NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The last time American Idol winner Carrie Underwood was at the Country Music Association's annual festival, she was a 15-year-old girl waiting in line for autographs. On Thursday, the first day of the CMA Music Festival, the 22-year-old singer was the one doing the signing instead of the waiting. "I think it's a wonderful way to give something back to the fans," Underwood said of the festival, which runs through Sunday. She was to perform Thursday night in a lineup of stars that also included Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, Phil Vassar, Lee Ann Womack, Dierks Bentley and others. Wednesday she taped an upcoming special for Country Music Television, performing the Reba McEntire/Linda Davis hit duet "Does He Love You?" with Jamie O'Neal. She'll make her debut on the venerable Grand Ole Opry radio show Saturday, and is starting work on a country album she hopes to release in the fall. On American Idol, Underwood sang songs by Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, the Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain. She was crowned May 25 after performing the Rascal Flatts hit "Bless the Broken Road" with the group.
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| "I'm from Oklahoma and grew up listening to country music. I think it's the most cheerful music," Underwood said. Thousands of others at the festival are quite fond of it, too. They lined up for autographs from their favorite artists, bought CDs, T-shirts and trinkets, and listened to performer after performer. Dave Poage, 45, of Andover, Kan., snapped a photo of his new bride, Cheryl, as she posed by a statue of Elvis Presley outside a row of honky tonk bars. The couple wed last month and were in Nashville on their honeymoon.
"You can see them right there in front of you," Poage said of the music stars who, for him, are the big attraction. |