It’s been another great year in country music…and as we get ready for 2010, we’re looking back at some of the highlights of 2009.
IN DECEMBER…
• Carrie Underwood starred in her first TV special — Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special. The FOX telecast was a music and fun-filled two-hour variety event, with an array of special guests including Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, David Cook, Christina Applegate, Kristin Chenoweth, Sons of Sylvia, and more. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• Craig Morgan and Chris Young are featured in GAC’s Stars for Stripes: Wounded Warriors Return. The one-hour special documented a tour of military bases and hospitals in Iraq and Germany, where Craig and Chris performed and visited our servicemen and women together with GAC’s Nan Kelley and wounded warriors Sergeant First Class Joseph Bowser (U.S. Army, retired) and Staff Sergeant Scott Lilley (USAF), who were both seriously injured while serving in Iraq. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• Carrie Underwood gets engaged to professional hockey player Mike Fisher.
• Carrie Underwood‘s debut album, Some Hearts, in named the Top Country Album of the Decade by Billboard magazine.
009 HIGHLIGHTS: December" width="16" height="14" /> Carrie Underwood says she’s very happy with her FOX TV special. (:08)
“I’m really, really pleased with how everything turned out and, you know, it ended up being the right amount of funny, and of course, the right amount of talent with all the guests I do have comin’ on.”
009 HIGHLIGHTS: December" width="16" height="14" /> Carrie Underwood’s beloved rat terrier, Ace, acquires the power of speech in her FOX television special. (:35)
“A couple of my favorite parts in the show…there’s one that’s, like, all about my dog. And I know that probably sounds weird. A lot of my fans know that my dog and I have a very close bond. I love him more than anything in the world. And I’ve always wondered what he thinks, what he thinks about. So we kind of try to answer that question. And Neil Patrick Harris plays the voice of Ace, and they just had a lot of fun with it. And we actually had to kind of tone it down a little bit ’cause they got a little carried away, but it was just a lot of fun, just, you know, kind of seeing Ace come to life.”
009 HIGHLIGHTS: December" width="16" height="14" /> Carrie Underwood’s mom, Carole, enjoys a role in her daughter’s TV special. (:26)
“My mom is another fun part in the show. I’d like to see, like, my dad’s reaction to watching her, actually, ’cause she gets to sing, which…is interesting. I love my mom very much, but I think we partially answer the question of, you know, where I get it from. And it’s not my mother. But she’s really cute, and she had so much fun with it, and everybody’s gonna love her.”
009 HIGHLIGHTS: December" width="16" height="14" /> Craig Morgan talks about his trip to the middle east with Chris Young, GAC’s Nan Kelley and two wounded warriors. (:24)
“I was over in Iraq with Chris Young and Nan Kelley from GAC. Took a couple of wounded warriors back to the area that they were injured in. So it was a very emotional trip to go back with them, to the area that they were hurt. One of the individuals I’ve become good friends with, actually met him before we went on the trip. It was kind of ironic that he ended up going on this trip. And he had lost his leg, and his big thing was he wanted to go back over there so that he could walk out and not be carried out.”
009 HIGHLIGHTS: December" width="16" height="14" /> Craig Morgan talks about why it’s important for him to perform for our troops. (:13)
“I was in the army myself for almost 11 years of active duty and about six years of reserve time, so I think anytime we’re given the opportunity to serve the men and women that are making such great sacrifices so that we have the freedoms that we have in this country, I think it’s important that we do.”