So Much to Love About the Carrie Underwood TV Special
After watching Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special last night for two straight hours, I couldn't help but feel a little up in the air. Yes, Underwood did a wonderful job entertaining the world. But what about her poor sister, Stephanie? Carrie tried repeatedly to find her sister a man, but by the end of the show, nothing.
That family drama aside, the special really did have something for everyone. It wasn't even all that Christmasy. Just kind of an old-school variety show. But Underwood managed to show her range vocally (which she always does) and dramatically (which is kind of new for her).
There were her big hits like "Cowboy Casanova," "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel," obviously. But her new songs, such as "Songs Like This" and the outstanding mandolin-laced "What Can I Say" that she did with Sons of Sylvia, were huge standouts, too.
And then, there was Dolly Parton. She was clearly a musical influence on Underwood growing up, but it looks like she may have had an effect on her sense of humor as well. That's a good thing. And she also covered the Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn hit "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" with a via-satellite Brad Paisley.
But it wasn't all old-time country music. David Cook was also there to wow the audience with his brilliant "Lie" tune, about how "I'm OK with the quiet." And Kristen Chenoweth and Christina Applegate joined Underwood for a medley of songs from '60s girl groups with "Be My Baby," "Then He Kissed Me," "Leader of the Pack" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."
Best though, by far, was Underwood's powerful pipes on "O Holy Night" toward the end of the show. O night divine, indeed.
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NOT HAPPY! says:
Thanks Alison for the Great Review!! Carrie’s Special last night was AWESOME!! Her vocals were FLAWLESS and she BLEW ME AWAY WHEN SHE SANG O’HOLY NIGHT!! She truly has the voice of an ANGEL!! I LOVED THE ENTIRE SHOW! She is truly a very TALENTED AND CLASSY LADY!! WAY TO GO CARRIE- GREAT JOB!!
Jackie says:
Loved the show Carrie proved what a great talent she is.I hope she does more of these shows!!!!
anna says:
i loved it!
gina says:
enjoyed the show,CARRIE is awesome, just wish they would have been able to show the duet with DAVID COOK, he is so awesome and together they are WOW!! hopefully there will be another opportunity!
Chelsey says:
I loved the show! At first I wondered why there were not more Xmas songs, but it was good! :) Carrie, Brad, Dolly, were perfection. Loved David Cook too! He is a hottie!
bobbalynn says:
that two hours went so fast, i taped it and rewatched it again ,carrie sounds and looks like an angel she did an awesome job loved it loved it now thats our QUEEN of country!!
Total Country says:
Great show, it was a Holiday Variety, not a Christmas show and it was a great one. Loved all the guest, really loved Brand and Carries duet, sounded great. Also TH, and Oh Holy Night were super great. Thanks alison, hope we see more of these kind of shows, tired of all csi, Law and order, all those bloody shows, this was clean and family oriented. For a newby, Carrie really shined.
kelly says:
My husband and I loved the show. Her voice is awesome and she truly is a gifted singer. This was the cleanest show I have seen on TV in a long time. I hope she does more shows like this.
okramone says:
Outstanding show! Hope she does more in the future. Good
job Carrie!
Lolli says:
The whole show was really entertaining. I was so awed by Carrie’s wonderful pipes especially when she sang O Holy Night!!! Man oh man, this lady can really sing. I love her duet with the Sons of Sylvia–what a great song and it really showcased her talent. Wish she had a duet with David Cook like the one they sang at Disney, “You can go your own way”–that was a great mix of vocals between the two. Love the whole show, i really hope she will be ask again to do another variety show next year or even soon. Go Carrie!! She did an outstanding job and i was so happy that night.
me says:
it was a great show though why they called it a holiday special is beyond me! not very country either and i didn’t care for the Brad Paisley duet.
barb b says:
i could not wait for her special carrie show was
awesome the best show i saw in a long time
i tell you she does have a voice of an angel
carrie vocals on oh holy night!!was so beautiful
amazing voice it was like she was sent down from
heaven to sing for us she is our QUEEN OF COUNTRY!!!
