Projected release date November 3, 2009.
Play On is the third studio album from former American Idol champion Carrie Underwood. Her first album Some Hearts was a blend of country and pop. Her second Carnival Ride was entirely contemporary country and gave Underwood her first #1 album. Both albums have been certified multi-platinum, and, despite her primary success being on the country singles chart, Carrie Underwood has placed a phenomenal 13 songs inside the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Country Or a Lean to Pop?
There are rumors that Play On may lean a bit back in the pop direction for Carrie Underwood. However, her primary personnel for the record are the same as on Carnival Ride. Whether or not there is a distinctive pop lean, Taylor Swift has shown that a country singer can cross over successfully to the pop charts in the current music marketplace. Despite the fact she has received relatively little pop radio airplay, Carrie Underwood has four top 10 pop singles to her credit.
Collaborators on the Album
The primary producer for the Play On album is Mark Bright who produced the entire Carnival Ride album. However, Carrie Underwood has also worked on a song in the studio with Swedish pop producer Max Martin. She has also worked on writing songs with Ne-Yo. There is no word whether the fruits of these collaborations will actually make it on to the album Play On.
First Single "Cowboy Casanova"
The first single from Carrie Underwood's Play On is "Cowboy Casanova." An unfinished version of the song leaked to the Internet September 2, 2009, and in response the record label rushed out the final version to Underwood's YouTube site the following day. "Cowboy Casanova" is officially released September 14, 2009. It is an uptempo country song, but it could have similar crossover potential to her previous hit "Before He Cheats."
