Carrie Underwood rules.
Carnival Ride is the number-one album in the country, having sold a staggering 527,000 copies during its debut week.
This is the American Idol winnerâs first top-ranked album. We're guessing it won't be her last, however.
Carrie's new disc bests her previous effort, 2005âs Some Hearts, which debuted to 315,000 copies sold in its first week. Chace Crawford must be so proud!
The debut album from Blake Lewis, Audio Day Dream, will hit shelves on December 4.
In the meantime, AOL is streaming the American Idol runner-up's first single, "Break Anotha." Listen to it now.
Yes, Jordin Sparks is still a virgin.
But it's not easy.
âTemptation is always there," the American Idol winner told Us Weekly. "It's hard everyday, but I made a promise to myself."
Since she was 13, the singer has worn a platinum "promise ring" â bearing the inscription âTrue Love Waitsâ â that her parents gave her, and she plans to keep it on.
"I wasn't ever forced into [wearing the ring]," she said. "Itâs all about making the right choice and not putting yourself in that situation."
Still, the single singer â whose debut disc comes out on November 20 â says she wouldn't mind a mate, like Carrie Underwood appears to have now with Chace Crawford.
"They have to make me laugh because I love to laugh," she said, describing her dream guy. "They have to have nice teeth. They could be athletic and sing ... and play and instrument.
Carrie Underwood likes the drama on Gossip Girl.
Reportedly, she also likes one of the actors on that show.
But current dating aside, the American Idol champion and woman behind the new CD, Carnival Ride, recently talked to Us Weekly about past relationships:
You had a hit with 'Before He Cheats.' Do you still keep in touch with your exes?
Not really because most of my exes are pre-Idol, so, yeah, I don't really. [It's like,] "Well, you wish you would have stayed with me, huh?" [Laughs]
Do you listen to talk about your looks or consider yourself a sex symbol?
No. If I didn't do what I do, nobody would ever look twice at me. I'm a blender â and the only reason anybody, if they do think of me in that way, it's just because I do what I do. I'm okay. But I'm not, like, anything special.
What motivated you to write some songs on your new album?
It's definitely a plus when you can write your own stuff. It's coming from a personal place â and it's just more to be proud of. I just wanted to see if I had the talent and just try. It wasn't a huge deal like, "every song on the album must be mine," because there are so many talented writers.
We have a couple new details on the wedding between Katharine McPhee and longtime boyfriend Nick Cokas.
The American Idol runner-up and her older man are reportedly planning to wed in February at a Beverly Hills, estate, according to a report in Us Weekly's October 29 issue.
"There will be many Greek elements," a source told the magazine. "She calls him her 'little Greek god.'"
Awwww.
Cokas proposed to the 23-year-old former American Idol finalist with a pink and yellow engagement ring last spring; however the pair have allegedly kept the pending nuptials secret so McPhee could focus on her career.
Carrie Underwood is busy this week going on dates with Chace Crawford and releasing her new album, Carnival Ride.
Below, USA Today reviews various song on the album. You can read more about it at the newspaper's American Idol blog.
Flat on the Floor: Great start. This is a modal-sounding banjo-driven country-folk tune, and Carrie's vocal is really aggressive, with a desperate edge to it, more so than anything previous. She's not cuddly Carrie any more on this one.
All-American Girl: Sentimental tale of a guy who's got his mind set on his first child being a boy, but gets a daughter instead and is immediately captivated by her. Years later, the same is said abot the high school football star who ends up marrying her and winds up telling her that when it's time for their first child, he wants an All-American girl just like his wife. Carrie co-wrote it.
So Small: First single is a power ballad displaying Nashville craftsmanship at its finest, with a chance to soar for Carrie. You may have heard it on the radio already.
Just a Dream: Ballad about a widow mourning the loss of her soldier husband. Heartfelt, but a little heavy on the sentiment and a less-than-standout song musically.
Get Out of This Town: Upbeat ditty about the need to escape; not much depth or musical distinctiveness.
