Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

If she was blowing out candles on her birthday cake on Wednesday, Carrie Underwood likely didn’t bother to count out the 27 wicks that should have decorated the dessert.

She’s piled up some impressive numbers in the music business: 11 straight chart-topping singles, 11 million albums sold, 1.2 million tickets sold on her last concert tour. But she’s a bit nonplussed by all the music-business arithmetic.

“I remember in the beginning it was like, ‘How many did I sell this week? How many people are going to be here?’” she told the Associated Press. “It was all about numbers, and to be honest now I don’t even look at anything because I’m happy. When I see numbers it either makes me happy or brings me down. I’d rather just be happy and leave it at that.”

She’s probably not counting, but if she did, Carrie would discover that Thursday — the day after her birthday — is just the beginning of a stretch that will pile up thousands of road miles as she plays more than 50 shows on her Play On Tour through June 20. With Craig Morgan and Sons Of Sylvia opening the concerts, Carrie kicks things off in Reading, Pa., with a production that reaches a new level.

“The stage is bigger, there are more lights, there’s more tricks up our sleeve,” she said. “We have a lot of moving parts on the stage. I kind of get to fly over the audience. It’s really cool. It’s just a lot of stuff. My band’s great, wardrobe’s great. It’s just more. It’s all of the bells and whistles and sprinkles on the cupcake.”

If you can’t be in Reading for the opening date, you can still catch Carrie Thursday on GAC’s Headline Country. She’s featured along with Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert and Montgomery Gentry. The episode debuts at 9 p.m. ET.

Count on it.

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George Strait photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Easter falls this year on April 4, and if that holiday motivates a little spiritual consideration, a couple of new music compilations have been put together to aid your connection to the Almighty.

One’s a country-specific collection that rolls George Strait, Keith Urban and Josh Turner in among a dozen hitmakers. The other drops Carrie Underwood into an ongoing pop series that places her alongside the likes of Daughtry, Natasha Bedingfield and The Fray.

The country-centered collection, Sunday In The Country: 12 Inspiring Hits From Today’s Top Country Artists, is being released by New Haven Records with proceeds benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Diamond Rio, Trace Adkins and Tracy Lawrence all contribute tracks to the project, which extends a country-gospel tradition.

The other album, NOW That’s What I Call Faith, hits the market March 23, the same day as a standard entry in the series, Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 33. Carrie’s “Jesus, Take The Wheel” is featured on the Faith CD with such pop titles as The Fray’s “You Found Me,” Mat Kearney’s “Closer To Love” and Daughtry’s “Home.” The album appropriately blends them with numerous gospel and contemporary Christian acts, including Third Day, Mary Mary, Brandon Heath and Switchfoot.

“Jesus, Take The Wheel” is apparently not just a song to Carrie. Her beliefs inform her life — including her engagement to hockey player Mike Fisher.

“Mike has improved my walk with God,” Carrie told People magazine. “It’s important to me, because down the road, I want someone who will help shape our kids into people who make the world a better place.”

The complete track list for Sunday In The Country follows:
• Josh Turner, “Long Black Train”
• Diamond Rio, “I Believe”
• Keith Urban, “But For The Grace Of God”
• Martina McBride, “Blessed”
• Tim McGraw, “Drugs Or Jesus”
• Trace Adkins, “Muddy Water”
• Vince Gill, “Go Rest High On That Mountain”
• Steve Wariner, “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven”
• Tracy Lawrence, “Up To Him”
• Alabama, “Angels Among Us”
• Lee Ann Womack, “Get Up In Jesus’ Name”
• George Strait, “I Found Jesus On The Jailhouse Floor”

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Lady Antebellum on the Orange Carpet at the 44th Annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 5, 2009. Photo © Sara de Boer / Retna Ltd.

Lady Antebellum heard their name called a whopping seven times this morning as Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire announced the nominees for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on the CBS program, The Early Show. The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 8 at  p.m. ET (delayed PT) on CBS and will be hosted by Reba for the 12th time.

For the third year, fans will select the winner of the Academy’s most prestigious honor, Entertainer of the Year and for the second year, the three newcomer categories for the annual Academy of Country Music Awards —Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo — will also be opened up to fan voting. The winner in each Top New category will then move on to compete for Top New Artist which is also a fan voted category. Online voting for all fan voted categories will be available at http://www.voteacm.com/.  The winners of Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist will be announced live during the 45^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. 

Lady A’s seven nominations include Album of the Year for Lady Antebellum and Top Vocal Group.  In addition, the trio was nominated for Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year for “Need You Now.” They were also nominated as a producer for Single Record of the Year and as a composer for Song of the Year.

