“When we were approached to be a part of the show, I was so excited to do something to honor our troops and because ACM Lifting Lives does such great work. I wanted to take the time to really think about what song I wanted to perform,” shares Carrie. “I had a writing session scheduled with my co-writers and friends Hillary Lindsey, Luke Laird, and Shane McAnally, and I guess the show was weighing on my mind. I think we all left the session knowing the song was special because it basically wrote itself that day!”

In addition to being a three-time ACM Top Female Vocalist, in 2010 she became the first female artist to win ACM Entertainer of the Year twice.

ACM PRESENTS: AN ALL-STAR SALUTE TO THE TROOPS is produced for television by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan and R.A. Clark are executive producers. Barry Adelman is producer. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

About ACM Lifting Lives
ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Through partnerships with artists and strong ties in the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs, and serves members of the community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. Through generous donations and the support of artists and fans, ACM Lifting Lives is able to fund everything from disaster relief and helping communities in need, to music education in schools and music camps for those with disabilities, to supporting programs that use music therapy as a means to help our veterans and wounded warriors, while providing grants to help them ease back into life. For more information, please visit ACMLiftingLives.org.

Carrie advanced to the last round of finalists for the Billboard Music Awards – Chevy Milestone Award but needs your help to take home the award! Be sure to vote daily now through Sunday at Billboard.com/Milestone.

The award will presented by Chevrolet at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, May 18 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV and broadcast LIVE on ABC at 8pm ET. Voting will continue through the first two hours of the live Billboard Music Awards telecast, closing at 10pm ET / 9pm CT.

The two leading ladies of country will perform “Somethin’ Bad,” which appears on Ms. Lambert’s upcoming album Platinum, available June 3rd. “I’m a huge Carrie Underwood fan,” said Lambert. “’Somethin’ Bad” is a meshing of our styles and there aren’t many female collaborations in our format so I’m really excited to be debuting it on the Billboard Awards.”

Lambert, the reigning CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year, will be joined on stage by her friend and six-time Grammy winner, Carrie Underwood, a finalist for the 2014 Milestone Award presented by Chevrolet, given to an innovative artist who has achieved a notable chart milestone over the past year. Fans can vote for their favorite Milestone artist online at Billboard.com/milestone.

Fan voting for the 2014 Milestone Award presented by Chevrolet will continue through the first two hours of the awards show, ending at 10pm ET. To vote for finalists Ellie Goulding, OneRepublic or Carrie Underwood go to billboard.com/milestone.

The 2014 Billboard Music Award festivities start with the “Samsung Red Carpet LIVE! @ The 2014 Billboard Music Awards,” which will live stream on Yahoo at 6pm ET / 3pm PT. The two hour pre-show, hosted by Lance Bass, Jordin Sparks, Ted Stryker and more, can also be viewed at BillboardMusicAwards.com, Billboard.com, and additional online destinations by embedding the Yahoo Screen media player (available upon request). Fans can check out the full experience at https://music.yahoo.com/programs/billboard-music-awards/.

The 2014 Billboard Music Awards is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are Executive Producers. Larry Klein, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are Producers. For additional information on the “2014 Billboard Music Awards” visit us at www.billboardmusicawards.com or the Billboard hub at www.billboard.com/bbma.

For additional news and exclusive content, follow @OfficialBBMAs #BBMAs on Twitter, like us on Facebook and join the conversation on Instagram and YouTube.

2014 Billboard Music Awards sponsors and partners include Chevrolet, CITI ThankYou, Cumulus, Guggenheim Partners, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Live Nation, Music Choice, Samsung Galaxy and Yahoo.

“We are thrilled to make this already-exciting evening even greater with the addition of Carrie Underwood,” said Shahid Khan, owner of both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC. “This will be an historic evening for our community and a memorable experience for fans of the Jaguars, fans of soccer, and fans of Carrie Underwood. It’s really three major events in one evening in Jacksonville, and I know Jacksonville will respond and celebrate like no other city in the nation.”