JP says:
What a show, didn’t want it to end! Carrie is amazing, vocals and acting such a natural. Loved the skits and Carrie and Brad duet, and Dolly..oh…the whole show was exceptional!!!
Marie says:
My husband and I have been fans of Carries since AI, and I think this show gave her a chance to showcase all her talents. First time, some parts were a bit overdone or corny, but that could be blamed on the writers or directors. I would have like to seen the duet with David Cook, and more interaction with her guests, but that is up to the directors and the writers. It’s a start, I hope there is more to come. You can sure tell she is more and more comfortable in front of the camera.
Good show Carrie, I hope you get to do more.
DM says:
Carrie did a wonderful job!!! She has proven to me over and over again how great she is. She is beautiful, I didnt’ notice any family drama just humor. Alsion you really shouldn’t over analiyze everything…she did a wonderful job, esp. for her first show like that, and just be happy for her and wish her the best. She is very talented, I love her and I can’t wait for what is to come next. Happy Holidays Alison.
Trish says:
Allison,
Another excellent article as you are becoming the person to read to get inside Carrie news. You are fair and give great insight. I agree that the special not only showed Carrie’s tremendous vocal range but amazingly quite the comedic talent.
KIm Ginet says:
I love Carrie Underwood, however, I thought the Holiday special was nothing short of goofy. The only part I loved was her singing “Oh Holy Night.” Still a fan.
Patsy says:
Best show that has been on TV for a LONG time. Very entertaining. She is the number 1 singer. She is GREAT!
Her show is the kind that should be on TV every week. Hope she gets the job.
Kate says:
Patsy,
Judging by the ratings, if Carrie wants the job she could have it but there’s only one problem….Carrie’s already got a full time job…but I know what you mean…
I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing Carrie in this variety format again…
DJ says:
My whole family enjoyed Carrie’s special so much. We loved the silly skits and thought the music was just great. Carrie set out to entertain and she did it amazingly. I would love to see another variety special with Carrie. I loved all her guests and I’m sure the next one would be even better! Great job, Carrie. Thanks for the blog, Alison!
Julie says:
Loved the special…so what else is new?? Can you tell me the name of the song that Carrie sang while showing her visits to Africa??? Is it available to buy?
Thanks
Les says:
I missed this show! I am a huge fan of Carrie Underwood! I will find a copy of it somewhere! I read every one of these comments and not a one was negative. I knew it would be good! And oh for the one person that called it a little goofy, well variety shows are supposed to be that way.
Thanks
Alex says:
I think it’s Change.
deseray says:
i also agree with all of you..absolutely breath taking performances, she is so amazing live..the song that moved me the most was “change” that is a beautifull song…this girl can SIIIIIIING!!!!.and in my opinion there is no one who is better in the music industry “wow” what a VOICE!!..carrie looked really beautifull too she is perfect. SHES A GREAT GIRL…and i love her album “play on” if you havent got one i recomend you go buy one..you will love it she has so many inspirational songs….
love her!
wanda says:
i loved the show especially he skit with her mom singing. never laughed so hard when they carried her across the stage. I grew up watching artists with variety shows like this. It was refreshing to see a something new on tv. way to go carrie.
mae right says:
love the show. Carrie is great
Michelle says:
This was a great show and my favorite song of the evening was “Oh Holy Night”. All of the rest were good, too. Her album is the best and there so are many songs on it that can be number ones. I also loved the song with the Sons of Sylvia, “What Can I Say” and “Change”. The 60’s skit was cute, too!
Granna says:
I liked the show, but I did not like her duet with Brad. Carrie sang great, but Brad does not have the voice to sing a Conway Twitty song! Her and Dolly’s duet was just awesome and the 60’s tribute was great!! Carrie has an amazing voice and an incredible range! I can remember a time when there were lots of variety shows like this every Christmas and they need to bring them back!!