Miranda Lambert is nominated for six awards, including Album of the Year for Revolution and Top Female Vocalist.  Miranda won the 2007 Album of the Year for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She is nominated for Single Record of the Year and as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “White Liar,” which is also nominated for Video of the Year.

Carrie Underwood is nominated for six awards, including Entertainer of Year. Carrie is the reigning Entertainer of the Year, and, if she wins that category again, she will be the first female in Academy history to capture two Entertainer of the Year trophies.  Carrie is also nominated as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “Cowboy Casanova,” as well as Vocal Event of the Year for “I Told You So” with Randy Travis. In addition, Carrie is nominated for Top Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for Play On. If she wins Top Female Vocalist, it will be the fourth consecutive year she has won the category.  Carrie also won the 2006 Album of the Year for Some Hearts.

Taylor Swift is nominated for five awards, including her first nod for Entertainer of the Year.  If she wins Entertainer of the Year, she will be the eighth female in Academy history to win in this category. Taylor is nominated as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “You Belong With Me,” for which she is also nominated for Video of the Year and she also received a nomination for Top Female Vocalist.  

Kenny Chesney is nominated for four awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. If he wins Entertainer of the Year, it will be his fifth win in the category. He is currently one of only 3 acts in Academy history to achieve four wins for Entertainer of the Year. Kenny is also nominated as an artist and producer for Vocal Event of the Year for “I’m Alive” with multi-platinum recording artist Dave Matthews. 

Brad Paisley is nominated for four awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. Brad is the reigning Top Male Vocalist, and, if he wins the category, it will be his fourth consecutive Top Male Vocalist title. Brad is also nominated for Album of the Year for American Saturday Night and for Video of the Year for “Welcome to the Future.” He won the 2005 Album of the Year for Time Well Wasted.

Zac Brown Band is nominated for four awards including Entertainer of the Year, their first nomination in the category. If Zac Brown Band wins Entertainer of the Year they will be the third vocal group in Academy history ever to win the award. Zac Brown Band is also nominated for Album of the Year for The Foundation, Single Record of the Year for “Toes,” and Top Vocal Group. They are the reigning Top New Vocal Group.

Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band also received two additional individual nominations as the producer for both Album of the Year for The Foundation and Single Record of the Year for “Toes.”  

Also, in its ninth year, the Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award will be given to Montgomery Gentry for their ongoing community service and charitable giving of their time and talent.   The award recognizes country music artists who serve others, have a generous spirit and help build the dreams of those in need.

Following is the list of final nominees. Winners in each of the following categories, except where noted, will be presented with an ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD during the live television broadcast:

Entertainer of the Year

• Kenny Chesney
• Toby Keith
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait
• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Keith Urban
• Zac Brown Band

Top Male Vocalist of the Year

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley
• Darius Rucker
• George Strait
• Keith Urban 

Top Female Vocalist of the Year

• Miranda Lambert
• Reba McEntire
• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Lee Ann Womack

Top Vocal Group of the Year

• Lady Antebellum
• Little Big Town
• Randy Rogers Band
• Rascal Flatts
• Zac Brown Band

Top Vocal Duo of the Year

• Brooks & Dunn
• Joey + Rory
• Montgomery Gentry
• Steel Magnolia
• Sugarland

TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST of the Year *

• Luke Bryan
• Jamey Johnson
• Chris Young

TOP NEW VOCAL DUO of the Year *

• Bomshel
• Joey + Rory
• Steel Magnolia

TOP NEW VOCAL GROUP of the Year *

• Eli Young Band
• Gloriana
• The Lost Trailers

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]

• American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley (Arista Nashville) 

Produced by: Chris DuBois, Frank Rogers

• Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)

Produced by:  Victoria Shaw, Paul Worley

• Play On - Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville)

Produced by: Mark Bright

“Quitter” Produced by Max Martin & Shellback for Maratone Productions and Mark Bright

• Revolution - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)

Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke

• The Foundation - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)

Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown

Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]     

• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)

Produced by: Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley

• People Are Crazy - Billy Currington (Mercury)

Produced by: Carson Chamberlain, Billy Currington

• Red Light - David Nail (MCA Nashville)

Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke

• Toes - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)

Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown

• White Liar - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)

Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke

Song of the Year [Awarded to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

• Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

Composers:  Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood 

Publishers:   Brett James Cornelius Music (ASCAP), Carrie Okie Music (BMI), Rincon Ave Music

(ASCAP), Stage Three Songs (ASCAP)

• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

Composers:  Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott

Publishers: EMI Foray Music (BMI), Darth Buddha (ASCAP), Dwhaywood Music (BMI), Hillary Dawn Publishing (SESAC), Radiobullets Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Year Of The Dog Music (ASCAP)

• People Are Crazy - Billy Currington

Composers:  Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones

Publishers:  Crozier Music Enterprises LLC (BMI), Mighty Nice Music (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)

• White Liar - Miranda Lambert

Composers:  Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert

Publishers:  Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)

• You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

Composers:  Liz Rose, Taylor Swift

Publishers:  Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Taylor Swift Music (BMI)

Video of the Year [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] (Off Camera Award)

• Boots On – Randy Houser

Producer: Eric Welch

Director: Eric Welch (Drake footage: Vickie Vaughn)         

• Need You Now – Lady Antebellum

Producer: Clarke Gallican

Director: David McClister

• Welcome To The Future – Brad Paisley

Producers: Mark Kalbfeld, Jim Shea, Peter Tilden

Director: Jim Shea

• White Liar – Miranda Lambert

Producer:  Tameron Hedge

Director: Chris Hicky

• You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

Producer: Randy Brewer

Director: Roman White

Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (Off Camera Award)

• Hillbilly Bone – Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins (Reprise Records / Warner Music Nashville)

Producer: Scott Hendricks

• Honky Tonk Stomp – Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons (Arista Nashville)

Producer: Ronnie Dunn, Terry McBride

• I Told You So – Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis (19/Arista Nashville)

Producer:  Mark Bright

• I’m Alive – Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews (Blue Chair/BNA)

Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney

• Seeing Stars – Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin (Big Machine Records)

Produced by: Jack Ingram, Jeremy Stover 

* Fan voting for Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo began at VoteACM.com on Friday, February 26 and will close on Friday, March 12.  The winner in each of the three categories will be announced March 23, and will move on to compete for Top New Artist.  Fan voting for Top New Artist and Entertainer of the Year begins on Thursday, April 1 at VoteACM.com. Fan voting for Top New Artist will close at 5pm PT on April 18^th (before the LIVE show starts) and fan voting for Entertainer of the Year will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count. For example, Billy Currington received two nominations in the Single Record of the Year category—one each as artist and producer—because that category recognizes both.

In addition, the Song of the Year category recognizes the artist, composer and publishing company as a nominee but does not recognize an individual as owner or partial owner of the publishing company.  For example, Taylor Swift Music is a nominee in that category, separate from Taylor Swift the performer, who is nominated in that category twice as artist and composer.

Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.

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Danny Gokey photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

When Danny Gokey wove his way into the final three slots on last year’s “American Idol” competition, he made a connection with America through a big, soulful voice and through a personal story about overcoming tragedy.

The loss of his wife represented the lowest point in Danny’s life, but — as Wynonna Judd once sang — a dead-end street is just a place to turn around. One marker on his rebound comes Tuesday with the release of his debut album, My Best Days. It comes out Tuesday, showcasing his dynamic range and a series of songs that embrace resilience. It naturally includes the title track, “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me,” currently positioned at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song connected with Danny in ways that he learned only after he had recorded it.

“What makes ‘My Best Days’ so special is that the writer of the song, he ended up telling me that he wrote this song after his wife passed away,” Danny notes. “He said this is the first song that he wrote after she passed away that gave him hope again. And I feel like there’s such a connection between me and the song, and it has become more and more of an anthem than it ever has been before. I love the song. I’m gonna be singing this song for the rest of my life, and I hope this song somehow can just translate hope into other people’s lives and bring hope out of honestly hopeless situations, because I feel like that’s been my story.”

Danny could have gone in several stylistic directions once “Idol” ended, but he chose country for a couple of reasons. For one, he loved the soul represented by Wynonna, whose music was his first experience with country. Additionally, when Randy Travis made a guest appearance on “Idol,” he told Danny country would be open to his talents and to his heart. Click on the clip below to see Danny talking about Randy’s influence:

My Best Days was recorded with producer Mark Bright, who also directs sessions for another “Idol” graduate, Carrie Underwood. And Danny will perform “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me” in a return to “Idol” this Thursday.

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Carrie Underwood rehearses on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Sommet Center in Downtown Nashville for "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," which will broadcast live on the ABC Television Network on Wed., Nov. 11th, 8-11PM/ET. Photographer: John Russell / CMA

Carrie Underwood has said she intends to be a mom but that she’s in no hurry. Nevertheless, there are some cues from her guest shot on the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” that suggest when the time comes, she’ll be a really patient mom.

