EVERETT — From the moment country-pop sensation Carrie Underwood took the stage of Comcast Arena on Saturday, she won the hearts of the sold-out crowd.
Smartly dressed in black tie and tails, Underwood emerged from underneath the stage on a crimson chaise lounge.
From there, she jumped to her feet and strutted her high heels across the vast stage, flanked by floor-to-ceiling white drapes.
“I can already tell we’re going to have some fun tonight,” she said. “Sing if you want to sing. Dance if you want to dance.” She opened with the chart-topping “Cowboy Cassanova” and continued by singing song after song from her ever-building catalog.
The 27-year-old was propelled onto the national stage in 2005 during American Idol’s fourth season when she claimed the crown. Now, Underwood reportedly has surpassed Kelly Clarkson with the most albums sold of any Idol winner.
She told the crowd that she took time out from her tour last week to attend the latest “Idol” finale, won last week by Lee DeWyze.
But singing to huge crowds hasn’t changed her, Underwood said.
“I still sing in my car, I still sing in my bathroom,” she said. Most of the time, though, she’s traveling the country wowing audiences.
Saturday night’s concert was the latest stop on her “Play On” tour, supporting her album of the same name.
At times Saturday night, a platform rose 15 feet above the stage, but she didn’t need added height to belt out high notes.
She changed into a spring dress to sing “Just a Dream.” Her white and yellow skirt billowing as she gently rode a swing.
Underwood also sang John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” from the back of a pickup that dangled from the hall’s rafters.
The jam-packed concert was the first to fill all 8,000 seats at Comcast Arena since Tool played here in 2008.
Opening act Sons of Sylvia brought their own brand of country rock and bluegrass. Country star Craig Morgan sang, “A little bit of guitar; a little bit of truck.
“A little bit of hound-dog, a little bit of luck,” but mostly he was a whole barrel of fun.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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