Maps of Music

Carnival Ride (2007)

Where the lyrics of Carnival Ride take you, and where it was really made.

Underwood set up a writers' retreat at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium for this album, and the record debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Key places

Recorded at Starstruck Studios (2007)

Recording site Starstruck Studios — Discogs credits list Starstruck Studios as the place where the album was recorded. The pin marks the studio building in Nashville. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Carnival Ride: second studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood
• Released 23 October 2007 by Arista Nashville
• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, her first number-one album there
• Underwood was more involved in the songwriting process on this album
• The standard edition was also released as a digital download and on streaming platforms

Background

• Underwood set up a writers' retreat at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium to write with Music Row songwriters
• Collaborators included Hillary Lindsey, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, and Gordie Sampson
• 'Flat on the Floor' was first cut by Katrina Elam for her unreleased 2007 album Turn Me Up
• 'I Told You So' is a cover of a Randy Travis song from his 1988 number one album Always & Forever
• Promotion began with a joint tour with Keith Urban, Love, Pain, and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour, running January to April 2008
• Her first solo headliner, the Carnival Ride Tour, ran from February to December 2008

Recording

• Credits list Starstruck Studios as the recording studio and MasterMix for mastering
• Underwood said that during sessions with Mark Bright, keys were often raised by a half-step or more
• 'So Small' and 'All-American Girl' were surprisingly difficult to sing
• Underwood said she had more creative control on this album than before

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Carrie Marie Underwood, born March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is an American singer and songwriter.
• She won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.
• Her debut single "Inside Your Heaven" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first country artist to do so.
• Her debut album Some Hearts (2005) became the best-selling debut album by a solo female country artist and won three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.
• Carnival Ride (2007) sold over 527,000 copies in its first week and won two Grammy Awards.
• Play On (2009) made her the only woman with eleven consecutive top-two singles on the Hot Country Songs chart.
• Blown Away (2012) was among the year's best-selling albums and earned another Grammy.
• Storyteller (2015) made her the only country artist with her first five studio albums reaching the top two on the Billboard 200.
• Cry Pretty (2018) debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and made her the first woman to top the chart with four country albums.
• She has won eight Grammy Awards and is the most-awarded artist in CMT Music Awards history.
• She was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
• Underwood is a judge on American Idol since 2025.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic gave 4 out of 5 stars, the same score as for her debut, and classified the album as 'completely contemporary country'
• USA Today praised the album's versatility, from vulnerability and urgency to humor
• Rolling Stone praised her country stylings and said the album was more country and more confident
• The Boston Herald gave the album a B
• Slant Magazine gave a negative review, criticizing both the songwriting and Underwood's interpretation

Reappraisal

• Metacritic gave an average score of 72 out of 100 based on ten reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Overall, critics' reviews were mostly positive

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with over 527,000 copies sold in its first week
• One of the biggest first-week sales by a female artist at that time
• Also debuted at number 1 on the Top Digital Albums, Top Country Albums, and Top Canadian Albums charts
• Sold 3,400,000 copies in the United States
• Certified 4× platinum by the RIAA in October 2016 for four million units
• Appeared on the Billboard Year-End Charts for 2009 at number 74
• Won two Grammy Awards: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for 'Last Name' (2009) and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for 'I Told You So' (2010)
• Nominated for Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards
• Won the American Music Award for Favorite Country Album in 2008

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'So Small' and 'All-American Girl' were surprisingly difficult to sing, according to Underwood
• Underwood said the keys were often raised by a half-step or more during sessions with Mark Bright
• A Platinum MusicPass edition followed on 15 January 2008 with the previously unreleased track 'Sometimes You Leave'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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