Why Carrie Underwood is finally getting political
SINGER, mother and self-confessed Dolly Parton enthusiast Carrie Underwood’s new album is a political departure — and not a moment too soon.
Stellar
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stellar. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SINGER, mother and self-confessed Dolly Parton enthusiast Carrie Underwood’s new album is a political departure — and not a moment too soon.
This interview is happening 90 minutes ahead of schedule — at your request. Are you a stickler for punctuality?
I was brought up under the principle that if you’re on time, you’re late and if you’re early, you’re on time. People intentionally tell musicians to be someplace early because they know they’ll be late. That doesn’t work with us.
You’re pregnant with your second child and plan to head out on tour soon after you give birth. How’s that going to work?
Well, that’s what you do — you have an album and you go on tour. We’re just gonna make it work. I will bring the kiddos with me; my son [Isaiah] was 11 months old for his first tour, and he did great. So I’m expecting nothing less this time round.
Not long ago you posted an Instagram shot of his new favourite toy, a potato …
Yeah, we’ve actually let the potato go. The Mr. Potato Head company was nice enough to send him actual toys, so we’ve moved up in the world [laughs].
A Google image search for you turns up lots of big-hair moments. How’s the upkeep?
You know, I’m a Southern girl. I take my cues from Dolly [Parton]; the higher the hair, the closer to Jesus. I take it seriously! If you’re onstage with rhinestones and make-up, you gotta rock the hair, too. But when I’m not doing anything, it’s in a pile on top of my head.
MORE STELLAR
Why Emma Freedman isn’t afraid to be controversial
Hailey Baldwin on marrying Justin Bieber: ‘I have learnt to ignore the negativity’
You come across as the kind of girl people feel safe taking home to their mum, but who can also get rowdy on a night out. Fair call?
It might’ve been in my 20s [laughs]! I went for dinner with some girlfriends recently. We all have kids and by 10.30pm we were complaining: “Oh my god, we’re out so late.” Your kid doesn’t care what you did the night before or how late you stayed out. They’re gonna wake up at the same time.
You turned 35 in March and have said last year was “full of a lot of soul searching”. What did you mean?
Some years in life are smooth sailing and some feel like a rollercoaster. That was one of those for me. We weren’t touring or travelling a lot, and I had a little more time to reflect. Being able to write through it and apply it to my next album was good and therapeutic, though.
The new album has songs like ‘Love Wins’ and ‘The Bullet’, which seem to touch upon same-sex relationships and gun violence, respectively. You’ve never been overtly political. Why now?
‘Love Wins’ reaches beyond any one topic. When we were writing it, we wanted it to speak to our world and not necessarily any issue. We all need to be better at treating each other with love and respect.
Was ‘The Bullet’ at least partly motivated by the gun massacre at country singer Jason Aldean’s Las Vegas show last October?
Yes, definitely. It’s a beautiful and powerful song, and I thought for a long time whether or not I was the one to deliver its message. Unfortunately, too many events have happened and not just on a grand scale … any word I say right now is gonna be wrong [laughs].
But too many people are going to relate to it — whether in the military, if they’re cops, or just people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s a song that needed to be sung.
On a lighter note, name your current binge-watch.
I hate to admit it, but pretty much the only thing we watch is The Bachelorette. After a long day of work and kids, we need something mindless before bed.
Cry Pretty is out on Friday.