"Top Female Vocalist" Carrie Underwood performs onstage during the 42nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/ACMA/Getty Images for ACMA)
May 5, 2008 - Carrie Underwood has quickly gone from a college student working toward a journalism degree to a national star with two multi-platinum albums. And though she's living a life that she had dreamed about, she never allowed herself to expect that dream would come true.
"It's just not a practical way of thinking, and I'm a very practical person," she told the CBS-TV magazine Watch!. "I'd think how cool it would be, but I never thought I'd actually get a shot at it."
Carrie's shot, of course, came from her participation in American Idol, and she believes the people who have connected with the audience through that show have become popular because they seem kind of normal.
"People really like to see people like themselves succeed, because that lets them know that they can do anything they want to do as well," she said. "I think that's why 'American Idol' is so popular ? it's just normal people getting the chance of a lifetime."
None of the contestants has done as well as Carrie at turning the opportunity into a career, and there's another accolade potentially on the horizon for her. She's nominated for Top Female Vocalist in the 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards, set for May 18 in Las Vegas.
Get Social With GAC
Message Boards
Join the conversation about your favorite artists.
Fan Photo Galleries
Share your photos with country music fans.
Superfan
Watch GAC. Earn points. Get cool prizes.
Blog
Stay up-to-date with all of our daily country news.
facebook
Become a fan on Facebook.
twitter
Follow us on Twitter.
YouTube
Watch our videos on our YouTube channel.