Is it possible that Carrie Underwood is at a crossroads in her career? It is. Carrie is coming off another banner year in her career. 2010 saw Carrie rack up 3 more huge hits with one – Mama’s Song – still climbing its way to the top spot. Carrie also got married this past year, which is great for her and her family. On top of all that she won numerous awards and had the 18th biggest tour of the year for all genres of music in North America. That’s a big year. Carrie has already accomplished so much since her debut on American Idol all those years ago that it makes you wonder what else she could have up her sleeve for the future. Something that’s tough for anybody is to continue to top yourself, but for driven people like Carrie it’s second nature to want to continuously get better. It’s what makes her great.

Carrie Underwood in 2011

Right now Mama’s Song is heading toward the top spot on the country singles charts. It should be a great way to kick off 2011 for Carrie Underwood. It’s the fourth single from Carrie’s last album Play On, which she released in 2009. There is an outside chance of another single from the album. Carrie released five singles from her last album with the last being I Told You So, which is one of my favorite songs. Randy Travis did it originally, but even Randy was amazed at how well Carrie covered it. So as we head into early 2011 there could be a chance of a fifth single from Play On. Any thoughts on what that song could be? I like the title track, but I’ve always thought songs about the music life and Nashville struggle to do well on the charts. Although Jason Aldean bunked that idea with Crazy Town. And Play On seems to be about Carrie’s professional life, but she leaves it open for interpretation and fans could put themselves in the song.

Some Time Off for Carrie

Carrie recently got married and moved into a new house with hockey player husband up in Canada. It also looks like Carrie is planning to take some time off in 2011…at least to start off. It makes sense for Carrie to want a little time off. She mentions that the 2010 touring schedule to its toll. It was really the first huge headlining tour for the rising star and that has be exhausting. Put getting married on top of that and the year was exhausting. Some time off is well deserved. The real question will be what the plan is for beyond the time off. Is it a few months? Is it the whole year? I’m sure we’ll hear from Carrie before too long. She seems like a worker always ready with something new up her sleeve.

New Album in 2011

Depending on how things go with a fifth single from Play On, Carrie fans have a new album to look forward to most likely. Since her debut in 2005 Carrie has released a new collection of songs every other year. 2011 is one of those years and odds are good the album would be released in late summer or more likely late fall. Record labels seem to look for big splash album releases during the busiest retail season of the year, which is around the Thanksgiving period. But who knows – maybe Carrie will jump the gun and get something out this spring or summer. I think Carrie’s fourth album is an important one for her. Not that her music hasn’t been great since her debut, but her album sales have slipped with each album. This is not surprising since the amount of physical music being purchased continues to drop, but I’m sure the label has noticed her first album sold 7 million copies, the second sold 3 million and the last sold over a million. It’s a decline, but not a huge cause for worry. The pressure is just on for the fourth album, which is always the case for any new album anyway. Country artists always realize they’re only as good as their last hit and album. Fans are a fickle bunch in general. There are always the die hard fans for each artist, but the general country audience is a fleeting bunch and they can determine the fate of an artist. The goal for Carrie on this new album will be to regain the huge general country audience – woman, men, grandparents, kids, and everyone in between.

Surprises in 2011

In April, Carrie will see her debut on the big screen for her supporting role in the upcoming film Soul Surfer. The surfing movie stars Anna Sophia Robb as the lead role for a surfer with heavy religious beliefs. Her parents are played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. Carrie plays a youth group leader friend to the surfer. There is some speculation on how big Carrie’s role will be, but any way it shakes out it will be a big step for Carrie.

A Glance Back and a Look Forward

Carrie Underwood has already achieved so much in her short career. I actually think at this point in her career Carrie Underwood is the greatest female country artist of all time. That’s a big statement, but her achievements help back up the statement. There is no doubt 2011 will be a huge crossroads year for Carrie. There is much work to do in order to keep the momentum rolling. Hopefully she gets rested up early in the year and enjoys watching her husband play some hockey in the winter and spring. Then Carrie can head back out to watch her new movie and hit the road for a few shows. Fans are certainly anxious for the summer and the fall when a new single and a new album will likely emerge from their favorite star. The new album will have high expectations and Carrie will be expected to keep her roll of top hits coming while selling many millions of copies of her albums. I think 2011 will be another big year for Carrie and one where she can take things to an even higher level. It looks like fans will have to wait for most of the noise until the second half of the year, but once things get going there should be a lot of fanfare around Carrie. It’s going to be a great year in 2011. What are your expectations?

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By Dayne Shuda

Founder of Country Music Life.

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