After a 12-year partnership with Sony Music’s Arista Nashville imprint, Carrie Underwood has signed a new worldwide record deal with Universal Music Group, it was announced Tuesday. The seven-time Grammy winner will team up with Capitol Records Nashville as part of UMG for the next phase of her career.
“Already a top tier force in country music, Carrie’s vast talents and creative bravery show that she is an artist who is prepared to take on a wide range of artist challenges,” Mike Dungan, Universal Music Group Nashville chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
The country superstar skyrocketed to fame immediately after winning American Idol in 2005 and has gone on to sell 64 million records worldwide and record over two dozen No. 1 singles. Her debut, Some Hearts, has sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen Music. Subsequent studio albums include Carnival Ride (2007), Play On (2009), Blown Away (2012) and Storyteller (2015). Each topped Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart, and the middle three earned No. 1s on the overall Billboard 200 chart as well.
The first female artist to be honored twice as the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, Underwood has been a trailblazer in the music industry. “It’s so inspiring to me as an artist to feel this excited about the future,” Underwood said about the new move to UMG. “The incredible team at UMG shares the heart and passion I have for music as well as the drive, and their innovative spirit has shown that together the possibilities are endless.”
Excited for the new partnership, Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group said in a statement that he is “thrilled” about her decision to join Capitol Records Nashville: “As a talented writer, recording artist, performer and actor, Carrie is that exceptionally rare artist who can do it all.”
The transition to UMG will be a smooth one with UMG Nashville president Cindy Mabe, who also released Underwood’s debut album, on board. “We were a team, and I had the opportunity to watch her leave American Idol as a kid and mature into one of the most important artists with the most powerful voice in music,” said Mabe. “It was amazing to be a small part of that ride. I am so proud and humbled that she has chosen to sign with Universal Music Group Nashville and that we will once again join forces as she writes the next chapter of her soaring career as a global superstar of enormous integrity and talent.”
Recently, the country star celebrated her 100th appearance at the Grand Ole Opry and is gearing up to work on a sixth album.
Aside from Capitol Records Nashville, the UMG family of country labels includes EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville. Underwood’s new label groupmates include such fellow superstars as Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum, to name a few.
This article originally appeared on Billboard.com.
