"The listening party was about 20 or so of us from the Fan Club. We went into the studio, and they had two comfy chairs set up at the front of the room with a small table in between them. There were 2 separate sections next to each other with a few rows of chairs for us fans. Behind the chairs at the front of the room was a glass window where you could see the actual studio where the recording is done.
At the back of the room, they had food and beverages for us. Desserts (cupcakes from Ivey Cake in Nashville), popcorn and some other stuff.
Carrie casually walks in with a couple of other people, and she is dressed in jeans, sparkly slippers and a black hoody-type jacket over a white shirt. We clap for her. We were SO close to her. This was a rather small room, and Carrie is literally 20 feet away from us.
She thanks us for coming and she and I believe a guy named Dennis, who mixes and works on her music with her talk a little, and then Carrie asks us if we want to go on a tour of the studio. She first points out the stairs leading up to a loft above where we were seated, and talks about which instruments get played up there, and what not. She then walks us into the room behind the glass where they explain to us everything that goes on during the recording process.
This was so cool, because it was like a school field trip and Carrie was our tour guide. We walked with her, stood next to her and she was just casually talking and chilling with the small group of us, as if we were friends.
We then go back to the seating area and Carrie sits at one of the chairs in the front of the room, and Dennis(?) sits in the chair next to her. We first listen to "Good Girl" and Carrie is doing her little dance moves in her chair.
The song is done and us fans make comments in between songs and just chat with Carrie. She tells us this is very casual, and to not hesitate if we want to go and get more food or go use the bathroom down the hallway.
The next song is "Blown Away". EPIC. AMAZING. We gave Carrie a standing ovation after it played, and Carrie covered her face in embarrassment. The guy next to me said that she has to make that a single, and she said something like she would imagine it will be at some point.
Carrie then states that the next song is "Two Black Cadillacs", and that it's also a dark song. She said that even though both songs are pretty dark, she felt like she couldn't put a wedge between them on the album, which is why they are back-to-back on the track listing. I believe it was this song, that had an extended ending with the band just playing for quite some time after Carrie stops singing on the track. Carrie told us how she wanted the band to keep playing when they were recording the song, but that if it were to be a single there would be a radio edit. The guy Dennis said that he already had an edited (shortened) version of the song ready. So it looks like this may also be a single at some point. TBC is another amazing one, and you have to hear it in full to really appreciate it.
"See You Again" is next, and before the song plays, Carrie tells us about how she wrote it for the Narnia movie, and was waiting for the chance to get to use it somewhere and that she felt like it belonged on the album. This was one of my favorites on the album. Her vocals are absolutely beautiful on this, and another fan pointed it out and Carrie thanked them.
Next is "Do You Think About Me" and Carrie mentions how it's a sweeter song. Another one that I really loved. I think this will grow more and more, but I loved it based on the clip, and it's even better in its entirety.
Next up was "Forever Changed". Carrie got a little emotional before was even able to give us some background info on the song, so she just signaled for the guy in the studio to hit the play button lol. While the song was playing, Carrie was just looking down, as if she was about to cry at any minute, but she didn't. Some of the fans got emotional. As soon as it was over, Carrie held up a box of tissues that was on the little table next to her and said "Who wants one?". We laughed, and Carrie told us that we'll never hear that one live. I shouted out "You have to!" and some people laughed, and other fans commented "You can do it" and things like that.
Carrie then states that the album is about to get a little happier. "Nobody Ever Told You" was next. This is another little happy tune, similar vibe to "Do You Think About Me".
Next up was "One Way Ticket". Carrie said something like, "we brought in margaritas for the song", so another fan and I made a joke about the drinks being for us, and she said "Not for you guys!" and started laughing. She spoke about how Josh Kear is a very serious guy, who writes serious material like what he wrote on "Blown Away" and "Before He Cheats", so that this song is a very different type of write for him. The song was awesome and fun, had an islandy Bob Marley-esque vibe to it. Definitely a stand out for me, and a lot of us laughed and some of the lyrics that I mentioned in my previous post and Carrie loved our reactions.
"Thank God For Hometowns" was next, and Carrie explained how she immediately dismissed the song once she saw the title, because she didn't want another typical country song about hometowns, and as she said, "I love my Mama" songs and we all laughed. She said that there are great songs about hometowns, but there are just so many. But once she heard the demo, she felt that this song was different in a few aspects, and how she really felt the lyrics, and ended up loving the song.
"Leave Love Alone" was next. Not one of my personal favorites, but it was still pretty good. I think this song had some "na na na"'s in it (it might have been another track though, I can't remember), and Carrie said "You can't have a Carrie Underwood record without some na na nas in there", to which we laughed.
"Cupid's Got A Shotgun" was next, and was another favorite amongst us fans. Again Carrie mentioned how Josh Kear doesn't really go for these types of songs, and how he probably wanted to run away from them after what they had him writing. Carrie also joked about how she had a list of hunting-related words that she didn't even know the meanings of, and tried to learn them and fit them into the song. The song is extremely catchy, very country, and should definitely be a single as it is the really only other true rocking song on the album aside from "Good Girl".
"Wine After Whiskey" was next, and Carrie mentioned how it was written for Play On, but it didn't really have a place on that album, but some of her people were really pushing for her to find a place for it on this album, so they brought it back to the top of the list for songs to be included on Blown Away.
We ended with "Who Are You". Carrie said "this one was sent over to me by Mutt Lange" and the guy next to me yelled out "Shania Twain" and a few of us started laughing and Carrie said "yup" and kind of laughed too (I guess we were laughing because of the awkwardness of how his and Shania's marriage ended). Carrie just signaled for the song to be played, and didn't say anything else after laughing.
"Who Are You" is a lot better than the clip, and I'm not sure when Mutt wrote the song, but I got the feeling that he wrote this song about Shania after their divorce. You'll have to hear it in full to understand what I'm saying, but regardless, Carrie's voice sounds amazing on it and she hits a pretty high note in the song.
After it was over, they told us we could line up for a picture with Carrie. They had the Blown Away album cover print outs for us to have autographed for those who didn't bring their own items. Some of us chilled around the room, and Carrie walked over after talking to a few fans to take pics and sign autographs.
I got up to Carrie, and I'm not sure if she recognized me from my first meet & greet with her 2 years ago, but she said "How are you?" and hugged me. It was amazing. I was nervous, but I found it easy to talk to her, because she's just so nice and laid back. When she talks to you, she looks you right in the eyes just as if you were talking to a good friend. She treats you like you are one of her friends.
She signed the photo of us from my Meet & Greet and also signed the Blown Away picture for me, so I got 2 autographs. I joked with her about stealing sharpies when she was signing, then we started talking about our dogs and animal shelters. I thanked her for doing this for us, because it was so awesome. After she signed my stuff, we almost forgot to take our picture and then she was like "Wait, we have to take a picture!" and we did. They said they will e-mail us the picture. I told Carrie thank you again, and I left.
It was such an amazing experience that I'll never forget. I don't know if I'll ever get to experience her in that type of intimate environment again. It felt like we were hanging out with her in her living room. And of course, she was nice enough to give us all tickets to Keith Urban's Opry induction (even though I had already bought my own ticket, she gave me a better seat lol) and also a $25 gift certificate to the new Grand Ole Opry Backstage BBQ Restaurant."
I can hardly wait any longer.
I just donīt get it, the song has everything going for it and yet THATīs the one she hasnīt sung on a single show except for 2 times at a Fan Club party.
And ikr, YWFT is hardly the worst song on Carnival Ride :weep: (well every song is amazing, but still).
