I would love to see more women making their mark in the music that I love so much ... There are so many more out there just waiting for their shot. I hope they get it!
— Carrie Underwood
I love Kashi. I eat cereal like a little kid. I carry it in my purse.
The older I get, the harder it is to splurge without consequences. I love food. Chocolate and cheese and anything that's bad for me. I'll be really good when I'm at home so I can eat what I want to when I'm out with friends.
Doing the weekly shopping, I stock up on stir-fry kits, Amy's meatless burgers, and armloads of onions and garlic. I put onions and garlic in everything.
I've seen people that get onstage and sing while they have tears running down their face - I can't do that. When I cry, it starts like in my throat, so when I have something that's really emotional, sometimes if I access that too much, I can't finish the song.
Once you get into a routine of eating healthy, it hurts twice as much when you fall off the wagon. But it's nice to have a few bites of something you like. I'm not a sweets person, but I love pasta and pizza - oh, buddy!
I live in Nashville, and I love to sing. When I'm on stage, I feel like a performer for sure. I know people are looking at me and taking pictures and singing along, and that part's wonderful, but I do live in Nashville. I live the most boring life away from what you see me on camera doing.
I grew up in church, and I have a wonderful family that always supported that.
I think it's okay to feel jealous, but it's how you deal with it that's the important thing. You have to be happy for your friends when they do well because you want them to do well. It's not a competition.
When I was in seventh grade, I totally had a crush on a guy who was older than me, and he listened to alternative music. So he was into Days of the New and stuff like that, and more poppy stuff, too, like Matchbox Twenty.
I am a Christian person, and I do love the Lord, and I feel no matter who you are, what you believe, how you live your life, it's not my place to judge. I don't have that power. I don't want that power. It's my place to love and to show God's love to other people, even if they don't live a life like I live.
I love eye shadows that are shimmery and playing with colors. There's just more you can do with your eyes.
I think after coming off of 'American Idol'... people kind of expect you to just be awesome all the time, and we're still learning. I had a lot of stage experience, but it was in a 200-seat theater, you know - it wasn't thousands of people in front of me.
It's great when you can write a meaningful song that touches people, but sometimes you just wanna have fun and sing a silly song that doesn't reflect on you as a person.
An Oklahoma girl like me wouldn't even know how to be a diva. I'm just a person who has a cool job. I love to be at home. I rarely go to clubs... and I always wear underwear! I just know I'd fall down, and that's not for everyone to see.
I talk to my fan club members, and I blog, and they know what's going on. But as far as Twitter, I'll be in a restaurant, and I'll get home, and somebody tweeted, and they talked about what I ordered and what I was wearing. In some cases, that could be dangerous, because you don't want everybody to know where you are every second of every day.
The only reason I felt like I could sing a song like 'Blown Away' is because I have definitely lived through my fair share of trips to the cellar in the spring. We were no stranger to that. I still ask my mom, 'Is the cellar cleaned out now? Is everything OK?' Even in my new house, I had something built in it that's like a storm shelter.
It seems women are expected to be so much more than men, which means we have to work that much harder. We're the ones under the microscope. We're expected to sound perfect. We're expected to look perfect all the time. We're expected to be style-setters, whereas the boys roll onto the stage in their jeans, T-shirts and baseball caps.
I love being on camera. And I love knowing what's going on in the world. Diane Sawyer is my favorite. She never seems to lower herself to get the job done. She just always carries herself well. I really admire her.
Before bed, I read a book or flip on the radio - I'm not picky, I'll just turn it on and see what comes up. I burn a yummy lavender- scented candle.
I'm always thirsty when I wake up, so I guzzle a bottle of Smart water before I scramble tofu with onions, peppers and spinach and top it with salsa. I've been a vegetarian for years, but I recently became vegan.
After I released 'Jesus, Take the Wheel,' people started saying, Oh, it's kind of risky. You're coming out with a religious song. And I was thinking, Really? I grew up in Oklahoma; I always had a close relationship with God. I never thought it was risky in the least. If anything, I thought it was the safest thing I could do.
