The hype over Carrie is crazy and if she didn’t go on American Idol we wouldn’t even know her name.

Her new single is nothing but a screamfest just like many of her songs. So overrated and I don’t see this album even selling half of what her first album did.

Heck Taylor’s year old album is selling more, its #1 this week. I see 3-3 1/2 million tops for this album.

The boy band is a disgrace to country music and its a sin to even call Rascal Flatts country music artists.

I agree with your OPINIONS here, but obviously quite a few of your readers take what you say as the gospel truth and are disheartened that Carrie Underwoods album, in your OPINION, was the most disappointing of the year. : )

if you dont like her album go make your own if it is so easy

That said, I have a different and less harsh assessment of Carnival Ride. Starting with where I agree with you somewhat, a little of Carrie’s belting goes a long way for me, and I do think there are a few too many songs that showcase Carrie’s belting. But I think this album also features a fair amount of good storytelling and restrained singing from Carrie. The problem is that the more nuanced singing tends to happen in the same songs that feature the belting. For example, I love what Carrie does with the verses of “Just a Dream” — I think she does a great job interpreting the lyrics and sounds gorgeous. I think her singing on the choruses works well, too. But there are those two prolonged notes towards the end of that song that I could really, really do without.

Then there’s “I Know You Won’t” — here, I think the belting is part of a natural emotional progression in the song (from sadness to desperation), but I can see where people might think otherwise. Carrie’s singing and interpretation of the verses is especially good. Heck, take “So Small” — I think Carrie sounds beautiful on the verses, and that she does a great job of bringing a bit of vulnerability and the need to believe to the lyrics. But I can see where the extended “small” and belty third rendition of the chorus might feel like too much.

From an A&R standpoint, I would say that maybe Carnival Ride has a few too many songs geared towards showcasing everything Carrie can do with her voice (soft/subtle -and- belting). The belting appears to overshadow the more nuanced singing on several songs for several people, so I hope that in the future, Carrie will trust herself to sing some songs acoustically and/or without that “money” belting portion. She certainly has the voice to sell such songs, and has proved it over and over again. And I think Carnival Ride provides plenty of moments where Carrie’s abilities to put over a lyric are in fine display…”You Won’t Find This” (the combination of ache and the bravado front in her voice really gets me on this one) and “Wheel of the World” are two standout examples for me. I also think Carrie fares very well on fluffier, charming fare like “Crazy Dreams” and “All-American Girl.”

I often find myself disagreeing with Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide, but I think he nailed what Carrie and producer Mark Bright were going for when he said that this album has a contemporary country meets arena rock sound (he also said he thinks this makes perfect sense for someone whose most buzzed about AI performance was of Heart’s “Alone”). Moreover, I think the style and song selection of this album were heavily influenced by Carrie’s desire to liven up her tour setlist. Some Hearts was a very power ballad-heavy album, and I think Carrie wanted to have song choices that would bring more energy and diversity to her concerts. Her treatment of “Flat on the Floor” (for example) reflects that desire, in my view. I don’t think it’s a totally successful treatment (I think Carrie’s phrasing needed to be a bit more fluid and I think the production could have made Carrie’s performance sound more raw). In my opinion, Carrie’s live performance of this song on Good Morning America put the studio version to shame.

Anyway, I guess the upshot is that Carnival Ride makes a bit more sense to me when I think about it in the context of Carrie’s goals for a live show. That said, I would have liked the album better if the production more closely approached the rawness and energy of a live show. I absolutely believe that Carrie has matured as an interpretive singer…I think evidence of that is there on the verses of several CR songs and also in Carrie’s live performances, but I think the album leaves some room for that increased maturity to be manifest. I’m hoping that once Carrie feels like her concert setlist is better-balanced (and after the experience of touring these songs next year), Carrie will feel freer to not always think as big with her music.