In spite of her passion for music, Carrie maintained a well-balanced life growing up. A big sports fan, she played softball for eight years. She was an honor student at Checotah High School, and a member of the National Honor Society. One summer, she served as a page for Oklahoma State Representative Bobby Frame. In 2001, Carrie graduated from Checotah as salutatorian.
After high school, Carrie went on to Northeastern State University, where she majored in mass communications. She joined Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority and competed in beauty pageants throughout college, winning the title of Miss NSU runner-up in 2004.
Not long afterward, Carrie decided to travel to St. Louis to audition for the 2005 American Idol competition. From the beginning, Carrie's country-infused style was popular with both the judges and the audience, and she was one of only three finalists in the show's history (alongside Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken) to never finish in the "bottom three."
After Carrie's performance of Heart's "Alone" in March of 2005, notoriously acerbic judge Simon Cowell had nothing but praise for her: "You're not just the girl to beat, you're the person to beat. I will make a prediction: Not only will you win this competition, but you will sell more records than any other previous Idol winner!" Sure enough, on May 25, Carrie was named the new "American Idol," beating out southern rocker Bo Bice.
As part of her American Idol win, Carrie signed a recording contract with Arista Records. In June of 2005, she released a single, "Inside Your Heaven," which debuted at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. She was the first country artist to ever debut at No. 1 on that chart, although "Inside Your Heaven," a rather schmaltzy Idol anthem, isn't a strictly country song. More promising was the B-side, a cover of Martina McBride's "Independence Day."
Life for Carrie Underwood didn't have the chance to settle down after her American Idol win. All the publicity and work on an upcoming album (planned for a November 2005 release) didn't even leave her much opportunity to celebrate. She became a spokesperson for Hershey's chocolate and Skechers shoes, adopting a hectic schedule that sent her rushing back and forth between New York, Los Angeles and Nashville -- and just about everywhere in between.
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