Twenty years ago, a young singer named Carrie Underwood stepped onto the Grand Ole Opry stage for the first time. She was only 22 and had just won a big TV singing contest called American Idol in its fourth season. She was the first country singer to win that show! Three years later, in 2008, something even more exciting happened. While she was on the Opry stage, a famous singer named Randy Travis surprised her with an invitation to become an official member of the Opry. It was a dream come true for Carrie.
Carrie is one of the Opry’s biggest stars, so it wasn’t a surprise to see her singing at a special TV event called Opry 100: A Live Celebration on NBC. This show celebrated 100 years of the Grand Ole Opry, a famous place for country music.
The Opry started way back in 1925. A company called National Life and Accident Insurance decided to make a radio station called WSM, which stood for “We Shield Millions.” They built a little studio in Nashville, and on October 5, 1925, WSM went on the air. A month later, they hired a man named George D. Hay, who was good at making radio shows. He started the WSM Barn Dance with a 77-year-old fiddle player named Uncle Jimmy Thompson on November 28, 1925. That’s how the Grand Ole Opry began!
On March 19, 2025, Carrie joined other big country stars like Reba McEntire and Brad Paisley for the Opry 100 celebration. She sang two of Randy Travis’ songs: “Three Wooden Crosses” and “Forever and Ever, Amen.” One of the sweetest moments of the night was when Carrie walked over to Randy, who was sitting in the audience, and gave him the microphone to sing the last “Amen.” The crowd cheered loudly, and Randy smiled big. He doesn’t perform much anymore because he had a serious stroke in 2013 that made it hard for him to talk, but his happy face said everything.
Carrie looked super confident singing on stage that night. She’s won 16 awards from the Academy of Country Music, but she wasn’t always so sure of herself. A long time ago, she told a writer named Nancy Brooks, “I wish I was better at talking. I never know what to say. I get nervous and quiet in groups. I like to just watch people instead.” Even though she used to be shy, Carrie has grown into a strong performer, and her Opry 100 show proved it!
IM NOT CRYING YOU ARE 😭 #CarrieUnderwood #Opry100 pic.twitter.com/jYTH6d0elT
— creech (not parody) (@creecher28) March 20, 2025