Animals were my pets, and the thought of eating my pets freaked me out.
I would say that my role model, as far as just somebody leading by example, which to me is what a great youth counselor does - they are there to talk to and lead by example - would be my mom, but she wasn't a youth counselor. She was a teacher, and she is a good person and definitely one of the biggest influences in my life.
Growing up, I played softball and I was a cheerleader.
I've learned it's really important to work hard and keep your family and friends close. You've got to let them know how much you appreciate them for sticking by you.
The first one I remember singing on stage was 'Somewhere Out There' from 'An American Tail.' I was around 7, and my choir teacher at school asked me if I would sing it. My parents told me that I needed to move around the stage, so for the entire time I just walked back and forth from side to side while I was singing - there's videotape of it.
I eat things I shouldn't eat all the time. I have to work out so I can enjoy myself! I like to run, and I'll do body weight stuff: push-ups, squats, lunges, pull-ups.
I love having my hair and makeup done for red carpets, but to have that done every day would be exhausting.
As far as subject matter, I'd say most of the songs aren't that personal to me. I love making up characters and kind of having fun in a different kind of way.
I'm about the only person in my family that's made it to 24 without being married. That's the way it works where I'm from. Most people, if you find someone to marry in high school, you do that, and if you don't find that, then you find someone in college.
We're all different. That's what makes us special. We have to love each other and get on with each other. It's not up to me to judge anybody.
I love chocolate, and I love to shop - just give me a good boutique. I like mall scenarios, too, because there's more right there at hand. I think Nashville could use some better shopping!
In the romantic sense, I'm pretty useless with guys. If I see somebody who I'm attracted to, generally I just think, 'Oh well, he's not interested in me.' The only time that I talk to guys is when they talk to me first.
We see new male artists have their first single reach No. 1 on the charts, but it generally takes a female a lot longer to build momentum.
Occasionally, I'll be on the Internet and see something about me and give in to the urge to click on it. It's hard not to. Usually, I wish I didn't.
The TV is often on in our house, but I really only keep up with three shows: 'American Idol,' 'Modern Family' and 'The Walking Dead.' Sometimes I'll sip red wine - it's a nice way to slow down and relax.
'Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On' was my anthem as a child. It was about me. I was Baby.
I try to stay away from carb-y things at dinner.
Some weeks, I'm super-duper busy, so I can only fit cardio in here and there, a lot of stuff happens in the afternoon, so I can get up and have a workout, which makes me feel awesome for the rest of my day. There's just something sexy about feeling strong. And every night I'm onstage, I get another workout.
I have so many wonderful people in my life. I've never had any major physical problems or an accident or anything like that. I'm a very, very lucky person, thus far, knock on wood.
I did most of my volunteer work when I was in college because I knew of more ways to get involved. In high school, we'd do things like, there was a homeless shelter near our hometown and our church group decorated one of the rooms. In college, I was in a sorority, and we did a lot of things, like pick up trash on the highway.
When I got into all the grunge stuff, I really liked Hole. I actually saw them in concert when I was a sophomore in high school. It was kind of rare to see a successful female rocker get down and dirty with the guys. And Courtney Love did. It was fun to be a fan of something different.
My mom had a job, and she also took care of us, and she also took care of Dad - I always saw her pulling triple duty, doing more than I ever felt like she needed to. I made a promise to myself that it would be more of a team effort in my family someday. And because of that, I became more independent.
I'm really lucky in the sense that my hair holds curl awesomely well. It looks the same at 10 P.M. as it does at 10 A.M. One of my favorite products is Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. I can get a lot of volume with it. I'm from the South - I like big hair.
Brad Paisley has always been really great to me, and that's no secret.
I have been called the human jukebox, yes. But karaoke is not meant for people who can sing!
I say what I need to, not a whole lot more.
As a married person myself, I don't know what it's like to be told I can't marry somebody I love and want to marry. I can't imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.
When I'm with my parents, that's the place I can unplug. That's the place I can shut down and not worry about work or what's going on. I go home and hang out with them. I sleep more there than any place else ever.
