Carrie Underwood Reveals Why She Finds Dropped Keys ‘Deflating’
Carrie Underwood sings live, performing at the Stagecoach Music Festival and along her Denim & Rhinestones tour. As a result, she’s quick to notice when another artist lowers the key for concerts, calling this cheat “so deflating.”
Carrie Underwood Embarked on her ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ tour
In 2022, Underwood released the studio album Denim & Rhinestones, featuring songs co-written and co-produced by the “If I Didn’t Love You” vocalist. The collection included 12 tracks — “Ghost Story” and “Hate My Heart” among them.
The same year, Underwood embarked on her Denim & Rhinestones Tour, with performances continuing throughout 2023. There, the artist sings live, highlighting tracks off her album of the same title.
This wouldn’t be the first tour of the award-winning country artist, as she performed live at country music festivals, award ceremonies, and stadiums across the United States. The songwriter has eight Grammy wins under her belt.
Carrie Underwood on singers who don’t sound the same live: ‘that stuff is important to me’
Not every artist sings in the same key as their recording while performing live — and Underwood notices. Sometimes, artists lower the key signature to make it easier to sing. As a vocalist herself, the “Before He Cheats” artist found this “deflating.”
“I love to sing, and I’ve always taken pride in the work I’ve put in on my vocals,” Underwood said during a Rolling Stone interview. “I do want to sound good. Growing up and going to concerts or seeing my favorite artists on TV, if they didn’t sound like they were supposed to sound, it was always so deflating.”
“I’d lose respect for them,” she added. “Or when I’d go to a concert and hear them drop keys, I was like, ‘You can’t hit the notes! Why’d you record them if you can’t sing them?’ That stuff is important to me.”
Underwood didn’t mention a specific artist who lowers their keys, but she often shares support for specific singers and rock groups.
Does Carrie Underwood have country singer friends?
Recently, Underwood partnered with Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses for her Stagecoach Festival 2022 performance. Together, they performed “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City” by the rock band. (In fact, Underwood often covered Guns N’ Roses songs, including “Welcome to the Jungle.”)
That same year, Underwood joined The Heartshakers onstage for a “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” cover at Fox & Locke in Nashville. Throughout her career, this artist recorded with chart-topping country stars, including “The Fighter” on Keith Urban’s Ripcord. In 2021, James Aldean featured her on “If I Didn’t Love You.”
Underwood even partnered with feature films, releasing music in conjunction with Disney’s Enchanted and the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. Now, music by Underwood is available on most major streaming platforms, including 2022’s Denim & Rhinestones.
