Country or Pop?

When Carrie Underwood did pre-press interviews saying that her latest album, Carnival Ride, was not going to be Pop, I took notice. Most of what I hear today on Country radio is Pop music with Country voices. When Underwood says her new album is going to be Country you wonder what she means. I hear straight Pop. But today's new generation Country singers have not grown up with Loretta Lynn or George Jones, they've grown up with Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. Both of those artists used Pop flourishes to liven up their twang. So, one can forgive Underwood for mistaking the two genres. On Carnival Ride, she sounds more assured than on her rather hesistant debut. The best song is "Last Night" about a one-nighter in Vegas that is the musical sequel to "Before He Cheats". Like Martina McBride, who's gotten swallowed by the Big Ballad Syndrome, Underwood is always going to oversing on some cuts. Big voice women always do.