Carrie Underwood Accomplishments & Fame

For a woman in her early 20s, Carrie Underwood has achieved quite a bit. She was an honor student in high school who went on to succeed in college. She spent a summer working for her state representative and placed admirably in pageants and contests thanks to her natural musical gifts. It's a trajectory that many girls would envy, even if Carrie hadn't followed it to become the fourth winner of American Idol. But she did.

As an Idol winner, Carrie Underwood is familiar to millions of TV viewers and music fans alike. But in spite of her many talents, American Idol remains Carrie's sole claim to fame; what she needs to do is capitalize on her popularity and get truly established as a rising star in her own right. Or at least score as many No. 1 hits as Kelly Clarkson has.