By Alan Light
Special to MSN Music

How do you follow the biggest album of the last few years? According to Carrie Underwood, it's all about paying your dues and taking your time.

"I sang more in the last two years than I had ever sung in my life," says Underwood. "So I had a lot of practice, and I started to really trust myself in the studio. Then when we were recording, everybody really got the chance to get comfortable with each other, and we tried not to worry too much about what people would think."

Listen to "Carnival Ride" | See photos of Carrie Underwood

Her 2005 debut "Some Hearts" -- recorded fresh off of her coronation as that year's winner of "American Idol" -- has sold more than 6 million copies, juiced by the hits "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Don't Forget to Remember Me," "Wasted," and "Before He Cheats" (which has had one of the longest runs of all time on the Billboard singles chart). She won trophies at the Grammys (including Best New Artist), and CMA, ACM, People's Choice and American Music awards. Incredibly, 100 weeks after its release, "Some Hearts" is still in the country Top10, and it's the best-selling country album of 2007 -- two years after it hit stores.

The only thing that might finally stop this astonishing run is the release on Oct. 23 of Underwood's follow-up, "Carnival Ride." Everything about the new album is BIG: big songs, big voice, big production. It's the sound of a major star (with major resources) swinging for the fences.

Emotionally, the 13 songs range from "Just a Dream," the story of a woman whose wedding day turns into a military funeral for her fiancé, to the stomping "Last Name," in which our girl wakes up in Las Vegas with a tequila hangover -- and a mysterious ring on her finger. The album also includes a cover of "I Told You So," a 1988 country No. 1 for Randy Travis; it's taken from his "Always and Forever," which Underwood lists on her official bio as one of her three favorite albums (the others are Martina McBride's "Greatest Hits" and the Foo Fighters' "In Your Honor").

Speaking from her home in a suburb north of Nashville, Tenn., Underwood sounds unfazed by the massive expectations surrounding "Carnival Ride." As the Oklahoma-born 24-year-old talks about the making of the album, her dog, Ace, barks in the background (the pooch is honored in the album's breezy "The More Boys I Meet" -- punch line: "the more I love my dog"). Coming off her whirlwind route from "Idol" to debut album to nonstop promoting and touring, she actually sounds relieved that she was able to catch her breath, stay in one place, and focus on one project for a while.

"At this point, I already did everything I ever hoped to do," says Underwood. "So everything that happens now really is just the icing."

MSN Music: For most artists, the second album is where they really start to feel pressure. But you had such a unique pressure on your first album, too, coming off of "Idol." How does launching this album compare to the experience last time?

Carrie Underwood: Well, I do definitely think I was kinda used to the pressure already. But the first one did so well, on this one we were really trying to just do what we do, and not put too much pressure on ourselves to do better than that. I mean, 6 million is such a huge number, I don't care who you are. Shooting for a certain (sales) number is pointless, anyway. I know that I'm happier with this record than with the first, so it's already an improvement as far as I'm concerned, whether it sells 6 million or not. With sales, there are so many factors -- when you come out, who else is out there -- so I just wanted to do my best and hope for the best. It's a tough market and it gets tougher every year, for everybody.

How do you think it's an improvement over "Some Hearts"?

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