Everything We Know About Carrie Underwood’s New Album, ‘Cry Pretty’
Carrie Underwood has been back in the studio working on a new album, much to the delight of her fans. The project will be the first that Underwood has released since her Storyteller album in 2015.
Underwood spent much of 2016 on tour, and then took most of 2017 off. After co-hosting the 2017 CMA Awards in November, however, she suffered a serious fall outside her Nashville-area home that required surgery on her wrist and dozens of stitches in her face, which she says provided her with some "forced relaxation."
Below, The Boot rounds up all of the details known so far about Underwood's next record.
The Title
On April 18, Underwood revealed that her new studio album will be called Cry Pretty. The album's title track is its first single.
The Release Date
Cry Pretty is due out on Sept. 14. Underwood revealed that news on April 18.
The Record Label
Underwood made a big move in March of 2017: She departed from Arista Records, where she had found a recording home since her American Idol win in 2005, and signed a deal with Universal Music Group's Capitol Records Nashville. Her Cry Pretty album will be her first release with UMG Nashville.
The Producer
Underwood is co-producing her next project with writer and producer David Garcia, whom she met in 2017.
"We hit it off in a big way," Underwood says. "I’ve always been lucky to have a voice in the writing and recording process, but this is the first time I am this involved in the production of my music. It’s been challenging and incredibly rewarding to be involved in every aspect from start to finish. David has been an amazing teacher and partner, and I’m so proud of what we have created."
The Album Cover
Underwood's Cry Pretty album cover features the singer "crying" glittery tears (talk about a cool makeup effect!).
The Single
Underwood released the first single from her upcoming album, "Cry Pretty," on April 11, and debuted the song at the 2018 ACM Awards on April 15 in Las Vegas. As her new record's title track, the singer says, "sets the tone for the rest of the album because it's emotional, and it is real, but there's also just some incredible musical moments in the song, and I feel like those things are themes that go throughout the rest of the album."
"The title refers to when emotions take over and you just can’t hold them back," Underwood explains in an open letter to her fans. "It really speaks to a lot of things that have happened in the past year, and I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life. It’s emotional. It’s real. And it ROCKS!"
Underwood debuted her "Cry Pretty" music video on May 6. She then released "Love Wins" as a single on Sept. 11.
The Songs
"At this point in my career, I feel stronger and more creative than ever. I think you can hear that in this new album," Underwood says in a press release. "It’s emotional, it’s soulful, it’s real, and we also have some fun on there too. I hope everyone loves it as much as I have loved making it.”
Underwood shares that the songs on Cry Pretty is "emotional, and kind of soulful and real and raw."
"There's so much love and care and heart that has gone into writing these songs, putting music to these songs," she adds, "and everything has been done in such a careful and loving way."
Underwood says Cry Pretty, while emotional, won't include her usual level of story-song drama (read: no character deaths, a la "Two Black Cadillacs," "Church Bells," etc.). "It's a little more real life," she adds, "and, I feel like, just me and where I am in my life."
"Having a kid, and just kind of going through this crazy life that we go through -- I've grown up a lot," Underwoods notes, "and I feel like 'the drama' is more real-life."
Underwood also says that her personal life, and in particular her husband and her son, Isaiah, have influenced her songwriting: "It's impossible for them not to," she admits. "When you go into writing, you're drawing off of personal experiences and you're talking about people that you know, or friends that are dealing with things. Your life influences your music for sure."
Underwood shared Cry Pretty's track listing via a social media video on Aug. 20. The album leads off with its title track and first single, which Underwood released in April. Other song titles include "Ghosts on the Stereo," "That Song That We Used to Make Love To" and "Love Wins."
Although Underwood has previously said that Cry Pretty will not include any collaborations, her song with Ludacris, "The Champion," is on the album as a bonus track. The song, co-written by Underwood, Ludacris, Brett James and Chris DeStefano, was used by NBC as part of their Super Bowl LII and Winter Olympics coverage earlier this year.
Carrie Underwood, Cry Pretty Track Listing:
1. "Cry Pretty" (Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose)
2." Ghosts on the Stereo" (Hillary Lindsey, Tom Douglas, Andrew Dorff)
3. "Low" (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
4. "Backsliding" (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
5. "Southbound" (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Josh Miller)
6. "That Song That We Used to Make Love To" (Hillary Lindsey, Jason Evigan)
7. "Drinking Alone" (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Brett James)
8. "The Bullet" (Marc Beeson, Andy Albert, Allen Shamblin)
9. "Spinning Bottles" (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
10. "Love Wins" (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Brett James)
11. "End Up With You" (Hillary Lindsey, Brett McLaughlin, Will Weatherly)
12. "Kingdom" (Carrie Underwood, Chris DeStefano, Dave Barnes)
13. "The Champion" (Carrie Underwood, Brett James, Chris DeStefano, Ludacris) (bonus track)
Track Nos. 1-12 produced by David Garcia and Carrie Underwood; Track No. 13 produced by Jim Jonsin
The Tour
On Aug. 8, Underwood announced her 2019 Cry Pretty Tour 360. The trek will begin on May 1, in Greensboro, N.C., and a plethora of dates are scheduled through Oct. 31, when the trek is scheduled to conclude in Detroit, Mich. Maddie & Tae and Runaway June will be on the road with Underwood in 2019.
Underwood is waiting until May of 2019 to begin her Cry Pretty Tour 360 because ... she's expecting!
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