Singer Carrie Underwood to bring sweet, serious tunes to Spokane Arena

When America was introduced to Carrie Underwood, she was contestant #14887 on season four of “American Idol,” nervously pacing a hallway before her audition.

After a bit of banter with judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, Underwood launched into Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

Jackson and Cowell were impressed and, after asking Underwood to share her hidden talent of clucking like a chicken, gave her a golden ticket to the next round of “Idol” in Hollywood.

An ecstatic Underwood left the audition room, hugged her mother and exclaimed “I’m going to get to fly on a plane!”

My, how times have changed.

Since her winning run on “Idol,” Underwood has become one of the most successful singers of any genre, selling more than 65 millions albums worldwide and receiving countless awards, including seven Grammys from 14 nominations.

Underwood has released six chart-topping albums, most recently “Cry Pretty.”

Based on recent setlists, here’s a look at a few songs you can expects to hear when the “Cry Pretty 360” tour comes to the Spokane Arena on Wednesday.

“Southbound”: As of late, Underwood has been opening concerts with this song, the third single from “Cry Pretty.” According to Underwood, “Southbound” is a sort of “drinking party boat song” told from a female perspective.

“Two Black Cadillacs”: Lyrically, this song, from Underwood’s fourth album “Blown Away,” is a bit darker than her usual fare. “Two Black Cadillacs” is about two women who, after learning they’re seeing the same man, team up to kill him.

“The Champion”: Underwood and rapper Ludacris collaborated on this song, from “Cry Pretty.” Lyrics focusing on overcoming obstacles and celebrating those on top of their game, be they athletes, soldiers, students or activists, made the song an easy pick to open NBC Sports’ broadcast of Super Bowl LII. It was also used during the 2018 Winter Olympics and is the theme song for “Sunday Night Football.”

“Cry Pretty”: Of course, Underwood is performing the title track from her latest album. The song was nominated for music video of the year at the Country Music Association Awards and has a shot at taking home the video of the year award at the upcoming CMT Music Awards.

“Temporary Home”: The second single from Underwood’s third album “Play On,” “Temporary Home” is about a young boy in foster care who knows that his current location isn’t where he’ll be forever. The song was nominated for best female country vocal performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

“Jesus, Take the Wheel”: The song that started it all, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” was the first single from Underwood’s debut album “Some Hearts.” The song would go on to win Grammys for best female country vocal performance and best country song and the single of the year award at the 2005 Academy of Country Music Awards. CMT ranked the song fourth on its list of the 40 greatest songs of the decade.

“Last Name”: A song that lets Underwood show off her sassy side, “Last Name” is about a woman who drunkenly runs off with a man she’s just met and gets married in Las Vegas. The music video sets “Last Name,” from Underwood’s second album “Carnival Ride,” as a prequel to “Before He Cheats,” which Underwood has also been performing recently.

“Cowboy Casanova”: Another sassy song, “Cowboy Casanova,” from “Play On,” finds Underwood warning women about those men at bars who seem like a good idea but are really bad news. “He’s the devil in disguise/A snake with blue eyes … You better run for your life,” Underwood sings.

“Love Wins”: From “Cry Pretty,” “Love Wins” is an anthemic tune about the divided country. “I do think that we as humans are inherently good and we need to remember that,” Underwood said during a radio appearance, according to Rolling Stone. “Because we’re different, that doesn’t make somebody else bad, it just makes us different. We wanted that song to be hopeful and to maybe make somebody stop and think about that.”

Covers: Underwood has apparently been squeezing quite a few covers into her “Cry Pretty 360” tour setlist. Look out for Aerosmith tunes and, in a medley, songs like “Stand By Your Man,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “9 to 5” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”