Carrie Underwood celebrated her 100th performance on the Grand Ole Opry this weekend with four sold-out shows. Carrie made her Opry debut on June 10, 2005, less than two weeks after winning American Idol, and became an official Opry member in 2008. Carrie’s love for the Opry started as a child, as she grew up watching and listening to the show, dreaming of one day performing there and even becoming a member herself, she says “I love the whole concept of the Opry. I love that it is a part of country music history, country music present, and country music future. It’s the heart and soul, the center, of country music.”  Backstage at the Opry this weekend, Carrie marked the 100-show milestone with a specially-decorated cake, and 100 pink roses in her dressing room, a surprise gift from the Opry.

This celebration kicks off a busy week for the country superstar as she heads to Las Vegas to perform on the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, which airs live on CBS TV. Carrie is up for two awards including Entertainer Of The Year and Female Vocalist Of The Year. Carrie has a career win of 12 ACM Awards including being the first female artist to be twice named the ACM’s Entertainer Of The Year and the Triple Crown Award.

  Carrie Underwood loves the Grand Ole Opry. (:12)
“I love the whole concept of the Opry. I love that it is a part of country music history, country music present, and country music future. It’s the heart and soul, the center, of country music.”