Carrie Underwood will be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame this year, along with Food Network celebrity Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), and other Oklahoma dignitaries.
Underwood was scheduled to be inducted last year, but her fall outside of her home, which resulted in a broken wrist and more than 40 stitches to her face, forced her to cancel those plans.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“The people, culture, and environment molded me into the person I am today,” Underwood told NewsOK.com last year of the invitation. “It’s such an honor to be recognized among such great company by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame!”
Underwood’s injuries, and lengthy recovery time, inspired her current single, “Cry Pretty,” which is the title track of her next album.
“The title refers to when emotions take over and you just can’t hold them back,” Underwood says of the song. “It really speaks to a lot of things that have happened in the past year and I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life. It’s emotional. It’s real. And it ROCKS!”
Underwood made her first public appearance since the accident at the 2018 ACM Awards, where she received a lengthy standing ovation for her performance.
“When I’m singing a song, it’s like I’m in the music, and I’m right there living it,” Underwood says. “And then it’s kind of like, as soon as the song ends, I’m like, ‘Oh man, I’m just Carrie again.’ The magic ends somehow, and I turn into a pumpkin in front of everybody. I’m not a center of attention kind of person.”
Other country artists who have been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame include Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill and Gene Autry.
“Being inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is Oklahoma’s Highest Honor,” says Shannon L. Rich, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and Gaylord-Pickens Museum. “The recognition of our state’s greatest asset — our people — is the foundation upon which our organization was created.”
Tulsa businessman and philanthropist Jon R. Stuart; Oklahoma City banker David Rainbolt; real estate mogul and author Mo Anderson of Edmond; and Enid businessman and philanthropist Paul Allen will also be inducted this year, along with Jazz legend Charlie Christian.
The 91st Oklahoma Hall of Fame Banquet & Induction Ceremony will be held on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center.
Photo Credit: Instagram/carrieunderwood