Carrie had to hold a baby pig during one scene, and she ended up with pig poo running down the front of her dress. A lot of folks would be disgusted; not Carrie.

“That was really fun,” she insists. “They had an extra dress, though, thank goodness. That was on the first take… and we only had one extra dress. So we [had] to be mindful of that and wrap the pig up very nicely. But it happens, I didn’t mind. It was so cute.”

If she’s that understanding with pig droppings, it’s a good bet she’ll be extraordinarily patient when it comes to potty training her own infant.

In the meantime, the rest of the cast was apparently patient with Carrie who’s a newbie when it comes to acting.

“They knew my limited acting experience, so I don’t think anybody was holding out these high expectations for me,” she says. “If anything I think they were pleasantly surprised, so they probably had pretty low expectations of me when I walked in. But everybody was so great. The vibe on that show is awesome, everybody’s nice. They’re really great, everybody was friends and laughing the whole time, and it was just a lot of fun.”

Carrie, the cast and the pig all appear on “How I Met Your Mother” Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

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With the Olympics in full swing, network prime-time TV has gotten pretty bland. You either get winter sports on NBC or you mostly see reruns on the other channels — all the more reason you should be watching GAC!

But all returns to normalcy next week once the Winter Games are over, and several country stars — Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley — will be right in the thick of it. Flatts and Carrie have acting roles on tap, while Brad will perform in a talk-show episode that has a little connection to history.

On tap next week:

• Rascal Flatts makes an appearance on the March 4 episode of the CBS drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” with Jay DeMarcus bloodied in the plot. “I don’t wanna give too much of the storyline away,” he says, “but from the commercial, you can tell there’s an attempt on my life and it happens during one of our live shows. And the story continues from there. We don’t know who’s done it, but it could be [Joe Don Rooney or Gary LeVox], it could be my manager. A lot of people have wanted to kill me over the years, so it’s pretty realistic!” Here’s the “CSI” mix of “Unstoppable”:

• Carrie Underwood has a role in Monday’s installment of the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” and it seems like the only way to figure out the whole confusing mess fits together is… well… to watch it. She plays a pharmaceutical sales rep but ends up holding a small pig while dressed in a flight attendant outfit. “I’ve always been hot!” her character boasts in a sneak peek on the People website.

• Brad Paisley appears on “The Tonight Show” on Monday. Lots of stars make the rounds on the talk shows, so that’s not particularly unusual — except that this is the first night that Jay Leno will be back in his old timeslot after NBC’s ill-fated decision to move him into prime time last year. So Brad’s doing one for the history books. Here’s another bit of trivia for TV buffs: Who was the last country artist to sing on “The Tonight Show” during the Conan O’Brien era? That would be… Rosanne Cash.

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Craig Morgan photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Craig Morgan is quite the daredevil. He served with the military during the invasion of Panama in 1989 and has gone back to the war zone in the Middle East this decade to play for American troops. As recently as 2006, he broke a wrist and suffered a concussion in a cross-country motorbike race, then broke his leg racing again six weeks later.

With that in mind, he’s probably jealous of the Olympic contestants in Vancouver who’ve been taking part in bobsledding, the slalom and the luge. Craig might not have been in Canada for that, but he was able to turn his hilly property in Dickson, Tennessee, into its own sort of downhill course. When the area got hit with its first big snow this year, Craig pulled out his gear and hit the slope.

“I did find out,” he laughs, “that I can do up to 40 miles an hour on a sled down my driveway! But the snow was really deep, and it was iced over, so… someone stood down there just to make sure no traffic was comin’, and we got to the top of the hill, and by the time you crossed the road and jumped the road into the field across the road, you’re doin’ about 40 miles an hour on a sled. It was awesome!”

The more familiar definition of hitting the road for Craig is touring. He’s got a nice opportunity this spring with the opening slot on Carrie Underwood’s Play On Tour, which kicks off March 11 at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa.

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Keith Urban, the Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley and Martina McBride are among the first round of acts who’ve been revealed for the annual CMA Music Festival June 10-13, a weekend that promises to bring plenty of tourism to Tennessee.

The Nashville-centered festival — which also promises Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker — occurs the same weekend as the ninth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival 65 miles away in Manchester. That event is a multi-genre draw, though country music plays a role, too. The Zac Brown Band is booked, as it was last year, for both festivals. Bonnaroo also lists Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band among this year’s attractions.

The CMA Festival is particularly beneficial to country artists. Some of the money raised by the event is donated to Nashville music education programs — last year’s festival generated more than $1 million for schools. In addition, highlights from the festival’s stadium concerts have for several years formed the backbone for an ABC special in the late summer or early fall.

