Carrie Underwood Receives Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) – Seven-time Grammy-winning country singer Carrie Underwood received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday, six days after the release of her latest album "Cry Pretty."
"How is this my life?" Underwood asked through tears as she spoke at the ceremony in front of the Capitol Records building on Vine Street.
Underwood was joined at the ceremony by Simon Cowell and Brad Paisley.
Cowell was a judge on "American Idol" in 2005 when Underwood won the singing competition, which then aired on Fox. Paisley will co-host the Country Music Association Awards with Underwood for the 11th consecutive year in November.
Paisley and Underwood's song "Remind Me" won the American Country Awards Collaborative Music Video of the Year in 2011 and Collaborative Video of the Year at the 2012 CMT Music Awards.
"How does a girl from Checotah, Oklahoma, end up with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? I will tell you: belief," Underwood said. "I have been so blessed in my life to have so many people who have ... believed in me. I was so blessed to be born into an incredible family who's here today. ... And not only just were they an incredible family, but they were incredibly encouraging. My mom and dad would take me to talent shows and want me to sing everywhere, even sometimes when I didn't want to.
"... There was belief there. And as I got a little older and reality set in, you just don't know, how is this possible? How does anything like this actually happen to a girl like me? So I try out for 'American Idol,' and there was belief there and I had judges who believed in me from the beginning and I had people voting for me that believed in me the whole way through."
Underwood's star is the 2,646th on the famed walk. Underwood has sold more than 64 million records worldwide and recorded 26 No. 1 singles. Her catalog of songs has been streamed more than 2.6 billion times worldwide.
The title track of "Cry Pretty" debuted as the No. 1 song in the U.S. all-genres chart and topped the download charts in 38 nations when it was released in April.
Born March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and raised on her parents' farm in the nearby rural town of Checotah, Underwood won her first Grammy in 2006 as best new artist and best female vocal country performance. She won again for best female vocal country performance in 2007 and 2008, won for best country collaboration with vocals in 2009 and best country solo performance in 2012 and 2014.
Underwood was also nominated for Grammys seven other times.
Underwood is the first female artist to be twice named the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year. She has also won 18 Country Music Television Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 12 American Music Awards and six Country Music Association Awards.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
