According to a press release and the above tease from her official Facebook page, country superstar and Season 4 Idol champ Carrie Underwood is set to “share some exciting news as an exclusive first” for Today Show “viewers and her fans.” Carrie had already been confirmed to be appearing on the Today Show on Friday to discuss Saturday’s Global Citizen Festival, which she will be co-headlining with Jay-Z, No Doubt, fun., The Roots, and Tiesto, and which will air live on MSNBC, stream live on MSNBC.com, and be highlighted in a 1 hour special NBC News broadcast at 9 PM the same day.
Now what could that exciting news be? Carrie has already revealed the wonderful news that she and her husband, Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher, are expecting their 1st child in spring 2015. Now, it’s looking like the new news is music-related. BUZ’N 102.9’s @kennyjayradio kicked off the fun last week with a now-deleted tweet about new Carrie Underwood music hitting country radio on 9/29. Then came these tweets:
Some new Carrie Underwood music coming out in a couple weeks.
— Rob Banks WYRK (@RobBanks_WYRK) September 18, 2014
Expect a new Carrie Underwood single soon. She is welcome here anytime. She is the real deal. pic.twitter.com/X60Id7YA6a
— Scott Clements (@sclemmusic) September 22, 2014
Now, Carrie has started posting what appear to be some hints on social media:
"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts…It was a necessity for me – like food or water." Ray Charles
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) September 22, 2014
Today we say goodbye to summer, so enjoy a flashback to a nice summer sunset. I'm going to miss being on the water… pic.twitter.com/qqhapTH9ul
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) September 22, 2014
What do all these seem to have in common? Water and perhaps its fundamental, formative role in the experiences that make her who she is. In the Ray Charles quote, music and water are life-defining necessities. In the summer flashback, Carrie is nostalgic for her experiences “on the water.” And the map in Carrie’s Instagram is centered on Lake Eufaula, which is near Carrie’s hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma – she cited it as part of the life she misses in “I Ain’t In Checotah Anymore” from her debut album, Some Hearts. Let’s also note that Carrie’s Facebook tease features rain, which is…water.
What does any of that have to do with new music? Well, we have limited information about the cuts, holds, & cowrites for Carrie’s upcoming album, but here’s what we know:
Co writes
“Black & White” (Ross Copperman / Caitlyn Smith / Carrie Underwood)**
“Chaser” (Mike Elizondo / Hillary Lindsey / Carrie Underwood)*
“Future Daughter” (Ashley Gorley / Claude Kelly / Carrie Underwood) – not 100% confirmed this was co-written for the new album, but I think it may have been.
“Little Toy Guns” (Chris DeStefano / Hillary Lindsey / Carrie Underwood)
“Microphone” (Mike Elizondo / Hillary Lindsey / Carrie Underwood)
“Pawn Shop Diamond” (Steve McEwan / Maren Morris / Carrie Underwood)
“Renegade Runaway” (Chris DeStefano / Hillary Lindsey / Carrie Underwood)*
“Rhythm Of A Broken Heart” (Jack Antonoff / Ross Copperman / Carrie Underwood)**
“Something In The Water” (Chris DeStefano / Brett James / Carrie Underwood) (likely cut)
“The Girl You Think I Am” (David Hodges / Hillary Lindsey / Carrie Underwood) (likely cut)
“Thunder” (Ross Copperman / Caitlyn Smith / Carrie Underwood)**
“Wishing Well” (Ross Copperman / Will Hoge / Carrie Underwood)**
* Found by @Typo21
** Found by Mairy at Pulse Music Board
Outside cuts
“Clock Don’t Stop” (Chris DeStefano / Blair Daly / Hillary Lindsey) (likely cut)
Holds (NOT confirmed as cuts, but were at least considered at some point)
“Black Gold” (Chris DeStefano / Josh Kear)*
“Fighter” (Johan Fransson / Audra Mae / Tim Larsson / Tobias Lundgren)
“Homewrecker Red” (Josh Kear / Hillary Lindsey / Shane McAnally)**
“House Without Any Doors” (Ashley Gorley / Josh Kear / Hillary Lindsey)**
“Junk Yard” (Chris DeStefano / Josh Kear)*
“Lighthouse” (Felicia Barton / Meghan Kabir)
“Poison Apple” (Josh Kear/ Hillary Lindsey / Shane Mcanally)**
“Red Roses Black” (Chris DeStefano / Josh Kear)*
* Info from @FrntPorchJunki
** Info from ONeal at CarrieFans
Out of these, “Something In The Water” jumps out immediately as a title that would fit with Carrie’s hints. It’s a cowrite, as the lead singles from Carrie’s past 3 albums have been, and it’s a likely cut (Carrie is listed as a performer of the song). The title as a phrase also fits the idea that hometown roots & the environment make a person who she is (as in, “there must be something in the water” that people from a certain place turn out the way they do). Other titles that might tie into a water theme include “Thunder” (a cowrite which fits with the rain in the Facebook picture tease but not Carrie’s other hints and is not a confirmed cut), “Wishing Well” (wishing wells usually contain water and could fit a nostalgic feel of Carrie’s social media hints but the song is not a confirmed cut) and “Lighthouse” (a song that was put on hold but is not confirmed as a song Carrie recorded – the publisher associated Carrie’s name with it around 6 months before she even set foot in studio, anyway, it doesn’t fit the Ray Charles quote).
Odds sure seem to favor “Something In The Water” as a lead single based on the hints we’ve received so far. But let’s also keep in mind that information on Carrie’s upcoming music has been tough to come by because Carrie and her team have asked songwriters and their publishers to hold back on publishing Carrie’s involvement in songs (most of cowrites discovered involve at least 1 cowriter w a non-Nashville-based publisher – Nashville-based publishers tend to adhere to requests for secrecy). So we don’t have anything close to a full list of cowrites and outside songs being considered for Carrie’s upcoming album.
What we do know is Carrie has consistently said that she has been writing “a lot” this year and that she told The Hollywood Reporter about the music she’s been working on, which she describes as a “new version” of herself:
It’s just a progression, a different sound without losing myself in it. I’m not taking some crazy musical departure from what I’ve done, but it definitely feels different. It will feel different, look different, sound different.
What do you make of all these hints, and what are your guesses for Carrie’s “big news” on Friday?
