‘Catch of the Day’ – Carrie Underwood [AUDIO]

Today's spotlight falls on the undisputed Queen of Modern Country music, a native Oklahoman who has made us all proud to be Sooners.

When Carrie Underwood won season four of American Idol, she announced to the world something that her fellow Sooners already knew...she was something special. Born in Muskogee and raised in Checotah, Underwood began performing in local talent shows and charity events at an early age. American Idol was not her first shot at Nashville, as at age 14 she auditioned for Capitol Records. She was set to sign with the record company, but their contract offer was retracted when company management was changed.

She returned to Checotah High School, playing softball and basketball and becoming a cheerleader. After graduation, she attended Northeastern State University in Talequah, where her classmates included Zach Swan of the Swan Brothers. Underwood graduated magna cum laude from NSU in 2006, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis on Journalism. She also had thoughts of becoming a teacher.

In the meantime, in 2004, Underwood auditioned for a little program called American Idol. After making the top-24, she sang "Could've Been", a top-10 hit for teen idol Tiffany, which caused producer/host Simon Cowell to declare her "one of the favorites" to win the competition. After nailing the Heart classic "Alone", she became the odds-on front-runner in the competition, Cowell predicting that not only would she win the competition, but that she would also "outsell all previous Idol winners". It was later disclosed by one of the show's producers that Underwood been the top vote-getter every week of the competition, the vote tallies weren't ever close.

Underwood has not only has gone on to meet Cowell's expectations, she has shattered them. She has released four studio albums and 1 greatest hits compilation. All of her studio albums have been certified multi-platinum, while the greatest hits album, released in December, has been certified gold and is well on its way to platinum certification.

Carrie has released 21 singles as well as appearing on singles from Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert. Of the 23 singles, none have failed to climb lower than #2 on the Country charts, 15 of them ascending to the #1 spot.

With a new baby, 2015 is a year of "news" for Carrie. She just announced the pending release of her fifth studio album, Storyteller, which is scheduled to hit the stores on October 23rd. The first single from the upcoming album is in our spotlight today, Carrie Underwood and "Smoke Break" is the Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.