It’s interesting that in July 2006 Carrie talked to Teen People about her college boyfriend Chad and said things didn’t work out because her career was too much

http://www.gactv.com/gac/nw_headlines/article/0,,gac_26063_4876301,00.html

Also interesting that in that same article she talks about how she’s glad she doesn’t have to change yet of all the former Idols I’d say Carrie’s was the most drastic transformation post Idol and while she might not be a tummy shower she certainly has no issue with showing off her legs at every opportunity. 

Wonderstruck: It’s interesting that in July 2006 Carrie talked to Teen People about her college boyfriend Chad and said things didn’t work out because her career was too much.

Chad wasn’t her college boyfriend and is not the person she was referring to in this interview. Carrie and Chad dated after she won Idol, and Carrie’s said good things about him since then while acknowledging her career being the reason they didn’t work out. But, in the VH1 clip she is referring to the guy she was dating when she competed on Idol. I think his name was Drake but, I’m not too sure. They broke up sometime during s4. Constantine announced the breakup on a FOX affiliate and said Drake was less than supportive of Carrie’s Idol run. I have no idea if that’s true. 

Wonderstruck: Also interesting that in that same article she talks about how she’s glad she doesn’t have to change

What Carrie said is “I felt like I fit in the country world, where I didn’t have to change.” Her point was she didn’t have to change who she is as a person or singer to fit into the country world and I think that is as true now as it was then. Carrie’s still a pretty private person and an old-fashioned gal in a lot of ways. She’s been able to maintain that in the country world much more easily than she would’ve in the pop world. She’s also been able to be open about her faith and have that accepted more easily in the country world than she would’ve in the pop world. 

Carrie’s also commented in many interviews including the one she did on Oprah’s Next Chapter that it’s impossible to have your life change the way hers did and not change. She’s also talked about a person’s 20s being a time of growth and change anyway. So, I don’t think she’d claim she’s the exact same person as she was pre-Idol, and in a lot of ways, she wouldn’t want to be. But, I think she feels the core of who she is has remained pretty intact. 

That clip of Carrie talking about her dad on her wedding day was really sweet. From everything she’s said he is not a very verbal or demonstrative guy so that special time they had together meant a lot to her. 

I enjoyed the Behind The Music special last night. There are some things I’d have emphasized more than they did. I still don’t feel like there’s been a feature in print or on TV that’s really successfully handled the idea that on one hand, Carrie’s an old fashioned, devout girl but on the other, she likes to take on high drama characters and storylines in some of her songs. But, they did cover her pre-Idol development deal, they did cover the fact that she had to fight to do country music after Idol, and as an introduction to people who don’t know much about her I thought the special did a good job.

Wonderstruck: I’m not sure a multi-paragraph rebuttal was necessary

I’m a stickler for accuracy, what can I say?

Wonderstruck: I just thought it was interesting to look back on that particular statement and see the irony of her pin-pointing not showing skin when she’s become famous for showing so much skin by way of her super short skirts/shorts.

All Carrie said is she wouldn’t show her tummy, and in fact she has yet to do a photo shoot with her tummy exposed. She was actually the 1st person to be on the cover of Shape mag and not wear a bikini. So, no irony there :)

fuzzywuzzy: windmills: Was there ever any truth to the rumor that Carrie was dating Anthony Federov while AI was going on and for some time afterwards?

I really don’t think so but, I guess I wasn’t there. They were besties during the season and during the tour (Carrie was also tight with Bo, Anwar, and Lindsay Cardinale) but that was about it. Both have denied anything ever happened (Carrie referred to Anthony as her little brother, and Bo was her big brother) but, there was a major shipper group that refused to believe them. 

Richard Rushfield has said Carrie and Anthony were a thing and then Carrie completely ditched him and cut him out of her life as soon as that season’s  tour ended. Unfortunately for Richard Rushfield, there’s pictorial evidence of the 2  maintaining their friendship well beyond the AI tour. Carrie brought Anthony along to the 2006 CMAs (a year and a half after their Idol season was over) as a platonic date to help take his mind off the passing of his brother. Anthony didn’t walk the red carpet but he’s in the videos when she wins the Horizon Award and Female Vocalist Of The Year. When Anthony was in The Fantasticks off Broadway, Carrie went to see it (pic: http://www.broadway.com/photos/american-idol-friends-carrie-underwood-anthony-fedorov-reunited-off-broadway/59064/photo-op-carrie-underwood-at-the-fantasticks-anthony-fedorov-carrie-underwood/ ). That was in May 2007, and one or the other (or maybe both) were seeing other people at the time. It seems like they probably drifted out of touch eventually but, I really don’t know. They did stay close friends for a while after Idol.