Carrie Underwood‘s new album, Cry Pretty, has debuted at the top of Billboard’s Top 200 Album chart today. The collection is the biggest all-genre debut by a female in 2018, topping Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy (April 6, 2018). The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Album Charts with 265,654 equivalent album units, making Underwood the only woman in history to land four country albums at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. The critically-acclaimed album is the best-selling Country album debut of 2018, as well as the biggest Country album debut since August 7, 2015 (Luke Bryan’s Kill The Lights) and the biggest female Country album debut since October 22, 2012 (Taylor Swift’s 2012 Red).
Cry Pretty’s debut week also marks the most first week streams by any female in Country music. This is Underwood’s seventh consecutive album to debut at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, representing all of her first seven albums including her Greatest Hits: Decade #1.
Check out the Billboard article here.
NPR declares that Cry Pretty “pushes her creative boundaries and leans into modern R&B, while retaining the Oklahoma singer-songwriter’s country roots” and “Underwood’s voice owns pretty much anything it touches.”
Rolling Stone lauds Underwood as “Arena country’s mightiest voice, as Cry Pretty reaffirms.”
Entertainment Weekly has called the album “Her most emotionally accessible work to date.”
Underwood was recently featured in a profile on CBS Sunday Morning, as well as performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen Show. She received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 20 and performed at the iHeart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas. Nominated as Favorite Female Artist – Country, Underwood will perform at the 2018 American Music Awards on Oct. 9 following her promotional tour in Australia, which will include an appearance at the iconic Deni Ute Muster festival. Fans will get the chance to watch multiple performances from Carrie that night as she is also set to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm ET / 10:35 CT on ABC immediately following the 2018 American Music Awards live broadcast.
Cry Pretty is Underwood’s first release on Capitol Records Nashville and her first time co-producing alongside David Garcia. She co-wrote nine of the songs on the album including her current single, “Love Wins,” with David Garcia and Brett James. She recently released the official music video for “Love Wins,” which was directed by Shane Drake. View HERE.
Underwood returns this fall for her sixth season as the voice of primetime television’s #1 program, Sunday Night Football. This November, she and Brad Paisley will co-host the CMA Awards for the 11th consecutive year.
In spring 2019, Underwood will launch a new arena tour, The Cry Pretty Tour 360. Sponsored by CALIA, the new tour will kick off on May 1 in Greensboro, NC, and will play 55 arenas across the U.S. and Canada and be promoted by AEG Presents. She will be joined on tour by special guests Maddie & Tae and Runaway June.
Audio / Carrie Underwood says fans will hopefully get a bigger glimpse of who she is when they listen to her album, Cry Pretty.
DownloadCarrie Underwood (what fans can expect) OC: …ever had before. :39
“I literally meet fan club members and fans at meet and greets and things like that that will say, ‘I voted for you on American Idol. I’ve been a fan club member since it started,’ and that’s absolutely incredible. I feel like we’ve kind of just all grown and evolved together, and I feel like that’s so cool. I hope they listen to this album and maybe get a bigger glimpse of me and who I am because I definitely feel like this project has been a bigger representation of me as a person, as an artist, as a creative being, because I’ve had so much more of a hands-on approach with this album than I’ve ever had before.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she learned a lot about herself as a co-producer with David Garcia.
DownloadCarrie Underwood (prepping to record a song with David Garcia) OC: …up here, you know? :48
“In working as a producer with David, I feel like I learned so much about, obviously making music, but also about myself as an artist, myself as a writer and myself as a vocalist. I feel like previously in my career, I love being technically good. I love to sing. It’s what I love to do, and I take a lot of pride in working hard at being good at what I do. But I would go in with David and it would be time to record, put my vocals down. Like we’re doing this. I’m stepping up to the plate. Here we go. I’m going to hit a grand slam, and in my mind, that’s what I’m thinking. I’m going to sing every note perfectly. I’m going to be great. I’m talking myself up here, you know?”