It was only just a few years ago that Carrie Underwood was just like you and me, watching holiday specials at home. Today, though, Underwood is a superstar, an American Idol champ turned country and pop powerhouse. And -- yup, you guessed it -- now she's toplining her very own Christmas special, entitled Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special. Set to air on Monday, December 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, the two-hour variety show will feature Underwood singing numbers from her latest hit album, the just-released Play On, as well as holiday classics, and she'll be joined by a Who's Who of guests that includes David Cook, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, and Kristin Chenoweth.
PopStar was on the line recently when Underwood chatted about An All-Star Holiday Special during a conference call with journalists. Read on as the charming and gracious Underwood previews the special, recalls her own Christmases past, reveals that she still avidly watches American Idol, and shares her thoughts on what Idols need to do to stay in the game for the long haul.
What was your typical Christmas like growing up, and to what extent was music involved with it?
Growing up, basically we don't really have too many traditions as a family, but we would always celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Of course, Santa would come on Christmas morning. But we had records that..., and it wasn't even any specific name, artist. It was just like a choir or something. We had these old records that I would always play for Christmas. I have them now. Thank God, my mom didn't throw them away. I have them now and I still like to play them. It makes me think about Christmas.
So are you going to sing "Cowboy Casanova" during the special?
Yes, we're doing several new songs, as well as a few that people should recognize. Other artists get to come on and do some of their own stuff, too, which is really cool. And I do stuff with them, and it's just a big mish mash of awesome music.
When you were a kid, did you watch variety musical shows? Is this a dream of yours, to do this show for Fox?
Well, I think I kind of just missed some of the variety stuff. I've seen the Mandrell sisters before, but it wasn't something that we all gathered around to watch. I kind of missed that era and I'm glad to see that there's other people doing their stuff, too, and I think it's really great family programming. It was a lot of fun to tape and I think we ended up with a great show. And I'm glad to see that that format may be catching on again.
Dolly Parton is going to be joining you, right?
Yes, she was very nice, nice enough to come and be a part of the show. I got to sing with her and she did some stuff on her own, too. I'd never met her before this, so I was so excited to be able to get to talk to her and obviously get to sing with her. It felt like such a special moment for me in the show to be able to perform with her. It was a dream come true.
What was the best present you've ever received for Christmas?
Oh, I don't know. I remember when I was little, I wanted a TV so bad. There wasn't a box underneath the tree big enough to have a TV in it. So I was kind of getting disappointed, the closer it got to Christmas because there was never another box that was under there that was big enough. And my mom had wrapped up the remote and it was like, whatever, the smallest TV you could possibly get, (but) it was my TV. I think I had that sucker until I was like...they might even still have it at the house, to be honest.
Do you still watch American Idol?
Yes, of course. I will always have just the biggest love for American Idol as a participant and as a fan. Now it's so crazy for me to watch and think, "Oh my gosh, I was on that show." But I love the people on that. I love the people working on it. I love to go back and talk to the contestants and I vote, too, just like everybody else. I sit out there and I vote. So it's great to understand being a fan and being a participant. I get to see both sides.
You just released another hit album and it's out at a time when a lot of Idol finalists are also releasing their albums. What do you think that they need to do to get to the point that you are now at your career?
I feel like any contestant that comes off Idol, that does well on Idol, has to stay true to what people voted for. I've seen it happen a few times where people are one thing on the show and then they get off the show and try to do something else. And that's really strange because Idol is one of those things that they're telling you what they want. People are telling you, "We love this person as is." It's the best testing form that you can possibly have because … (it's) what they want. So I think it's just really important to remember why people voted for you and, of course, cross your fingers and say a little prayer and hope that people dig what you're doing.
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