{"id":1305194,"date":"2019-03-10T00:00:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-10T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1803747"},"modified":"2019-03-10T00:00:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T06:00:17","slug":"keeping-up-with-carrie-underwood-her-best-duets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/keeping-up-with-carrie-underwood-her-best-duets\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Up with Carrie Underwood: Her Best Duets"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:ao:image:cmt.com:669509?width=1200&amp;height=675&amp;.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"byline\">by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/morrise\/\" title=\"Posts by Edward Morris\" rel=\"author\">Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\">11h ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p>In the 14 years since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/artists\/carrie-underwood\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Carrie Underwood<\/a> triumphed on <em>American Idol<\/em>, she has recorded duets with a throng of fellow vocalists in musical formats ranging from country to pop and gospel to rap (Strangely, no bluegrass. But we can hope.).<\/p>\n<p>On this, her 36th birthday (Sunday, March 10), we revisit and recommend a dozen of her most provocative pairings.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"listicle-container\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cBless This Broken Road\u201d with Rascal Flatts (2005)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>This performance from <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bFnmB9pqHLU\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">American Idol<\/a><\/em> finds Underwood going head-to-head and voice-to-voice with Rascal Flatt\u2019s bell-toned Gary Levox. Undergirded by strong lyrics, the result pure harmonic rapture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cI Told You So\u201d with Randy Travis (2009)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Also from <em>American Idol<\/em>, there\u2019s plenty of dramatic interplay here between Underwood\u2019s vocal intensity and Travis\u2019 sepulchral gravity, The singers are equally eloquent in conveying the song\u2019s mixture of hope and trepidation. Their single version won them a Grammy for best country collaboration with vocals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cI\u2019ll Be Home for Christmas\u201d with Elvis Presley (2008)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Underwood\u2019s wistfulness adds a bit of seasonal zest to Presley\u2019s laidback rendering of this holiday chestnut \u2014 a distinctive improvement on the King\u2019s original recording.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d with Dolly Parton (2009)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>\u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d has become the \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d of love songs \u2014 so often sung and over sung that it\u2019s been bleached of all its initial drama. Still, Parton and Underwood are powerful transformers of the mundane when they apply their <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/RIdECWJZk0s\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">celestial harmonies<\/a> to it. And so it is here until they get into a genteel wailing match at the end.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cRemind Me\u201d with Brad Paisley (2011)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Recorded for Paisley\u2019s <em>This Is Country Music<\/em> album, this is one of Underwood\u2019s most authentic-sounding pairings. As she repeatedly keens \u201cRemind me!\u201d to her under-loving partner, her yearning and desperation become palpable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cIt Had to Be You\u201d with Tony Bennett (2011)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>No matter how strong your pipes are, you don\u2019t amp it up when you\u2019re side-by-siding with the great Tony Bennett. So Underwood plays it cool, bluesy and understated here \u2014 and it works beautifully.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d with Vince Gill (2011)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Maybe we should call this live performance a trio since Gill\u2019s majestic guitar work in the middle of the hymn constitutes its own separate voice. Underwood, as has become her habit with this song, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/dnvg0OtupuI\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sings<\/a> so high and commandingly that she seems to be knock, knock, knocking on Heaven\u2019s door directly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cCan\u2019t Stop Loving You\u201d with Aerosmith (2013)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty would have had a hell of a romp with this one. When Underwood purrs, \u201cGot me a good old kinda cowboy\/He got my picture on the fridge,\u201d you\u2019re looking at country\u2014and you can practically see the apron and Levis flying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cAll Is Well\u201d with Michael W. Smith (2014)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Underwood and Smith escalate vocally from lullaby level to proclamation in this Christmas celebration. Even so, there\u2019s an enchanting sweetness when their voices blend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cThe Fighter\u201d with Keith Urban (2017)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>Just as in \u201cRemind Me,\u201d Underwood\u2019s role here is to seek reassurance \u2014 \u201cWhat if I fall? (I won\u2019t let you fall)\/What if I cry? (I\u2019ll never make you cry).\u201d Although the lyrics assigned to her don\u2019t make great vocal demands, she delivers them with the concern and urgency they merit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"heading-container\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">\u201cThe Champion\u201d with Ludacris (2017)<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"description-container\">\n<p>This rat-a-tat-tat pep talk could replace steroids. Underwood does rap like a champion, elevating bravado to a lifestyle in these lyrics that she co-wrote. Ludacris struts through this chest-beating speechifying with a full crown of laurels, as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What bluegrass song should she sing? you ask. I\u2019m thinking \u201cLittle Cabin Home on the Hill\u201d with Rhonda Vincent. Or Tony Bennett.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\">Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1803747\/keeping-up-with-carrie-underwood-her-best-duets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Edward Morris 11h ago In the 14 years since Carrie Underwood triumphed on American Idol, she has recorded duets with a throng of fellow vocalists in musical formats ranging from country to pop and gospel to rap (Strangely, no bluegrass. But we can hope.). On this, her 36th birthday (Sunday, March 10), we revisit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1305194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-11 21:31:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1305194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1305194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1305194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1305194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}