CMT Blog: Carrie Underwood

That's all the time she had, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from asking Kellie Pickler every single question I had about her appearance this Sunday (Nov. 8) on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. And then some. Luckily, I talk fast and she talks even faster. She called me from Nashville, and we jammed as many Qs and as we could into our allotted time.

CMT.com: What was it like telling the Terpenning family they were getting a new house?
Pickler: It was one of the most beautiful things. That family is so deserving, so it was such a blessing. The whole show is about embracing one another and coming together. One of the most emotional parts was seeing 200 people marching down the street to come and help.

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I have a girlfriend who refers to her midsection as "the situation." Another one who calls it her "pouch." And another who calls it her "second trimester." Like we all have a little more junk around our bellies than we'd like. But I have a really, really hard time believing Carrie Underwood has the situation. Yet she told Parade magazine, "My abs are my trouble area. If I gain weight, it's around my hips and my belly. And if you have on a great dress and it fits everywhere but your belly, that's not good. It may take me the rest of my life, but if I'm 80 and I have abs, I'll be happy!" God love her for admitting that and working hard to achieve her goals, as opposed to simply relying on the lazy-man's liposuction (Spanx) like the rest of the world. The rest of the story hits on things like how happy she'll be to be cooking and eating with family over the holidays, and hopefully, taking in a football game.

There's been much talk lately about the fact that Taylor Swift just broke the record set by Nickelback for having an album stay on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart the longest time during this decade. Good for her. Nickelback was hard to beat because their All the Right Reasons had the staying power to remain on the chart for 156 weeks. But Swift's self-titled debut album has now been on it for 157 weeks, so she wins. But I tend to look at things through only country music glasses, so I wanted to know what country album records she beat. So, according to Billboard, here goes: Shania Twain came the closest to Swift when her 1997 album, Come on Over, was on the chart for 151 weeks. And Carrie Underwood was on for 137 weeks with Some Hearts. And the Dixie Chicks, who I never thought anyone could ever beat, stayed on the charts for 134 weeks with Wide Open Spaces. Other noncountry albums have enjoyed similar success during this decade. And, of course, Pink Floyd's 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon, holds the all-time record with 741 consecutive weeks on the chart.

It feels like the whole world is counting down the days until the CMA Awards. I know I am. There are seven days left, as of right this minute. And starting today (Nov. 4), Jake Owen is going to be helping country fans get ready for the Nov. 11 fete-of-all-country fetes on ABC.com.

They'll do this daily five-minute Webisode thing called The Countdown to Country Music's Biggest Night. He'll do some behind-the-scenes stuff, bring us exclusive updates and get the scoop from some of the biggest stars up for the most coveted awards. How does he feel about this cool diversion from his normal work schedule? "It's cool to be able to hang out with my artist buddies and show off Nashville," he told me. "This year is a big year for me, too, because I'm nominated for best new artist. So hosting the show just builds up the anticipation for the CMAs."

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Carrie Underwood is performing a free concert on Dec. 5, but there are a couple of catches. One, you have to be a guest at the Atlantis, a resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas. And two, you still need a lot of money. Rooms for that weekend start at $246 a night, but then skyrocket up to the four-digit prices for the really nice luxury suites. That said, if you've been looking for a tropical vacation and some good country music, you'd probably have the time of your life. And like I said yesterday, I think Underwood herself could use some R&R after the November she's having. So who knows? Maybe you'll see her on the beach, scuba diving or plummeting down the 60-foot Leap of Faith water slide.

Nobody has proclaimed it Carrie Underwood month in any official capacity. But when you look at her schedule, it's very clear that she owns November. There was her performance (in a gray dress and purple tights!) on Good Morning America this morning (Nov. 3) to celebrate the release of Play On, and on Thursday (Nov. 5) she'll be hanging on Live! With Regis & Kelly. She does Good Morning America again from Nashville on Nov. 11 -- the morning of the CMA Awards. Then oh yeah, she's hosting that ceremony on Nov. 11. The night after that, an A&E: Biography of her life will air. After that, it's The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on Nov. 16, The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Nov. 18, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Nov. 19 and a performance on the American Music Awards on Nov. 22. And then? God willing, she will get some much needed R&R after the whirlwind that comes with promoting what I'm sure will be another multi-platinum album.

Good news for people who think that today's country music isn't really all that country: George Jones agrees with you. He isn't loving where the genre has moved in recent years. So when he was asked about some of the pop-influenced country stars that are so hot right now, Jones said, "They (Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift) had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music." He does think that Alan Jackson and George Strait are still good for that traditional sound. "We still have it, and there's quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days," he said. In the meantime, though, any suggestions for what that new title should be?

Today is All Souls' Day. So at the early Mass this morning, my priest asked us all to help the faithful departed get through the pearly gates by praying for them. And pray we did. But as I was thinking about all the people in my life who are now resting in peace, I couldn't help but think of all the songs that seem to celebrate the mournful moments as well as the celebratory moments. So many seem to capture tragic loss, and so many are good at extolling the virtues of eternal life. Feel free to add to the list.

"Go Rest High on That Mountain," Vince Gill
"Who You'd Be Today," Kenny Chesney
"When I Get Where I'm Going," Brad Paisley
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You have to wait 12 more days until the actual special premieres on Nov. 10. But right this minute you can get some very cool behind-the-scenes interview footage from In The Spotlight With Robin Roberts on ABC. She went down south to get the inside scoop on Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and more. But in a special section on their Web site today are great mini-clips with plenty of stand-out moments. Like Underwood telling Roberts, "I remember the day people started treating me differently. You say to yourself, 'I'm thirsty,' and somebody brings you water." And then McGraw giving Roberts a tour of his 900-acre farm and the big old house where he and his Dancehall Doctors rehearse. Then she even gets a few stars to sing bits of their favorite country songs: Reba McEntire does Steve Wariner's "The Weekend," Darius Rucker does Radney Foster's "Easier Said Than Done," and Underwood does "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On" by Mel McDaniel, a fellow native of Checotah, Okla.

You know that game "Would You Rather"? Imagine being able to play that with country stars. That's what this feature from CMT Mobile is kind of like. It's called CMT Minute. But it's not impossible-to-answer questions like, "Would you rather eat Rocky Mountain oysters or spend the day with Kayne West?" This is just 60 seconds of easy questions for your favorite country singers. Luke Bryan ends up choosing "Dixieland Delight" over "Mountain Music," fishing over hunting and sweet tea over regular tea, but he never really answers the toughie: cornbread or biscuits? Then Carrie Underwood chooses Garth Brooks over George Strait for a duet. And shoes over clothes and heels over flats and football over hockey. Miranda Lambert goes with hunting over shopping, Law & Order: SVU over Law & Order: Criminal Intent, gun over bow, cowboy boots over heels and four-wheelin' over a day at the spa. When it comes to the Brooks vs. Strait question, though, she says she can't answer.