Carrie Underwood: Life in Pictures

2009: 'Play On'

By the time 'Play On' was released in Nov. 2009, Carrie Underwood was becoming known for her stage show in addition to her vocal talents on recordings. One industry site would later rank her Play On Tour as one of the Top 50 tours of 2010 -- and she played to over a million fans worldwide that year.

In November of 2009, she hosted the CMAs with Brad Paisley for the second time. The pairing was an overwhelming success, as the two gave the show a youthful energy it'd been missing in previous years. Their jokes were actually funny, and the once quiet and shy kid from Oklahoma seemed right at home playing it straight or cracking on her co-host.

More awards (including another ACM award for Entertainer of the Year), more No. 1 hits and placement on People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful List in 2010 made this period a very fruitful one for Underwood professionally. But she really seemed at ease when it became clear her relationship with Mike Fisher was built to last. The lovers said "I do" on July 10, 2010 in Greensboro, Georgia.