Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts

Carrie Underwood was my favorite on American Idol last season, and like Simon, I had her pegged right away. Her voice is incredibly beautiful and touches your heart, makes you feel the words of each song she sings.

People have mentioned that she lacked personality on the show, but if you take into account that she's a young, small town girl that has never done anything like Idol before, it makes perfect sense that she would be shy. Contestants like Bo and Constantine were older and had been doing shows all over the place for years, so, it's expected that they would out-do everyone else on that score. Carrie's effortless vocals were more than enough to keep me (and obviously millions of others) happy.

Getting down to the album, as the subject reads, it really does remind me of why I favor country music over other genres. In the early 90's, I never listened to anything else. But then, this strand of artists that seemed to be copies of each other took over and I found myself losing interest. Seeing Carrie on Idol earlier this year was like a breath of fresh air. Slowly, I began listening to country radio more and more. Now, here I am, anxious for the evening to come so I can watch the CMA's - something I haven't done in years. With Carrie and some of the other artists (new and old) I've heard here recently, for me, country is back. And better than ever.

The first single "Jesus Take the Wheel" is absolutely wonderful. I prefer it very much over "Inside Your Heaven"; this is nothing personal against Carrie, but I never care for the winner's single. JTTW was made for Carrie, and I wish it would have been her debut. The lyrics are strong and anyone can relate to them. Not to mention the vocals are flawless and spectacular.

At first listen, I admit, I wasn't overly thrilled with the second single (to AC/Pop), "Some Hearts". Maybe it was because it isn't country. But now, I see the reasoning behind releasing to both genres. And after listening to it the second and third time (and so on), I like it very much. As a matter of fact, I LOVE it. :) It's fun, catchy, vocally sweet and just makes you smile. But I prefer the country stuff. It's her.

"Wasted", IMO, should most definately be her next single. That's a great song. Again, highly relatable lyrics, lovely vocals and a chorus that you won't be able to get out of your head. The arrangement is very nice.

Bottom line, if it's a ballad or an upbeat number, country or pop, Carrie's going to nail it. And she does. This album is highly impressive and IMO, the best Idol offering yet. I say this being a big fan of Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia.

Whether you're a fan of her or not, objectively, one simply cannot deny Ms. Underwood's easy grace and brilliant ability to bring life to these tunes. This exquisite collection is something to be remembered for years to come.

I've been forced to listen to this piece of garbage for months...nonstop. I am a huge country fan, as well as a fan of every other genre of music. My taste expands.

The first thing I have to say to anyone reading this, who obviously looked this up is: You need to get in touch with some real raw country music other than this trash. The sad thing is that people like Carrie Underwood are the people that represent country music nowadays (Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, etc.). Well I'm telling you, don't even give those tasteless morons support. The real artists that need it are the masters of the genre such Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn. They were real country. Wait? What was that? Oh, you don't like that "twangy" country music? I see. Well guess what? That's what country music is supposed to be. That's how it started out, and that's how it will always be. If you don't like it, then go listen to some other genre because this is not country music. Country music is not about "good" or "pretty" singing. Country is about telling a story, and it evolved from folk music.

Enough said, this album is just pop nonsense that talks about living in the country, which does not make it country music. Go and listen to something good by one of the real country artists and don't waste your time with this crap. I'm out of here.