Maps of Music
Storyteller (2015)
Where the lyrics of Storyteller take you, and where it was really made.
Work on the album was tentatively suspended for her first pregnancy, and she finished it after the birth of her son, then it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.
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Overview
- Storyteller is the fifth studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood
- Released October 23, 2015 via Sony Music Nashville
- Country album that produced five singles
- Followed her fourth studio album Blown Away (2012)
- Greatest Hits: Decade #1 came out in between, on December 9, 2014
Background
- Work began in early 2014 but was tentatively suspended for her pregnancy with her first child
- Underwood confirmed in August 2013 that she had begun planning a new album
- After giving birth to her son, she took extra time off before returning to the studio in early 2015
- Storyteller was her last album under Arista Nashville and Sony Music Group, before her new deal with Capitol Nashville
- Underwood described the album as more laid-back and more twangy than Blown Away
Recording
- Regular collaborators included Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley, Chris DeStefano, David Hodges, Brett James, and Mark Bright
- New collaborators included Liz Rose, Zach Crowell, and Jay Joyce
- Underwood acknowledged that motherhood influenced some of the material
Cover
- The cover shows Underwood in red, bejeweled cowboy boots and a flowing ivory shirt with red embroidery
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.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
- Metacritic: generally favorable reviews, weighted average score of 74 out of 100 from 9 critic scores
- The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman called it Underwood's best album yet
- Billboard's Jewly Hight said Underwood commands the spotlight and reconciles the Midwestern girl-next-door and imperious diva images of her persona
- Vice's Robert Christgau highlighted the songwriting and more good tales than Greatest Hits: Decade Number 1
- The New York Times's Jon Caramanica questioned the record's expressive sharpness and found the songs working mainly as launch pads for her voice
- Exclaim!'s Stuart Henderson called the album more than halfway boring
Records
- Billboard 200: debuted at number two, selling 177,000 album-equivalent units
- Billboard 200: made Underwood the only country artist with her first five studio albums debuting at number one or two
- Top Country Albums: debuted at number one, her sixth consecutive number-one album on the chart
- Canada 3, Australia 4, Scotland 6, UK Albums Chart 13
- RIAA Gold on December 4, 2015; Platinum in October 2016
- Sixth Underwood album to be certified Platinum or multi-Platinum
- Sold 752,100 copies in the US as of April 2017
- Nominated for Album of the Year at the 2016 American Country Countdown Awards and 50th CMA Awards
- Won Favorite Country Album at the 2016 American Music Awards, her fifth career win in that category
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Lead single Smoke Break set an all-time Country Aircheck record for the most-added song in its first week, with 145 Mediabase adds
- Heartbeat was co-written and produced by Zach Crowell, and Sam Hunt sang background vocals on it
- Underwood worked with more producers than on her earlier albums: Mark Bright, Zach Crowell, and Jay Joyce
- The music video for Dirty Laundry was directed by Shane Drake and premiered at Entertainment Tonight on October 12
- Underwood first teased the Storyteller Tour on October 27, 2015, and the tour began January 30, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org