Carrie Marie Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood on March 10th, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was raised on her parents' farm in the rural town of Checotah, Oklahoma. Underwood is the youngest of three sisters. Shanna is 13 years older and Stephanie is 10 years older. During her childhood, Underwood had performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show while also singing at the Free Will Baptist Church and later on for local events in Checotah, including Old Settler's Day and the Lion's Club. In 1996, she was in the process of getting a contract with Capitol Records, but the deal was canceled when the recording company's management changed. Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian. After high school, she attended Northeastern State University in Tahlquah, graduating magna cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication and an emphasis in journalism. Underwood auditioned for Idol in the summer of 2004 in St.Louis. After making it through the beginning rounds, she began to dominate the voting each week, never landing in the bottom 3. She went on to win the show and become the season 4 American Idol. She signed to 19 Recordings/Arista Records and released the single "Inside Your Heaven," which debuted as the best selling song in the nation with sales of 170,000. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released on November 15, 2005. Some Hearts has been certified 7 times platinum. The singles from Some Hearts were; "Jesus, Take The Wheel" "Some Hearts" "Don't Forget To Remember Me" "Before He Cheats" "Wasted". Underwood's second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. Carnival Ride has been certified 3 times platinum. The singles were as follow; "So Small" "All American Girl" "Last Name" "Just A Dream" "I Told You So". All 10 singles have hit number one, making Carrie the first artist to have their first ten consecutive singles make it to number one. Underwood's 3rd album is set to be released on November 3rd, 2009. Carrie has won several awards, just to name a few she has won; Female Vocalist at the CMA's 3 times, Female Vocalist at the ACM's 3 times, Entertainer of the Year at the ACM's, and 4 Grammys. Carrie became a vegetarian at the age of 13 when she decided she couldn't sit there and eat what could possibly be one of her animals from her farm. She was voted Sexiest Vegetarian of the Year by PETA in 2005 and 2007, and is a proud supporter of the Humane Society of the United States. On March 15, 2008, Carrie was invited by Randy Travis to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. The induction date was May 10, 2008. She is the youngest member of the Opry family.