Cowgirl Up says:
Hey just a slight correction regarding Carrie’s sister. She did in fact find her a date about half way through the show she hooked her up with one of her dancers which was just one of the reasons I loooved the holiday special Carrie is unbeleivably amazing and she continues to prove it time and time again,
OldGoat34 says:
If you think this was great with all the Commercials you should see my Movie I made of it without the Comm’s It flows more together and really is a good combition.I realy loved the Dolly/Carrie duet.That should be a single of “I Will Always Love You” on Carrie’s next album complete with this video clip.I luvit all but “Oh!Holy Night” what a performance like to see TS match that being FVOTY09.How appropriate was her in the season of giving to put out “Change”(The World) to inspire us to give some of our time and what we have if not Cash and help others not as fortunate as us.
nicole says:
i loved the show i wished that it was longer next time it should be longer.
highwayman3 says:
CMT your ridiculous for putting those Carrie bikini shots as the top photo on the home page, as hot as they may be, its inappropriate and makes your website look really cheesy.
Sami says:
Thank you Alison for this wonderful article on Carrie. I loved the show. All of it.—-My very favorite was her singing Oh Holy Night. She sings it with such emotion and I think her deep faith was certainly helping in the delivery of this song. WONDERFUL!!!!!! She has a beautiful voice and can sing anything well. I hope she always remains true to her morals and deep faith. I really admire her for it. She is a good role model for girls like me. I love Carrieand am so happy she is coming to Cincy this year. Can’t wait to see her again.
barb b says:
they did the same showing ts and miley
at the beach in bathing suits what happen
to privacy
Bella says:
where can I watch the show on line? I can’t find any where?
hotelmotel says:
But one thing about the bikini pics. If you look at the one with carrie in the innertube, next to carrie there is a really fat ugly lady in an innertube too. PRobably should have photoshopped that out.
Tenn says:
The super special show will reair Dec 22
I agree with you Highwayman- why the Bikini shots? Carrie’s private time shouldn’t be plastered all over the net - it’s like a tabloid. Stars private lives should be respected - they give us so much delight with their music, they shouldn’t have to deal with the public peering into their everyday life
Amy says:
It was a snorefest, as reflected by the ratings. No offense, I love Carrie but the show was jusy lame.
Amy says:
I meant “just” :)
wanda says:
snorefest or not there should be more shows like it. It was a very family oriented show.
hotelmotel says:
What’s wrong with the bikini shots, exactly? Carrie wasn’t at a private place. She was out in public. The pics are perfectly G-rated, its not like they caught her doing something private. I don’t see any problem with the bikini pics. And besides it probably helps Carrie’s career a bit anyhow. More bikini pics please.
Sherry says:
The show was great. My whole family loved it. MORE PLEASE!!
countryiscool says:
While I enjoyed the whole show, the best part was her duet with Dolly- they sounded GREAT together!
Robin says:
Amy - It was #2 in the ratings. They are reairing it because they are happy with the ratings.
flower says:
sorry robin but it was #4 in the ratings look it up on yahoo!!! and her acting was not good and the singing was soso dolly was good!!!
juliet says:
Oh Flower you`re jealousy is showing again. ; you`re really funny. Your idea of a singer is just like talking and out of tune all the time. you can handle it that everybody was raving on her singing ability. You should read all the reviews about her vocal abilities; it`s the best out there wheter you accept or not. your opinions really does not count because you have one tunnel vision and they are really biased as well. You have your own favourites and we have ours.She is the best vocalist out there not like others. Truth hurts though.
juliet says:
I meant you can`t handle it that everybody was raving about her vocal abilities.
hotelmotel says:
I think Carrie has good vocal abilities.
Alex says:
Every day I ask myself why Carrie Underwood is not the face of country music, or young country music. Her vocals are unmatched by anyone else in that category. I’ve always liked her, but I became a hardcore fan after seeing her sing I Told You So at the ACMs. I don’t know if it’s management or Nashville, but something’s not right in her not being the face of young country.
wanda says:
wonder how good flower can sing and act.
Granna says:
IMO Alex, Carrie should be, however, money talks and that other blonde is making a killing without the gift of a voice like Carrie has. But you know that’s the way life is now! Too, some acts will come and go, but I feel Carrie will be here for a long time if she chooses to be.
