She’s cardboard.  Two-dimensional.

Carrie Underwood’s not a star, she’s commerce.

Oh, don’t get your panties in a knot.  But all you people e-mailing me that Carrie Underwood won "Idol" and is now a star…you’re focusing on facts, not emotions.  And emotions are the key to stardom.

In the controlled world of Nashville/country music, Carrie Underwood is a star.  I like her records.  But they have nothing to do with her, all she does is sing them.

Now that everybody’s got a computer, even country music has fallen precipitously in recorded music sales.  And, as terrestrial radio fades, will the small coterie of pooh-bah handlers truly be able to control the country market?  Does the public really want all this me-too drivel?  Which used to be about drinkin’ and druggin’, wastin’ and womanizin’, and is now about driving the kids to school in your SUV and lamenting that some theoretical person died overseas?

Yes, I support the troops.  To the point where I believe they should come back home so they don’t get killed.  But let’s not get off point here.  Too much of what passes for country music today is fodder made for a market.  Carrie Underwood is just the best exponent of this.  She’s no Dolly Parton, writing her own material, never mind singing it.  No Loretta Lynn. She’s a product.

And a product is never a star.  Because a product doesn’t have emotions!

Who is Carrie Underwood?  What does she stand for?

If she’s got opinions, which I doubt, other than what dress to wear, she’s not uttering them, for fear someone somewhere will be offended.

It’s rough edges that endear fans to you.  And nowhere were rough edges evident like they were in country music, the real country music, the old country music.

Come on, has anything Carrie Underwood ever done in her real life comported with the lyrics of "Last Name"?  Are the tabloids full of her falling down drunk and acting ridiculously on impulse?

No.  

I don’t approve of Kid Rock’s Waffle House adventures, but he does seem to be the person on his records.  And that’s why he’s one of the biggest acts today.  Not only in rock, but country.

We like ’em authentic.  You  may not start out that way, but once you own your identity and speak your mind, like Hank Williams, Jr., we’re on your team.

Carrie Underwood a star?

If you e-mailed me this you’ve lost the plot, you’ve been in this business too long, you’ve got no reference points, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Yes, for the time being certain Nashville forces are making money selling Carrie Underwood records.  But underneath the sticky sweet exterior, there’s nothing…except maybe a good voice.  And that just ain’t enough.  Not enough to make us love you through and through.