Carrie Underwood Launches 55-City North American Leg Of “Blown Away Tour” This Friday

Superstar Carrie Underwood will begin her much anticipated 55-city headline North American arena tour this Friday, “The Blown Away Tour,” in Manchester, New Hampshire with special guest Hunter Hayes. The shows are presented and hydrated by vitaminwater®, sponsored by Olay, and promoted by AEG Live.

In perfect timing with the tour launch, Carrie’s album Blown Away remains in the No. 1 position this week on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart, marking seven weeks spent in the top spot since its debut in May. Blown Away is also back in the Top 5 of Billboard’s 200 All Genre Sales chart. The album’s million-selling status designates Carrie as the only American Idol winner to have four albums achieve Platinum success.

Carrie is donating $1 from each ticket sold on the North American leg of “The Blown Away Tour” to support Red Cross disaster relief. Every year, the American Red Cross prepares for and responds to nearly 70,000 disasters across the United States. This donation will help the Red Cross provide shelter, food, and emotional support for those in need after a disaster. Proceeds from her Canadian concerts will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross.

Carrie’s two previous headline tours, 2008’s “Carnival Ride Tour” and 2010’s “Play On Tour,” performed for a combined total of nearly 250 shows with 2.2 million fans in attendance, and she wrapped both years as the top-ranked female country touring artist.

Blown Away made history this spring by debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart making Carrie only the second country artist in the 47-year history of the chart to have each of their first four albums debut at No. 1. Blown Away also debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart making Carrie only the second country artist in history to have three consecutive albums debut at No. 1. Blown Away became country’s best-selling digital album debut since 2010. “Good Girl,” her first single from Blown Away, has already achieved the No. 1 slot on both Billboard and Country Aircheck’s country airplay charts and became her 15th No. 1 single. Blown Away’s second single and title track continues to climb the top 10 on the Billboard country airplay chart. This marks Underwood’s 16th single to reach the Top 10, which according to Billboard is the first time a female has ever had their first 16 singles all reach the Top 10 in the tally’s 68-year history.

Since releasing Some Hearts in 2005, Carrie has sold more than 15 million albums with Some Hearts, 2007’s Carnival Ride, and 2009’s Play On making her the best-selling American Idol in the U.S. She’s accumulated 15 No. 1 singles, seven of which she co-wrote, and became the first country artist in history and the only American Idol winner ever to achieve 10 No. 1 singles from their first two albums. She is a five-time Grammy winner, a two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist winner, and a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Carrie will return to co-host the 46th Annual CMA Awards with Brad Paisley on Nov. 1 on the ABC Television Network. Carrie recently received her seventh nomination in the Female Vocalist of The Year category.

Hunter Hayes, the multi-talented writer, musician, producer, and performer, is the only country artist to play every instrument, write/co-write every song, and co-produce his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. As both the 2012 CMA and ACM New Artist of the Year nominee, Hunter has been touring and performing live for decades. He has played to sold out venues across the US and Canada on his MOST WANTED headline tour and is currently putting the finishing touches on preparations for touring with Carrie Underwood on her “Blown Away Tour” this fall. The Louisiana native has also shared the stage with Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, and Hank Williams, Jr. This multi-instrumentalist continues to garner praise from fans and critics alike as he made his world-premiere national television debut on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman and also performed with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and on Good Morning America. His current hit “Wanted” was recently certified Platinum by the RIAA.