Carrie Underwood talks her “All-Star Holiday Special,” airing Monday
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Christmas with Carrie
Holiday special will include stars, songs and comedy
Country music star Carrie Underwood is too young to remember heyday of variety TV shows in the 1960s and ‘70s, when stars ranging from Sonny and Cher and Sammy Davis Jr. to The Smothers Brothers and the Muppets not only performed but played host to an array of comedic skits and musical talents.
But Oklahoma native, 26, will try to revive the variety show format when “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special” airs from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday on Fox.
“I’ve seen the Mandrell sisters’ (show) before, but it wasn’t something that we all gathered around to watch,” Underwood said in a recent teleconference. “I kind of missed that era and … I think it’s really great family programming. It was a lot of fun to tape and I think we ended up with a great show. And I’m glad to see that that format may be catching on again.”
Her first holiday television special will have her singing many new songs from her chart-topping third album “Play On,” along with some familiar favorites. The show will feature several guest stars, including Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Christina Applegate and fellow Oklahoma entertainers David Cook and Kristin Chenoweth.
Underwood promised “just a big mish mash of awesome music.”
“I hate to give away too much information, but … one of my favorite moments, of course, is singing with Dolly. We kind of did one of her classics that many should recognize, but it was an amazing moment in the show and she was so great. I thought we sounded really good together,” she said.
Not only was performing with the country legend a dream come true, the 2005 “American Idol” winner got to have an “impromptu fun moment” with Parton. A preview photo shows Underwood sporting a big blond wig and Dolly-esque gold suit and skyscraper heels.
Despite the flamboyant costume, she said, “When Dolly’s there, you just step out of the spotlight; let her do her thing because no matter how hard you try, she’s going to steal the spotlight. It’s great. It’s the way it should be.”
The Checotah-bred star also teamed with musically inclined actresses Chenoweth, who hails from Broken Arrow, and Applegate for the special. With their experience and comedic timing, Underwood said she felt comfortable putting together a funny, tuneful skit with them.
“We ended up doing a medley of sorts of throwback songs, like the ‘50s, ‘60s vibe with matching pink dresses and beehives. It was just a lot of fun being around them and they’re great. They showed up and they were willing to do whatever we needed them to do. Three blondes, we had fun together,” she said.
Underwood also built on her comedic chemistry with Paisley, with whom she co-hosted last month’s Country Music Association Awards for the second straight year.
“I feel like the more we’re around each other, the more we get comfortable with each other and things just get better and better. He’s a great guy,” she said. “It was a lot of fun co-hosting the CMAs again. I felt like we did a good job. I was really proud of both of us for managing to, I don’t know, not cause any major problems.”
For the special, she and Paisley do a song together and he also performs a number on his own.
“He couldn’t actually be in L.A. for the taping, so we did something kind of cool to bring two locations together,” Underwood said.
Another of her duet partners for the special is fellow “Idol” winner Cook, who has Tulsa ties. They first sang together in February at the opening of the “American Idol Experience” at Disney World.
“It was like, hey, this is really good. This feels really good. So we kind of rocked out for a minute and got to sing together again and I think, again, it’s probably one of my favorites on the show, because I just love him to death,” she said.
The special brings Underwood back to Fox, the network home of “Idol,” which she continues to watch and vote for her favorite performers, including 2009 winner Kris Allen.
While watching “Idol” has become a sort of tradition for the singer, she doesn’t have many Christmas rituals to keep. But she plans to spend the holiday with her family, noshing her mom’s broccoli-cheese casserole and listening to old Christmas choir albums.
“We don’t really have that many traditions, but we are together and that’s the most important thing. We eat ourselves silly and try, of course, (to) remember the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus,” she said.
-BAM
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carrieunderwood you are the most wonderful person that any body could see.your music is the best in the world.