0Carrie Underwood’s Fame Gave Her Anxiety Attacks

I really like Carrie Underwood. There’s no real rhyme or reason to that, but I do. A couple of her songs are damn good (‘Blown Away’ is my shit!) but I’ve never listened to a full album and I haven’t exactly kept up on her career, I just think she seems nice. I dunno, don’t ask me. Anyway, turns out her massive success following her American Idol win hasn’t all been positive – in fact, it caused major anxiety attacks for her for a very long time.

From Marie Claire (via US Weekly):

“At the beginning of my career, I used to have panic attacks. People were touching me, screaming ­– it made me really nervous. In public, I just get nervous. It’s a physical reaction, feeling like the walls are closing in,” she explains.

“The fans are great. It’s not their fault. I don’t ever want to come across as ungrateful. But on my end, it is hard for me to process. Because I am still just me.”

I get anxiety when a stranger emails me, so I kind of can’t imagine having millions of people in my face 24/7. It would not be a good thing, that’s for sure. It seems like she’s got things a  bit more under control now, which is good… though she does have a bit of an interpersonal problem.

“I’m not a mushy person at all. We were never a huggy family. Or a ‘let’s talk it out’ family. Technically I have siblings, but they are quite a bit older than me. I was the accident, so I have the only-child syndrome going on,” Underwood admits. “I’m a little more selfish, a little more independent, a little closed. I do wish I were softer. I wish I were able to form relationships better. But hey, I mean, I’m not a sociopath.”

Well, that’s a relief.

May 15, 2013 at 12:30 pm by Jennifer

3Carrie Underwood Never Got the Memo That She’s Feuding With Taylor Swift

Sigh. Another day, another ‘girls can’t get along’ story debunked. Because the Kardashians must’ve stayed home that day, the press filled the pages with a story last week that claimed something’s rotten at the Grand Ole Opry and banjo strings were flying between Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, who are supposedly embroiled in a serious feud.  There’s only one problem with that: Carrie has no idea what the hell they’re talking about.

Appearing on CBS This Morning, the ‘Blown Away’ singer (that song is so good, guys) was asked whether there’s any bad blood between herself and Swift:

“No! Not that I know of at least!” she replied.

“In every magazine, in pretty much every newspaper, or on gossip TV shows, they can just get away with [saying there's a feud] by saying, ‘a source said’ or, ‘a friend said’ or, ‘an insider said’. I read the most ridiculous things about myself when people do that.”

Well, only one word seems fitting here: DUH. Newsflash to anyone with a brain since the last one seemed to have gone missing: women in the same industry can not only work together without scratching one another’s eyes out, they can also respect each other and realise that there’s enough room for more than one person to succeed.

February 13, 2013 at 6:30 am by Jennifer

3Grammy Fashion 2013

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards happened last night and all that means to me is that we get to “Ooh!” and “Ahh!” and “WTF?” over what everyone was wearing. There were guidelines this year for what attendees could and could not wear. I mean, really! Here are some highlights:

Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. [...] Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible ‘puffy’ bare skin exposure.

Hee hee, puffy! That’s some creative phrasing.

So let’s get to some standouts, for better or for worse.

Singer Carly Rae Jepsen may have finally redeemed herself in my eyes after that diabolical BCBG nightmare of an outfit she wore at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. (Rumor has it someone was fired over that outfit. I hope so.)

(more…)

February 11, 2013 at 4:30 am by Catherine St. Ives

4Don’t Worry, Carrie Underwood Is Still Awesome

From People:

Underwood visited her hometown animal shelter in Checotah, Okla., this weekend, getting covered in cat hair – on purpose – in the name of adoption.

“Hanging out at the Checotah animal shelter! Anyone want a kitten?” she wrote on Twitter. “I think we have a few!!! Ha ha!”

The singer is a self-professed animal lover and mom to rat terrier Ace and dachshund mix Penny. On Sunday, joined by mom Carole, Underwood stopped by the shelter, which is where she adopted Penny in 2010.