Crazy Dreams: Another song co-written by Carrie - and it's perfect for her, a salute to all the "hairbrush singers and dashboard drummers" and showbiz wannabes that carries a lot more conviction coming from one of their own who actually made it.
I Know You Won't: Slushy ballad, although well-sung.
Last Name: The Before He Cheats of this album, as Carrie takes on a persona totally foreign to her nature: that of a girl who gets so blitzed that she elopes with a stranger and gets a quickie Vegas marriage, all without learning the dude's last name. She co-wrote this one, too.
Once again, Carrie Underwood has been spotted on a date with Chace Crawford.
In town to promote her new CD, Carnival Ride, the American Idol champion met up with the Gossip Girl actor at at upscale Italian restaurant âDestinoâ on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
It looks official now that Tony Romo is out of Carrie's love life. And Crawford is happy to be in it.
The Dallas Morning News was rather harsh in its review of Carnival Ride, the latest album from Carrie Underwood. It read:
While Carnival Ride fiddles with a handful of traditional country instruments such as banjo, mandolin and steel guitar, her roots remain in radio-ready pop. Tellingly, the CD's best cut, "Last Name," is a rocked-up little corker about too much booze and a surprise Vegas wedding.
It's a catchy guilty pleasure.
Ultimately, Carrie Underwood's artistic abilities amount to a bunch of air. Give her a batch of palatable pop nuggets, such as the breezy final track "Wheel of the World," and then let her blow. She'll blend perfectly with the proceedings. She'll even harmonize for you. Her voice will be purely pleasant white noise.
Just like any other background vocalist.
Wow. Not very kind. What do you think of the CD?
Katharine McPhee is featured in this month's Atlanta Peach magazine.
You can go read the entire article by following our link, but here's an interview from the issue with this American Idol star:
Atlanta Peach: You have been working with some of the best makeup artists and hairstylists in the business. Did you pick up any great beauty tips from them?
Katharine McPhee: Iâve learned a lot with makeup, but I feel like Iâve learned more with hair. I love the trick of braiding my hair and putting a flat iron through it. It makes perfect little mermaid hair. You can also braid your hair and curl the braid in a curling iron.
Q: You have become an iconic brunette; have you ever changed your hair color?
A: Iâve definitely been thinking about it. I really hope for [a] movie role in which I have to go blonde. Not platinum blonde, but I think itâd be really fun just for a couple months to kind of be a light, dirty-blonde color.
Q: Do you have a beauty ritual?
A: I really enjoy taking care of my skin. I wear sunscreen every day. I use eye cream. I love Vaseline, too. Thatâs one of my tricksâIâll put Vaseline all over: under my eyes, on my face, my frown lines. And I love to put tons of moisturizer all over.
Q: Do you work out?
A: I do what I can, especially as busy as I am. Right now, Iâm just working on stretching in the downtime that I have and bringing little weights with me for my arms and doing lunges. Lunges are something I can always do anywhere, so it doesnât matter if I have a gym or not. And I do love yoga.
While it may be hard to sympathize with a beautiful singer when it comes to dating, Carrie Underwood made some good points about her love life under the glare of celebrity during a recent interview.
"Eventually you are going to get busted if you are dating someone," the American Idol champion told Nashville's Tennessean newspaper in an interview published Sunday. But she added "there are definite ways around it."
In this latest profile, part of her media rounds to promote her new album Carnival Ride (out Tuesday), Underwood talked about Romo and the pitfalls of finding love after American Idol.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Carrie said her and Romo were never officially a couple. But the two remain close pals.
"Right now, the place we are at, he is my best friend. He'll call me after games. ... Either I'm flying high with him or making him feel better. It took a little while to get to this point. It seemed like maybe for a bit we were headed there. We never got there."
But what about Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford? Are he and Underwood now dating?
"It's just weird when it's not a date and people immediately assume it is," Carrie said, although it was unclear if she had a certain young star in mind.
