JULY 2005 NEWS

July 27 , 2005

I Wanna Play Carrie (Source: Businesswire)
Will American Idol fans be able to play a virtual carrie soon? Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced a multi-year agreement with FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas), the U.S. licensing division of FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world and the co-producer and licensor of American Idol, that gives the company the exclusive interactive video game rights for American Idol. Pursuant to the agreement, FLW, Americas grants Konami the rights to develop games for current and next generation video game systems based on America's number one television program. The games will be distributed throughout America, Canada and Latin America with more details to be revealed at a later date.

"Not only is American Idol one of the biggest television programs in the U.S., but its format lends itself perfectly for making compelling video games," said Kazumi Kitaue, Chairman and CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "With Konami's leadership and expertise in music video games and American Idol's popularity and strength as a recognized franchise, this is a powerful synergy that will greatly benefit the consumer."

American Idol, which just completed its fourth season in May 2005, continues to dominate television ratings and break viewership records. Last season's finale, produced by FremantleMedia and 19TV for the Fox network in the US, saw 30.3 million viewers tune in to watch Carrie Underwood be crowned as the newest American Idol. The debut of American Idol's fifth season will air this fall.

David Luner, Vice President Licensing for FLW, Americas, added, "The Idols format has already proven itself successful in a variety of categories including electronics, toys & games, wireless and online applications. We look forward to establishing a solid presence in the video games market with an industry leader like Konami."

As the industry leader in music video games, Konami has a strong line-up of titles that allow gamers to sing, dance, and mix music all in the comfort of their own living rooms. Among its catalog of top music games, Konami publishes the highly-acclaimed singing game Karaoke Revolution and the number one dance game, Dance Dance Revolution. Next year Konami will also release beatmania -- the first-ever DJ simulation game created for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system.

It is not yet known if the game will feature real contestants of the show or if players can virtually make up their own contestants.

Heaven and Earthy (Source: Newsday)
Carrie Underwood, this year's "American Idol" winner, is still making contingency plans in case this music thing doesn't work out.

Never mind that her first single, "Inside Your Heaven," has already hit No. 1 on the pop charts or that her first national tour is in the arenas and coliseums usually reserved for veteran stars. Never mind that she's in the middle of recording her debut album for release this fall or that millions of people voted for her on the show for months.

No, these days, Underwood, 22, is still thinking about returning to Northeastern State University in Tahlequah,cq/jrs Okla., where she is 12 credits short of her degree in mass communications and journalism. "It's nice to know I can go back to something else," she said, calling from a tour stop in Fort Lauderdale with the rest of this year's Top 10 "American Idol" finalists. "It's good to know that if something happens, and I can't sing any more, I can find a job somewhere. It's nice to have a trade."

It's that down-to-earth style, along with her powerful voice, that made Underwood a fan favorite, propelling the country singer to the top of a pop singer contest. "I was worried about how people would take me," she said. "In the South, it's all about country music, but I never knew how other places would take it. I thought that they would say, 'Oh, she can only sing country music.'"

But Underwood decided to take a risk. "I could have picked more rock songs, but I was thinking about what I wanted to do afterwards, and what I wanted was to sing country music," she said. "I was amazed how everyone supported me. I didn't have to change who I am."

Underwood is still getting used to how much her life has changed. "I'm still getting used to people recognizing me and stuff," she said. "Me and Anthony [Fedorov, another "Idol" finalist] went shopping in L.A. a few weeks ago, and people would come up to us and say, 'You go shopping, too?' They saw us at Wal-Mart and said, 'You guys go to Wal-Mart?' and we're like, 'Are you kidding? We love Wal-Mart.' We're just normal people."

Of course, normal people don't usually have No. 1 singles the first time out. "It was so amazing," she said. "I'm so glad to know that I have that kind of support behind me. I've been trapped in this 'American Idol' bubble for so long that I had no idea what was going on in the real world."

Normal people also don't usually practice singing and dancing 12 hours a day for weeks on end. "We put in a lot of work," she said, laughing. "The whole show is really high-energy, and there's lots of lights and smoke and video screens."

Underwood said her favorite number is the Dixie Chicks' "Sin Wagon," because it lets her express herself. She hopes that her debut album, which she will record in Nashville, Tenn., on off days during the tour, will be a further expression of her feelings.

"I'm really a go-with-the-flow kind of person," Underwood said. "But every now and then, I think about everything I've been able to do so far. It's so hard to fathom. It was just last year that I was in class worrying about keeping a job and having some money. It's so nice not to worry - as much."

July 19th , 2005

Tour photos from the Greensboro, NC Show
Benjamin went to the Greensboro, NC show sunday and sent along this story along with some great photos he took! click on each pic for a bigger version!

Hi, my name is Benjamin DeFazio. I went to the concert in Greensboro, NC
where I had a chance to met the idols after the show. Carrie was OUTSTANDING
and she smiled for me to take pics. My family also sells light-up glasses so
we gave her and Anthony a pair. She signed my shirt, ticket stub, poster,
and program. She is the most laid-back, down to earth, celebrity I have ever
seen and even more beautiful in person. The experience was wonderful.