Sherry says:
Carrie is here for the long run and will be back on top again. You can’t hold that kind of talent down. I agree, her duet with Dolly was really special and you could tell it meant a lot to Carrie. Congratulations, Carrie, LOVED the Special!!!
Michelle R. says:
I loved the show, and like many others on this blog have already said, I was not ready for it to end. Carrie should do more of these shows, and other great singers should give it a try too. They are lots of fun to watch. Way to go Carrie!
joanna says:
i’m so glad other people felt like i did about her special….. it totally rocked!!!! her vocalls where AMAZING, and BEAUTIFUL!!!!! i hope she does more specials soon!
NOT HAPPY says:
WANDA-
Flower is probably tone deaf since she thinks taylor swift can sing. ALL of Taylor’s fans are nothing, but rude and vendictive LATELY! They are just plain JEALOUS and spoiled BRATS IN MY OPINION!! They do this to all artists!! They go to all DIFFERENT websites, like the children they are and give any artist low ratings on anything just to make that artist look bad. THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES, BUT THEY THINK THEY DO NO WRONG, BUT NOBODY CAN SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR PRECIOUS TAYLOR. IF YOU DO THEY PITCH A FIT! NO WONDER PEOPLE ARE SICK TOO DEATH OF HEARING ABOUT HER!! HER FANS THAT ARE DOING THIS NEED TO GROW UP!!
Alex says:
Taylor Swift is a sweet girl(if not a little vindictive) but shouldn’t the face of country music be able to sing? And I don’t like how people who critisize her are villified(Wynona, George Jones). It just seems everyone is afraid to critisize her. Why? You go into this business, you open yourself up to it.
Foster Grant says:
It’s funny to see a Taylor fan say that Carrie’s singing is “soso”. I would love to hear Taylor sing O Holy Night…..oh wait, never mind, that would be too painful.
Gidd says:
I think the show went downhill after David Cook sang and in fact it got boring and I turned it off. Carrie can sing, but she’s not an entertainer.
Brian says:
I really like David Cook but he did not make this show. Carrie was what made the show. She was great and she is an entertainer. She had our whole family thoroughly entertained for two hours. I loved all the guests…they all did a great job. We look forward to watching it again on the 22nd. Carrie will be the reason why we will watch it again.
mary roberts says:
flower did all your petals fall off/ if you think carrie can’t sing your deaf try listening to taylor try to sing oh i listened to haer try to sing a george strait song on his tribute ouch and on danceing with the stars painful.
John says:
I enjoyed the show but will admit it was at times a little corny. There is no doubt that Carrie can sing, she’s got golden pipes, but she has yet to find her footing when it comes to entertaining in terms of acting (like in her skits). Highlights of the show for me were definitely O Holy Night, her duet with Brad and the song that David Cook sang. I thought it was strange that he was the only guest she didn’t duet with. All that being said, I’d still watch a variety show of hers again - isn’t it a requirement of variety shows that they’re cheesy?
Dorothy Esposito says:
My husband and I love Carrie Underwood and her awesome vocal talent and homeiness. Unfortunately we were very disappointed with her All Star Holiday Specialon December 8th. The producer of the show and whoever was responsible for this childish two hour TV presentation should be fired and never allowed to put together such an abominable amateurish piece of work again. The format of the show was utterly rediculous and did not show off one iota of one of the greatest new talents of this decade. The skits that were presented were totally out of place and unneccary. There was nothing holidayish about the production except for Ms. Underwoods wonderful rendition of “Oh Holy Night” and the appearance of the great Dolly Parton which finally brought some life into the show in the final ten minutes. I would advise Ms. Underwood to never allow people like those responsible for putting this debacle together for her again. I would also advise her to fire her manager for allowing her to be displayed in such a demeaning production. The only saving factor of the show was that Ms. Underwood’s talent, when she was allowed to show it, came thru!
Al B says:
Great show. At the end of the show she said something interesting about helping others. If you cant give money give “time” to help others.
