Carrie Underwood Details the Impact Military Families Have On Her Songwriting
Underwood said she has picked up a lot from the families she's met over the past year during her collaboration with Carnival and Operation Homefront.
Carrie Underwood recently wrapped a year-long partnership with Carnival Cruise Line and Operation Homefront where she frequently met with military families and gifted them with tickets to her Storyteller Tour. Before her concert on Tuesday (April 4) aboard the Carnival Imagination docked in Catalina Island, the singer discussed the importance of raising money and awareness for military families.
“It’s been a wonderful partnership. We’ve managed to do a lot,” she told press before her 90-minute set that night. “Country music is all about real life, that’s why I love it so much. I get to tell my story but I also get to tell the stories of people that I meet along the way. Getting to meet those military families at shows and hear their stories… I’ve sung songs that have a military theme to them. You bring those stories from other people. You see their faces when you’re writing the songs.”
Underwood said she has picked up a lot from the families she’s met over the past year during her collaboration with Carnival and Operation Homefront, an organization dedicated to building strong, stable and secure military families. She added that the experience of meeting military kids and parents will likely work its way into her music.
“[I’ve been] writing a lot more. I’ve started the process already,” she shared. “There will be a lot more writing and figuring out musically where I want to go with the next album.”
In January of 2016, Underwood announced her year-long partnership with Carnival which included a private, invitation-only show aboard the Carnival Vista to select military families in New York. Meanwhile, Carnival also launched its Honor.Family.Fun initiative which supports Operation Homefront and recognizes all active and retired military and their families aboard its ships with a military appreciation program.
While Underwood has yet to take a cruise of her own, she’s been aboard quite a few ships for performances. Though she doesn’t have a destination in the works just yet, she is looking forward to more family time and hopes a cruise is in their future.
“It’s time! As far as getting some down time, that all depends on my husband and his playoff schedule. Hopefully he won’t be done for a long time,” she said with a laugh. “Definitely looking forward to a little family time this summer. That’s so important! Both of us are like so many families, going in opposite directions a lot of time. That family time you won’t get back. He’s only going to be two for a year. We want to make sure we can enjoy that and carve out some time for ourselves.”
Underwood’s performance aboard the Carnival Imagination was part of the Carnival Live concert series and follows previous sets from country artists Sam Hunt, Tim McGraw and Little Big Town.
