Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

There's no doubt in my mind that Carrie Underwood may end up as big as Shania - the difference is, she'll do it without going pop. I think as she gets a firmer grasp on just who she is as an artist (yes, I said artist, 'cause that's what she's becoming as opposed to "just" being a singer), her music, while easily mass-appeal, will become more country, not less. The fact that she a) has golden pipes and b) is ridiculously beautiful certainly helps. But she's a star - and is going to just get bigger and bigger - because she's got talent.

Check out her performance of "Before He Cheats" from this week's Saturday Night Live; she joins a fairly lofty list of country artists who got the call to perform on the Saturday night institution:
Anne Murray (twice)
John Prine
Willie Nelson (three times, including one stint as host/musical guest)
The Dirt Band (Emmylou Harris's band)
Charlie Daniels Band
Rosanne Cash
Randy Travis
Dolly Parton (as host/musical guest)
Garth Brooks (three times, twice as host/musical guest - one of those times he performed as Chris Gaines)
Dwight Yoakam
Faith Hill
Dixie Chicks
Keith Urban

That's it, in the show's 30-plus-year history. (Worth noting is that Johnny Cash hosted the show in the early '80s, but was not the musical guest that night.) Which means that Carrie's now part of a fairly exclusive fraternity, and good for her. I can't wait to hear what her sophomore album sounds like.