July 20, 2005 additions: (Source: NCcarriefan from carriefans.com)

July 19th , 2005

July 18th , 2005

Taking A Look Back
Here are a few rare hq's from May 25th, the day Carrie became your American Idol. I am totally redoing the gallery, with tons of pictures i've had and just not had time to post.. so stay tuned, your not going to want to miss this! click on each pic for a bigger version!

July 17th , 2005

I just got off the phone with Carrie!
HEY GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WELL I HAVE TO TELL YOU!

My phone rang, and it was James! (from carriefans.com) He said "I have a surprise for you , hold on" (he then says "this is steph that runs the other site) and Carrie gets on the phone!

She said hey! I said, Hey carrie , how are you? And she said "oh well i'm tired how are you?"!! I said "fine" and we said a few other things (can't talk about it) but then she said "thank you for doing the site for me! (talking about carrieunderwoodonline.com) and i said...I LOVE doing it, I enjoy doing it and i want you to know i'm forever your fan and i will support you always" and she said 'thank you so much, here's james" and i siad 'cya' she said 'bye!"
OMGGG I LOVED IT! She was so nice and sweet and sincere and just the best!

Tv Appearances
r0de tells us that On Sunday the 24th, the TV Guide Channel will be having a show titled "Idol Summer Tour". 7PM CT. 1 hour special. The description reads something like "Top
10 Idols preparing for their summer tour".

You can go to http://tv.yahoo.com to search for your local times.

July 15th , 2005

Tv Appearances
r0de tells us that Carrie and the rest of the idols will be on Fox's "The Menu"
Saturday July 16! Check your local listings for times, don't miss it!

July 13th , 2005

CUO and Carrie-forever exclusive! (Source: cuo / carrie-forever.com)
Yea yea yea! Hey there Carrie fans! I have something special for you! As you know, Carrie is doing a ad for Sketcher shoes! Well, below is the photoshoot originial!! Click on it for a bigger version!

New Carrie Photo Shoot (Source: cuo / carrie-forever.com)
Hey guys! WELL.... you seen it here first BRAND NEW PHOTO SHOOT PICTURES JUST RELEASE TODAY!!!! Click on each for a bigger version!

New Carrie Photos
Carrie performs during the American Idols Live tour opening show at the Office Depot Center on July 12, 2005 in Sunrise, Florida. Click on each photo for a bigger version.

July 8th , 2005

Chart Statisics through July 16th (Source: cary78663)
Carrie’s Billboard Chart History Thru 7/16

Inside Your Heaven

Billboard Hot 100 (3 wks 7/2 - 7/16): 1-3-4
Billboard Pop 100 (3 wks 7/2 - 7/16): 1-3-6
Hot 100 Singles Sales (4 wks 6/25 - 7/16): 5-1-2-2
Hot Country Singles Sales (4 wks 6/25 - 7/16): 1-1-1-1
Canadian Singles Sales (3 wks 7/2 - 7/16): 1-1-1
Hot Digital Songs (3 wks 7/2 - 7/16): 4-7-26
Hot Digital Tracks (3 wks 7/2 - 7/16): 3-7-20
Hot Country Songs & Tracks (3 wks 7/2 - 7/16): 59-59-52
Adult Contemporary (2 wks 7/9 - 7/16): 30-23

Independence Day

Billboard Pop 100 (1 wk 6/18): 84
+ Re-entry (2 wks 7/2 - 7/9): 85-94
Hot Digital Songs (1 wk 6/11): 63
Bless The Broken Road (w/ Rascal Flatts)

Hot Country Songs & Tracks (1 wk 6/11): 50

Sales

Inside Your Heaven

Street Date Violations (6/25): CDs - 1,894
Week 1 (7/2): CDs - 129,610, Downloads - 39,024
Week 2 (7/9): CDs - 69,489, Downloads - 24,895
Week 3 (7/16): CDs - 60,253, Downloads - 13,609

Total: CDs - 261,246, Downloads - 77,528

July 5th , 2005

New Carrie Photos from 1998 and 1999
Gregg (Stillwell Sports)- has kindly given us roughly 60 photos of Carrie taken in 1998 and 1999. All, curtosey of Stillwell! For now, below are the pictures, click on each for a bigger version!!

July 2nd , 2005

Interesting Facts
Since there's not much going on, I guess I'll just update you guys on what a great month of June Carrie Underwood Online Had! Here is our stats!!

Total Number Of Unique Page Views: 25,366,652 (yes, that's 25 million)
Total Unique Visitors: 194,543

Thanks for making CUO such a big success!! (By default, my stats started over on June 5th. so from june 1st to june 5th, you can probably add about 20,000 more unique visitors to that list OR MORE!

Various Site Updates
There's not much news right now, so below are some pictures that I have not had time to add, such as Carrie @ the CMA Fest and some from Game 4 of the NBA @ Detriot. Click on each pic for a bigger version !