Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Simon Cowell hates country music. It’s a well-known fact.

Well, Simon might want to get in touch with his inner twang.

Because look back over the years and, fact is, three of the most successful former Idol contestants are country artists.

There’s Carrie Underwood, of course. Only Kelly Clarkson, the original Idol, rivals Carrie in terms of post-Idol album sales.

But Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington from season five haven’t done too badly either.

We’ll see Carrie and Kellie (and maybe Bucky) tonight at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Kellie as an awards presenter; Carrie as a nominee for four awards and as an Entertainer of the Year performer.

The show starts at 8 p.m. on CBS. I’ll be blogging live and posting photos during the show.

And, in honor of the ACMs, we’ll take a look at the first two releases from Carrie in this week’s CD Spotlight.

Meanwhile, get with it, Simon.

This year’s finals sure could have benefitted from some twang to break up the monotany of watching all those wannabe male pop stars. (Adam Lambert excluded; he’s anything but monotonous.)

Carrie Underwood
“Some Hearts”

1. Wasted
2. Don’t Forget to Remember Me
3. Some Hearts
4. Jesus, Take the Wheel
5. The Night Before (Life Goes On)
6. Lessons Learned
7. Before He Cheats
8. Starts with Goodbye
9. I Just Can’t Live a Lie
10. We’re Young and Beautiful
11. That’s Where It Is
12. Whenever You Remember
13. I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore
14. Inside Your Heaven

When “Some Hearts” was released in November 2005, the reviews weren’t unanimously endearing. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a “C,” Slant Magazine rewarded Carrie with 2 1/2 stars out of 5.

So much for music reviews.

Today, the album has sold 7 million copies and pretty much guaranteed we’ll be hearing country music from Carrie Underwood for years to come. Oh, it also won Billboard’s award for best selling album of 2006 … and that includes all genres of music.

You want hits, “Some Hearts” offered up three chart-topping country singles, “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Wasted” and “Before He Cheats.”

Gotta admit, I was a little surprised the first time I heard Idol’s girl-next-door Carrie belting out a tune about wrecking a cheating boyfriend’s “souped-up four-wheel drive.” But “Before He Cheats” became her biggest cross-over hit and an anthem for angry gals everywhere.

The Idol single, “Inside Your Heaven,” was included as a bonus track on the album. Released five months before “Some Hearts,” it hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Carrie Underwood
“Carnival Ride”

1. Flat on the Floor
2. All-American Girl
3. So Small
4. Just a Dream
5. Get Out of This Town
6. Crazy Dreams
7. I Know You Won’t
8. Last Name
9. You Won’t Find This
10. I Told You So
11. The More Boys I Meet
12. Twisted
13. Wheel of the World

I guess when you first album sells 7 million copies and your second sells 2.7 million, it qualifies as a sophomore slump … the type of sophomore slump most artists would kill for.

And don’t count “Carnival Ride” out yet. Heck, last week the album bolted to number 15 on Billboard’s Hot 200 album charts after Carrie sang her current single, “I Told You So,” with Randy Travis on the Idol results show. That’s number 15, 73 weeks after the album was released.

“I Told You So” is still climbing the charts, and the album has already yielded four number one country singles, “So Small,” “All-American Girl,” “Just a Dream” and “Last Name.” The latter is billed as the prequel to “Before He Cheats.”

After co-writing just one song on her debut album, Carrie shares writing credits on four on “Carnival Ride,” including three of the singles.

Among the best songs on the album is the fun-filled “The More Boys I Meet (the More I Love My Dog).” Sounds like another hit in the making.

No word yet on when Carrie’s third album will be released, but she told The Associated Press back in November that she’s comfortable knowing she has the ability to contribute to the process by writing some of her own songs.

“But I’m not one of those people that has to write every song because there are so many people out there who are great writers,” she said at the time. Here’s a link to the story.