JP says:
Some of you must be very young, and don’t remember what a variety show is. The skits were great and showed the funny side of Carrie. It was all and all good clean fun and great entertainment with Carrie’s beautiful voice to make it even more special! Our Family just loved the show, and I hope to see her do another.
Good Job!!!!!!!
barb b says:
flower who cares where she was
in the ratings she has an amazing
vocals you are just jealous because
ts did not get her own special
all the songs on her cd are good
some vocal range
barb b says:
that song she sang on CNN heroes
what a set of pipes
barb b says:
the song is called CHANGE just love it
Raven13 says:
I used to be an Underwood fan. After watching Monday evening’s narcissitic tribute to herself, I have no desire to hear another one of her songs.
Kristen Chenoweth has more talent in one tooth than Underwood has in her entire body; Underwood should be singing back-up to Chenoweth. And Dolly was her usual gracious self in even agreeing to appear with Underwood.
Underwood needs a few more years of experience AND humility before she deserves to share a stage with the huge, seasoned talents of Parton or Chenoweth.
countryiscool says:
Fair-weather friend Raven? So Carrie has a different sense of humor, big deal. I loved the special, and more so, the duet with her & Dolly. I’d never even heard of Chenowith before this show.
NOT HAPPY says:
I LOVED the entire show. It was AMAZING and very FAMILY FRIENDLY, something you rarely see on TV these days. Carrie and all her guests did a TERRIFIC JOB!!!
CARRIE’S VOCALS WERE FLAWLESS AND IMO SHE IS THE BEST COUNTRY SINGER WE HAVE TODAY!!! The HIGH NOTES that girl can HIT BLOWS ME AWAY!!! GOD HAS TRULY BLESSED HER WITH A GIFT!!!
JP says:
Carrie was a natural with the acting and performed like a pro!! Loved the faces she made so cute….and her Mom so adorable! You can see Carrie takes after her Mom, they are both so cute!
Yes, Carrie is truly Blessed!
Mapoi says:
Very entertaining, it was absolutely done for general public. I will rate it A+
Congratulations Carrie Underwood, her mom and sister, Amercica Ido/-19 management and to all connected to this show.
Ygrove says:
Our whole family enjoyed Carrie’s Special,such a change from the drab shows that we have to call normal nowadays.Most of television is either crime,Bad News or comedy that is truly not funny.The Varity in Carrie’s special is what made it special,Humor and Meaning,and throw in a little Positive,something much needed in todays world.Carrie Underwoods voice and words in those songs go for the heart and its such a great honor to here such a singer.Almost all of her critics that writes reviews[just check the web] always admits one thing about Carrie Underwood,She’s a beautiful vocalist.
Robin says:
Flower -
#1 - I find it funny that you would have even watched it.
#2 - It was NUMBER 2 in the ratings. You should know what you’re talking about before speaking. You can look it up anywhere - Yahoo is one of those many places. CBS’ beat her out, but that was it. The holiday special was number 2 and Fox is happy enough with second places finishes that they will re-air on the 22nd.
#3 - HA - her singing was “soso”. That doesn’t surprise me that you’d say that since you think Swift can actually carry a tune. I think some people have anti-pitch.
Robin says:
Raven - how is it a narcissitic tribute to herself to make fun of herself (pretending she is stupid about Hollywood, pretending she was evil during AI to win)?
It was a Carrie Underwood special which means it’s going to have a whole heck of alot to do with her don’t you think?
Hee Haw was corny. That’s what variety shows are. These days people are just expecting SNL humor which is NOT family friendly. That’s why tweens should not be up at night waiting for their favorite singer to sing.
