2012 looks like it’s going to be the year of Carrie Underwood! Since making her mark in the high stakes world of American Idol where she rose to the top of a field of over 100,000 performers who auditioned for the fourth season and sang her way past 24 contestants to the exciting final where she edged Bo Brice for the crown, Carrie Underwood has proven her talent time and time again. Underwood went on to win five Grammys, three Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Best Female Vocalist awards and was the first female artist to be named the Academy of Country Music’s prestigious Entertainer of the Year two years in a row! She was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry at the tender age of 25 and is often cited as the most successful of a very competitive bunch of former Idol champions.

While fellow Idol winner Scotty McCreery is appearing on 2012 Brad Paisley tour dates, Underwood has been invited to headline the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California, and the Bayou Country Superfest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Having placed in Rolling Stone’s 2011 Queen of Pop competition as the only other country singer besides the hybrid country/pop star Taylor Swift (unless you count Miley Cyrus), in only a few short years, Underwood has stormed the industry and is set to have the kind of career longevity reserved for such country legends as Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. With recent duets alongside Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder and a headlining spot at the iHeart Music Festival alongside Jay Z and Lady GaGa, 2012 might be the year Carrie Underwood crosses over. Look out!