Carrie Underwood: “I Stopped Trying to Be Perfect Immediately”
Written by broebling on May 1, 2019
If you missed Carrie Underwood’s interview on Today on Wednesday morning (May 1), we’ve got you. We watched the whole thing, took notes, and pulled out some of the very best parts of the conversations about being a working mom, prepping for the new tour, and trying not to try so hard.
On being a working mom with a 4-year-old and a 3-month-old:
“You know what? It’s all the same. My job’s just a little different. We’re all just in it together. Everything we all do is difficult in different ways. I know what it’s like to juggle, and that’s just what parents do.”
On bringing baby Jacob on the road:
“How many people get to take their children to work with them? As busy as we are, he’s here during the day, we have a little area he can play in and I get to see him on my breaks. How many people get to do that? I’m so lucky. My husband may take Isaiah with him if he goes home to visit family. But for the most part, it’s gonna be The Partridge Family pretty much.”
On Isaiah’s adjustment to being the big brother:
“He loves being a big brother. He calls Jacob ’my baby.’ He takes ownership and he’s always willing to help. He’s task oriented and he really likes to help out.”
On stage now after a rough couple years:
“I feel a lot more confident in myself, and there’s many reasons for that. The more you go through in life — even though at the time you’re not really understanding why things happen the way they happen — when you come out on the other side, you still might not exactly understand why, you come out stronger. And you take that knowledge and you just figure things out. We all have things we deal with.”
On her Cry Pretty tour prep:
“So much hard work has gone into it. We’re in the final hours. We’ve been rehearsing like crazy. I think everybody’s running on coffee right now. Our stage is in the shape of an eye, so kind of abstract. It’s not a concert, it’s an experience. It’s being able to see as many people as I can. I get to connect with so many people.”
On her very strong work ethic:
“It’s all about putting one foot in front of the other. I write the songs I write and I work on the things I work on because that’s what I’m passionate about. It all goes together, so I’m striving to move forward and do better.”
On learning to live in the moment:
“I’ve been (living) in the moment lately. I am kind of a planner, and I really do like knowing what’s around every corner. And if there’s anything the past couple years have taught me, it’s that you don’t know what’s gonna happen next. It’s been good for me to be present, live in the moment and stop trying so hard to plan out the entire rest of my life.”
On bouncing back after her second baby:
“The first time around, it was easier for me. Then you have unrealistic expectations about the second time. It wasn’t easy. But I stopped trying to be perfect immediately.”
Underwood’s Cry Pretty Tour 360, which also features Maddie & Tae and Runaway June, launches Wednesday night in Greensboro, North Carolina.