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celeste says:
My husband and I enjoyed it very much. We are in are early 60’s so remember what variety shows were. Her talent is god-given and she can sing anything. As far as Taylor, I used to get upset about her “winning” everything but not anymore. Taylor is a production - a teen idol, just like David and Sean Cassidy and others in the past. They are marketing her everywhere. I hear she is creating greeting cards and will have a doll out that looks like her. God bless her and her success - I really mean that. But, Carrie is the winner with that voice. I hope Carrie continues to enjoy a successful career and a happy private life. Let’s me happy that we can enjoy her talent.
barb b says:
robin there is something wrong with
flower i read the ratings carrie was
NO I in the first hour and NO 2 in
the second hour flower should practice
was she preachers she is always putting
carrie down she said carrie was soso
carrie has the best voice in country
music long live the QUEEN dolly said that
carrie is going to be here for a long time
she is so right
Mary Day says:
My family was horrified at the skit about honosexuality.. This topic should be for late night NOT prime time where very young children could be watching… Not appropriate. Also the skits portraying “dumb blondes” didn’t do her justice. We felt that the entire special was sub par for a singer of this quality. Perhaps Carrie Underwood cannot take the blame…writers and producers are responsible.. but Carrie Underwoods name is the one on the special.
Hopefully she will not have any more TV time …she doesn’t deserve it.
juliet says:
Oh Mary Day, chill out. Homosexuality these days are out in the open. Kids probably are more exposed in those kind of stuffs on TV or school these dyas without you knowing. I hope she has more variety show because we love it. It`s too bad you did not like it but you can`t please everybody I think she will have another one; she will get better and better. More power to Carrie.Her voice was awesome and uncomparible to others. She does deserve it and your opinion is just one of the least out there. If you read all the reviews ,they are all good ones.
malei02 says:
c.underwood is one heck of a singer, but humor is not her forte. Not a variety performer at all. Also what was that cheesy, campy girlie stuff? One of the bright spots was when Dolly Parton came on. Carrie has to stick to only singing.
wanda says:
i agree with celeste i also grew up watching variety shows such as hee haw, barbara mandrell, sonny/cher, donny/marie so if they think cu skits were corny they would have been mortified with the skits they put on.
barb b says:
carrie i saw your tour dates please
came to south florida hard rock casino
or bank atlantic loved your
Mapoi says:
The thing is 8.5 millions watched the show. Negative people will not win no matter what. Best thing is say good thing to people and you might succeed in life.
Go Carrie go…keep playing on until the world will turn positive.
lendyann smith says:
I loved the special with Carrie Underwood and her list of all star performers. I would indeed love to see her do another show like this. I must admit she does have an amazing voice. Also her sister must be an amazing person to play the part of the act she did. We all know it was a act because she is a pretty woman. Whoever was responsible for the show did an awesome job.
Friend says:
I loved everything about the special. It was just over too fast.
Tbranne says:
The special sucked…..Why do country stars have such stupid slapstick? She can sing but that was the only thing the show had going for it.
DIANA says:
Raven,13
-I think that Carrie has the best vocals and maybe you
should keep your comments to yourself. She is an amazing
person and can sing anything.
-Does anyone have the fan club password to get tickets to her show?
barb b says:
no body can sing oh holy night like
CARRIE her voice is to powerful; god
blessed us with an angel sent down
to sing for us what an amazing voice
barb b says:
on carrie tv special brad and carrie sang
mississippi woman it was AWESOME!!!she can
sing with anyone loved that DUET!!!!!
barb b says:
i have to correct an error the duet
brad and carrie sang onher tv special
was LOUISANA WOMAN my mistake
barb b says:
flower you say cu singing was soso
you have got to be kidding and her
acting was not good you find a way
to put cu down she has some set of
pipes something ts will never have
Tracy says:
I just watched the Christmas special for the 2nd time tonite!! I just loved it! We need more shows like this. Carries voice was so amazing especially in the duet with Dolly Parton of “I will always Love You” and then again she looked and sang like an angel in “O, Holy Night!”
Tracy says:
P.S. Thats right Celeste and Wanda; I grew up with the exact same shows! I think thats part of why I liked the format!!
jessica says:
carrie is a great singer and i love her new cd.and i love her
Dolly pick me says:
Dolly was the draw and a treat for this show, for me. I wanted to see how Carrie matched up. She did great and anyone could sense the jealousy on expressed Youtube