Carrie became the first artist to publicly acknowledge her part in the 2010 CMA Festival when she called a 15-year-old Nashville-area fan, Riley Ahlstrand, earlier this month to announce her participation while the local ABC affiliate caught Riley’s surprise.

“I always look forward to the excitement of CMA Music Festival,” Carrie said. “It’s fans like Riley that make the week so much fun.”

The downtown CMA Fest has a completely different vibe than the Bonnaroo event, which has many fans camping outside and exploring a range of acts, from new alternative bands to established legends. A number of bluegrass and Americana artists are booked for the 2010 lineup, including the Avett Brothers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Hot Rize, the Dave Rawlings Machine and Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers.

Kings Of Leon and Stevie Wonder are among Bonnaroo’s headline attractions, and many of its mainstream attractions — including Dave Matthews, John Fogerty and Norah Jones — have enough ties to country music that they can be expected to toss an appropriate Tennessee-associated song or two into the mix during their sets.

That’s particularly true of John Fogerty, who last year released his second album of country covers, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again. John’s already toured behind that project, but he loves the idea of throwing songs by the likes of Buck Owens, the Compton Brothers and Ray Price into the mix in his future concerts.

“The fun thing is that all these songs now become sort of part of my catalog,” John says. “At any time I’m liable to pull out ‘Haunted House’ or ‘I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)’ right in the middle of a concert that up to that point might’ve been straight-ahead rock. Who knows? Because I really love these songs.”

More acts will be announced for both festivals in the coming months.

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Danny Gokey photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

The fastest way to a Nashville recording contract, it appears, is to do well on “American Idol,” and nowhere is that more apparent than this weekend’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, hosted this week by Suzanne Alexander. Three former “Idol” contestants — Carrie Underwood, Danny Gokey and Kellie Pickler — own the top four slots on the list.

Carrie’s former No. 1 video, “Cowboy Casanova,” regains the top spot from the Zac Brown Band, while her emotional “Temporary Home” clip makes its debut on the chart at No. 2. Kellie Pickler reamins at No. 4 with her Caribbean-shot “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You.” And Danny makes his first chart appearance at No. 3 with “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me.”

Also ahead for Danny is the release of his debut album. My Best Days is due March 2.

Top 20 Country Countdown counts down the week’s top country videos from No. 20 to No. 1 as voted by viewers on each week on GACtv.com. A new countdown premieres every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on GAC and airs again Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET; Sundays at 1 p.m. ET; and Mondays at 10 a.m. ET. Viewers can vote for their favorite videos, as well as purchase Top 20 artists’ albums and ringtones at GACTV.com.

THIS WEEK’S CHART:

1. Carrie Underwood “Cowboy Casanova”
2. Carrie Underwood “Temporary Home”
3. Danny Gokey “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me”
4. Kellie Pickler “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You”
5. Keith Urban “‘Til Summer Comes Around”
6. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”
7. Miranda Lambert “White Liar”
8. Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins “Hillbilly Bone”
9. Zac Brown Band “Highway 20 Ride”
10. Gary Allan “Today”
11. Jason Aldean “The Truth”
12. Reba McEntire “Consider Me Gone”
13. Toby Keith “Cryin’ For Me”
14. Bucky Covington “Gotta Be Somebody”
15. Keith Urban “Only You Can Love Me This Way”
16. Josh Turner “Why Don’t We Just Dance”
17. Chris Young “The Man I Want To Be”
18. Radney Foster “Angel Flight”
19. Billy Currington “That’s How Country Boys Roll”
20. Trace Adkins “All I Ask For Anymore”

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Carrie Underwood and her Sesame Street character, "Carrie Underworm." Photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville & Sesame Street.

I’m happy and I’m proud to be a worm
I can wiggle I can squiggle I can squirm
And I holler every day, “I’m a worm, hip hip horray!”
Yes I’m happy and I’m proud to be a worm

Are these the lyrics to Carrie Underwood’s latest single? Not exactly — but they are the lyrics to Carrie Underworm’s new tune. Five-time Grammy Award winner Carrie will soon appear on America’s longest running children’s television show, Sesame Street, as a specially-created character known as “Carrie Underworm.”  Carrie recorded the song, “The Worm Anthem,” specifically for the show. Rolandnote.com reports the episode originally aired on Dec. 28, with  NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon introducing Ms. Underworm’s performance.

The episode in which “Carrie Underworm” performs is currently slated to re-air February 11, March 17, April 8, and April 26 on PBS. But today, DailyMotion.com posted a sneak peek. Click below to see it!

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