“She comes to visit every time she comes to see her mom,” shelter director Kate Paris tells PEOPLE, adding that the pair help out at the shelter whenever they can.

Underwood spent 45 minutes visiting homeless dogs and cats but was particularly smitten with a pile of kittens. “She got all the kittens up on her lap and loved on them,” Paris says. “She really cares a lot for animals.”

During the visit, the star gave special attention to one stray cat discovered in a parking lot earlier that day.

“[Carrie] just loved on him,” Paris says. “All he wanted was somebody to pay attention to him.”

Underwood also posted a photo of the cat and wrote, “Someone left this one at the grocery store.”

Though she left the shelter empty-handed, Underwood said she had plenty of friends who were looking to adopt. Paris is grateful for the support, adding, “She’s real busy because she is fixing to go on tour, but every time she comes this away, she stops by.”

And just because I know you can’t do without the photo of Carrie Underwood lovin’ on the poor abandoned kitty from the grocery store:

See, this is why this lady is the most wonderful lady. She loves animals, she’s got a good head on her shoulders, and she’s super talented. And that’s pretty much all it takes to be one of my best imaginary friends. Welcome to the club, Carrie!

Meanwhile, my own kitty is totally unimpressed:

September 12, 2012 at 11:30 am by Emily

5Carrie Underwood Ruined Country Music and America Because She Supports Dem Gayz

So, first off, you guys probably heard that Carrie Underwood went and did The Unthinkable for a country music star and endorsed same-sex marriage. No? OK, here’s the gist of it:

“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. … Our church is gay friendly. Above all, God wanted us to love others. It’s not about setting rules, or [saying] ’everyone has to be like me’. No. 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.”

Admirable, right? I think it’s a really nice sentiment, especially when you have gay-hating being promoted through the generations, and before children can even understand what it is that they’re “hating.” You know, much like this video:

Disgusting, right? What’s also disgusting is some of the things Carrie‘s Twitter followers are saying about Carrie and her thoughts on gay marriage. Here’re a few prime examples of why forced sterilization is actually not such a bad idea:

“I warned @carrieunderwood fans that their idol was going to get backlash for her support of marriage perversion and I was right! #asusual”

“@carrieunderwood Is a disgrace. Being vegan and supporting gay marriage doesn’t seem very country at all”

“Another day, and a another ’gospel’ artist signed to ’EMI’ comes out supporting gay marriage.@carrieunderwood Unequally signed to the devil”

“Using Christianity to defend and promote homosexuality is insulting. Ugh. Being Saved doesn’t stop you from being dumb. Jesus just let go of the wheel”

So then there’s that. You know, bigotry and judgement and hypocrisy all over the place, in varying shades of f-ckstickery. I’ve often said that I admire Carrie Underwood for being true to who she is and seeming to be genuine and everything, and this is definitely no exception. Carrie knew that she’d get flak for taking a definitive stance on a controversial topic, and she went ahead and did it anyway. Are there many things more admirable than being honest?

June 19, 2012 at 11:30 am by Sarah

6But A Few People Looked OK at The Billboard Music Awards

Like Taylor Swift here. Taylor Swift looked ok at the Billboard Music Awards. In fact, I’d wager that she had the best look of the night, generally speaking. I really like her dress, and it obviously looks great on her.

Another lady who had a good look was Brandy, but to be honest, I can’t decide if I actually like her dress or if I just think she looks nice because I’ve always been envious of hair like that. Regardless, gold shoes!

Next up is Jordin Sparks, who I’ve always thought was completely adorable, wearing a lovely little dress. This one is remarkable because it’s one of the only dresses I’ve ever seen on a red carpet that I would actually like to wear in real life:

Then there’s one of our favorite ladies, Zooey Deschanel, going after my own heart in a sparkly dress and black tights:

But then we have my personal favorite dress, worn by the very fabulous Carrie Underwood:

But which one was your favorite?

May 21, 2012 at 7:30 am by Emily