Post by Forever Xena on Dec 28, 2005 6:17:59 GMT -6
'Idol' Winner Adds Oklahoman of the Year Crown
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
08:50 AM PT
The coveted Oklahoman of the Year crown has gone to Carrie Underwood, who also became FOX's fourth "American Idol" winner earlier this year.
The title was bestowed on Underwood by Oklahoma Today magazine, an award-winning regional mag. Last year's winner was Fern Holland, a human rights activist honored posthumously for her work in Iraq.
There's a fine tradition of country music stars winning the Okie of the Year prize, which has also gone to Garth Brooks and Toby Keith.
"When we're assessing candidates, we look for someone who has accomplished something phenomenal in the past year," Louisa McCune, the magazine's editor in chief, said, according to media reports. "The next thing we ask ourselves is, does this person encompass all that makes this state great?"
Back in May, Underwood topped Rocker Bo Bice to become the latest "American Idol." After a successful chart run for her first single "Inside Your Heaven," Underwood released her first full country album last month. That disk, some hearts, quickly moved to the top of the Billboard country charts, making her the highest-debuting country artist since Billboard began using Soundscan to rank album sales.
"Some Hearts" spent last week at No. 2 on the albums chart, selling a whopping 271,000 copies.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
08:50 AM PT
The coveted Oklahoman of the Year crown has gone to Carrie Underwood, who also became FOX's fourth "American Idol" winner earlier this year.
The title was bestowed on Underwood by Oklahoma Today magazine, an award-winning regional mag. Last year's winner was Fern Holland, a human rights activist honored posthumously for her work in Iraq.
There's a fine tradition of country music stars winning the Okie of the Year prize, which has also gone to Garth Brooks and Toby Keith.
"When we're assessing candidates, we look for someone who has accomplished something phenomenal in the past year," Louisa McCune, the magazine's editor in chief, said, according to media reports. "The next thing we ask ourselves is, does this person encompass all that makes this state great?"
Back in May, Underwood topped Rocker Bo Bice to become the latest "American Idol." After a successful chart run for her first single "Inside Your Heaven," Underwood released her first full country album last month. That disk, some hearts, quickly moved to the top of the Billboard country charts, making her the highest-debuting country artist since Billboard began using Soundscan to rank album sales.
"Some Hearts" spent last week at No. 2 on the albums chart, selling a whopping 271,000 copies.