Carrie Underwood Talks Motherhood and the Hit Song That Made Her 'A Little Nervous'
The country star will host the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley on Wednesday.
— -- Carrie Underwood became a staple on country radio after winning “American Idol” 10 years ago with her first few singles, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Don’t Forget to Remember Me.”
But the 32-year-old country star told ABC’s Robin Roberts in an interview for the ABC News special, “Countdown to the CMA Awards: Country’s Greatest Crossover Hits with Robin Roberts,” that she was “a little nervous” before she released another one of her early hits, “Before He Cheats.”
In the song, Underwood shed the sweet, girl-next-door image to sing about a jealous woman trashing her cheating boyfriend’s car to get revenge.
“I was a little nervous about just the content and kind of the aggressive nature of the song, because I was on ‘American Idol’ and like I am kind of a--I am a nice person,” Underwood said, laughing. “And I was thinking about all the grandmothers that sat there and voted for me [on 'American Idol'] and like, ‘What are they going to think?’”
“Before He Cheats” not only topped country charts when it was released in 2006, but Top 40 charts as well, and the song went on to win the Grammy for “Best Country Song” and the CMA Awards’ “Single of the Year.”
“We took a chance and it opened up so many doors for me, just to be strong and sassy,” Underwood said.
The country star released her fifth studio album, “Storyteller,” last week, on which she included an emotional ballad that pays tribute to the two men in her life -- her husband, professional hockey player Mike Fisher, and their infant son, Isaiah.
“It’s called ‘What I Never Knew I Always Wanted,’ and I mean, that kind of sums it up, both of them,” Underwood said. “I always assumed a family was in the future, but I wasn’t, you know, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to have kids,’ and I kind of took a more laid-back approach to the whole thing. Now I couldn’t imagine my life without either one of them.”
The new mom gushed about her baby boy Isaiah, who was born in February.
“He is such an easy baby, and smiley and happy,” Underwood said. “He loves, loves people. He wakes up smiling. He is just—he’s us an easy baby. I’m so blessed.”
And for Underwood, adjusting to motherhood has taken some getting used to.
“It’s a job,” she said. “There’s so much more to think about in life, even in simple daily tasks, you know, like leaving the house. Now I have to make sure I am ready, make sure he is ready, get his bag packed up, ‘do we have bottles? Do I have milk? Do I have all of his stuff? Do I have diapers? It adds a lot of time on my day, every day, just planning things for him.”
Aside from caring for a new baby and continuing to work on her music, Underwood also recently launched a fitness apparel and accessories line called Calia by Carrie Underwood.
“People are always like, ‘What’s next, what’s next?’ and I am like, ‘I don’t know,’” Underwood said. “I just keep my eyes and ears open for things that just sound like they would be interesting or fun or special and we just see what happens after that.”
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