorus kind of goes on and on for a while..

 Cowboy Casanova
Her next song of the night was one of her biggest hits. “Cowboy Casanova” surely got the crowd onto their feet again.

 Nobody Ever Told You
After bringing an acoustic set onto the stage, Carrie and her band got ready to sing one of my favorite songs from her new album “Nobody Ever Told You”. Such a feel-good song which got the crowd clapping along to the beat.

Quitter
One of the most surprising songs of the night was “Quitter”, which is an unreleased track from her 3rd studio album “Play On”. I love how Carrie in this song managed to turn it from acoustic to still sounding like a big set!

 Do You Think About Me
Another acoustic performance with “Do You Think About Me”, which was beautiful, as always.

 One Way Ticket
Carrie next sang her vacation-themed song “One Way Ticket”, one of my favorites from “Blown Away”. The crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy this song too, waving their arms about in the arena. Come the middle of the performance, her band seemed to walk away from the set leaving Carrie sat their on her stool carrying on with the song, which then became a big-set song and sounded even better!

Undo It
The next song was probably my least favorite of the night, “Undo It”. Never really been a fan of this song, still, the vocals were great.

 Fix You (Coldplay cover)
She then made a speech about how our “great” British artists are taking over the US, and how she respects them, before singing a sensational cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You”. As you’d expect with Carrie, it was much more beautiful with her singing it.

 Jesus, Take The Wheel / How Great Thou Art
Soon the biggest moment of the night came when she sang “Jesus, Take The Wheel”, mixed with “How Great Thou Art” towards the end of the song. The switch between the songs surprised me greatly, I couldn’t believe she was about to sing one of the most important songs in the world. As a strong-believer of God, I was utterly breath-taken during this performance and will forever be grateful to have experienced this.

Cupid’s Got a Shotgun
“Cupid’s Got a Shotgun” was the next song of the night. Kind of a let down after the previous 2 songs.. got to admit.

 Before He Cheats
20 songs in and she finally sings the biggest song of her career, which, of course, is “Before He Cheats”. The best part of this song was when she let the crowd sing the chorus with her. Great performance!

[Audio disabled by YouTube]

 I Know You Won’t
Believing that to be her last performance, I began to put my coat on, but noticed that no-one else was moving. Carrie then came back on stage with her mic and stand. She began to sing the strong ballad “I Know You Won’t” from her 2nd album. Her vocals at the end were extremely powerful and breathtaking.

Blown Away
The last song of the night was “Blown Away”, which is the title track from her new album, as well as her next single release. Thankfully, she didn’t sing it with the acoustic set like she has been doing on recent television appearances. Again, a strong performance with a magnificent vocal.

Overall, the concert was everything I’d hoped for, and I can honestly say that, unlike most singers, Carrie sounds outstandingly better live than on her records (not that I don’t enjoy her records!). Instead of going all Gaga (not that she would, anyway), she stuck to doing the traditional thing with just her, a mic, a band, and an audience. Carrie doesn’t need props in her concerts to put on great show.

The past 2 days have been amazing and I am so grateful to have had the chance to meet and see Carrie live. I hope to meet her again someday, too!

Thank you, Carrie x

[All videos are my own]

The day I met Carrie Underwood

Hello. So on Wednesday (20th June), I met Carrie Underwood. Yes. Carrie Underwood. The “Queen of Country”. Or as now I would refer to as the-most-beautiful-amazingly-talented-person-alive. I’m writing this blog on the Friday after as, since meeting her, I haven’t been able to stop obsessing over her and haven’t really found the time to write about the experience until now. Since I’m writing this on a Friday, not only have I met and had a photo with Carrie Underwood, I have also seen her live (which will be my next blog). However, let’s start from the beginning..

On Wednesday, the day before her first ever UK concert, I found out via her twitter page that she was doing a CD signing at HMV Oxford Circus. Of course, I went, but as I have never been to one prior to this, I had completely no idea of what to expect or do. I already had her album that I pre-ordered from amazon so I thought I’d need to buy it again from an HMV store so that I’d be allowed in. So I did. Though when I got there, they didn’t check at all. The plus side to this is that it counts to Carrie’s weekly sales, though.

Anyway, I got there at about half past 6, 30 minutes before the signing was to begin as I thought I would be able to get to the front of the queue. However, when I arrived, the whole store was literally filled with Carrie Underwood fans. I had no idea she had so many in the UK! I nervously trotted towards the back of a line just in time to see Carrie Underwood walk on stage. Her natural beauty literally glowing up the whole of the store. She looked absolutely stunning!

15 minutes passed and it was finally my turn to walk up onto the stage. I was unbelievably nervous at this point. I walked up to the desk where Carrie was sat and shyly said “Hi”. She asked how I was but I was too nervous to say anything in fear she wouldn’t understand my accent, so I just smiled and said “I’m great now, thanks”. After signing my CD, she stood up so that we could both have a photo. I got closer to Carrie ready for our photo together, but the camera guy seemed to have a problem. Carrie noticed, too, and said “Just keep smiling”. Unfortunately, I looked away once he clicked the camera so the photo turned out pretty bad (of me). Oh well. I’m hoping I can get the opportunity of meeting her again so I can have a better photo with her.

As I walked off the stage, I was still amazed at the fact I just talked to and met Carrie Underwood. I had been waiting for that moment for so long and it finally happened. Walking out of HMV, I grabbed my phone straight away and called my mum. I walked down Oxford Street towards Oxford Circus tube station, completely oblivious to everyone’s else presence on the street, as I told my mum all about how beautiful and kind Carrie is in real life. Once I got home, I had still not been able to talk about her and I couldn’t believe the fact I had just met her.

Throughout the rest of the evening I listened to all of her CDs and admired my photo of me and Carrie (I did watch Eastenders too which managed to take my mind off Carrie for a moment, how evil is that Michael?!). Surprisingly, I did manage to get to sleep that night at around 1am, so that I was up early enough to prepare myself for the concert the next day.

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