Carrie Underwood Would Rather ‘Kill a Dude’ in a Song Than Gush About Him
Scroll through Carrie Underwood's song catalog and you'd be hard pressed to find any over-the-top love songs. Not only is the country singer relatively opposed to baring her feelings on a track, she almost revels in a theme of revenge.
"I don't sing love songs. I would rather kill a dude than talk about how much I love them," she tells Amazon's Country Heat podcast.
In her opinion, strong leads don't compromise for others. Instead, they know their worth and what they bring to the table. If you break things off, that's on you.
"I just love the strong character that doesn’t take anything from anybody," she explains. "And even if it’s kind of in a different way, like you think about 'Ghost Story,' you know she’s not doing anything to get revenge on this guy. It’s just like, ‘I’m just telling you that you’re gonna want me back and I’m not gonna be there.'”
It's not anything new for the American Idol alum. Her strong characters are dotted throughout her country music tenure. In fact, she went back to some of her favorite writers and producers on her latest album Denim & Rhinestones to tap into a similar theme, specifically on "Ghost Story."
“I’ve been writing a lot over the past year, and some people that I work with — David Garcia, whose co-producer is Hillary Lindsey, I’ve been working with her since day one, and Josh Kear, who of course wrote 'Before He Cheats,' he wrote 'Two Black Cadillacs,' he wrote 'Blown Away,'” she reveals. "So, the three of them got together and they were specifically wanting to write a song for me, because I’d been writing with all of them anyway. So, they got together and did that."
Ultimately, it's all a big performance for Underwood. In 2012 — a short two years after marrying Mike Fisher — the Oklahoma native admitted she drew a hard line between her music and her real life. Each revenge song was a chance for her to play a role, while keeping her own love life to herself.
"I've heard a lot of, 'Oh, gosh, she's married now. I would expect her to write a lot of love songs,'" she told CMT at the time. "Being onstage is acting. You get to be larger than life and larger than yourself. The whole thing to me is just a big chance to just have fun — being able to sing a song like 'Good Girl.' Obviously, that's not what I'm feeling in my life right now. I'm extremely happy, but I don't do love songs for the most part. It just doesn't happen. It feels weird. That's just a personal thing to me. I'd rather live that in my real life."
That's not to say that her songs are not upbeat and positive. In fact, her Denim & Rhinestones album is what Underwood calls a "sing into your hairbrush" album. And there is love to be found in the track list, even if it's not an over-the-top, play-this-at-my-wedding song. "Burn" — although a breakup song — does speak to a beautiful love that once was. "Pink Champagne" is about being intoxicated solely on that special someone.
As for Underwood's real life love story, she and Fisher will celebrate 12 years of marriage on July 10. The two share two sons: Isaiah, 7, and Jacob, 3.
Up next, the singer is gearing up for her Denim & Rhinestones Tour. The trek begins on Oct. 15 and will continue into 2023 before wrapping on March 17. Jimmie Allen will accompany her as direct support.