The evening will begin with a 6 p.m. friendly match between Fulham and D.C. United. Following the match, at around 8 p.m., the new stadium video boards will be officially unveiled for the first time. The HD video boards will be the largest in the world, measuring 60 feet high by 362 feet wide. Following the unveiling, at around 8:30 p.m., Underwood will take the stage for a 75-minute concert.

Tickets for the entire evening – including the soccer match, the unveiling and the concert – will be free to Jaguars season ticket members as part of the Jags365 program. Each season ticket member will be able to request the same number of tickets for July 26 as are in their Jaguars account. Any season ticket members who have not yet renewed for the 2014 season may do so before Sunday, May 11. More information will be provided to season ticket members at a later date about how to register for tickets.

For anyone who is not a Jaguars season ticket member, tickets for the evening will be available for purchase. More information including pricing will be provided at a later date.

Underwood was the winner of the fourth season of “American Idol” in 2005, launching the Oklahoma native’s career into superstardom. She has sold more than 15 million albums world-wide, has 18 #1 singles and won six Grammy Awards.

As announced on April 25, the soccer match will be part of preseason preparations for Fulham in advance of their 2014 season, while this will be a midseason friendly for D.C. United.

Congratulations, Carrie on your 2 CMT Music Award nominations!

Video of the Year – “See You Again”
Female Video of the Year – “See You Again”

Help Carrie win by voting now at CMT.com! The 2014 CMT Music Awards will air LIVE from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 4th at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Carrie was also honored as one of this years’ TIME 100 in addition to Hillary Clinton, Jeff Bezos, Beyonce, Pope Francis, Robert Redford, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, President Barack Obama and many more. The full TIME 100 list and related tributes appear in the May 5 issue of TIME, available on newsstands and tablets now and can also be found at www.time.com/time100. Carrie’s longtime friend Brad Paisley serves as the guest writer for her profile in this year’s issue.

On red carpet

Carrie and Pharrell Williams

Carrie’s performance

Since winning American Idol in 2005, Carrie has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, placed 18 singles at #1, nine of which she co-wrote, within four albums. She’s won a vast array of awards including six GRAMMYs®, and three female vocalist awards from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). In 2010, when Carrie garnered her second win as ACM Entertainer of the Year, she became the first female artist to win the award twice. In addition, Carrie has won seven American Music Awards, six People’s Choice Awards, nine CMT Music Awards, 12 American Country Awards, nine BMI Songwriter Awards, and is a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.

In the spring of 2013, Carrie wrapped her highly successful headline arena tour, “The Blown Away Tour,” which performed a total of 112 dates in 110 cities, in six countries across three continents, playing for more than one million fans and selling out every concert in 2013.

This past December, Carrie starred as Maria Von Trapp in NBC’s three-hour live broadcast of The Sound of Music, based on the original musical, delivering a ratings bonanza as the show ranked #1. More than 44 million viewers saw some or all of the groundbreaking event and its re-airing. Last year Carrie became the voice of primetime television’s #1 program, Sunday Night Football on NBC, singing the opening theme song, “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night.”

“Carrie Underwood is one of the biggest stars in country music with a huge fan base and a playlist of songs that her fans know and love by heart,” said Acting Director Waffner. “This year’s Grandstand Concert Series is shaping up to be one of the best ones we’ve had in years and if you’re not getting excited yet about this year’s Fair, you should be. We are ‘Summer’s Best in Show’ and we have even more exciting concert announcements like this one coming right around the corner.”

An opening act for Carrie Underwood will be announced at a later date.

Very limited tickets remain available for the Saturday, Aug. 30 concert by Jason Aldean with Florida Georgia Line and Tyler Farr, and good seats remain available for the Thursday, Aug. 21 show by Brad Paisley with Randy Houser, Charlie Worsham, and Leah Turner, and for the Tuesday, Aug. 26 concert by Train with The Wallflowers. Tickets for the Thursday, Aug. 28 concert by Journey with Cheap Trick go on sale Saturday, April 26 at 9:00 a.m.

Carrie will also headline a performance as part of the TIME 100 Gala to be held on April 29 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The black-tie dinner will include present and past recipients of most influential list. Previous guests have included Pres. Bill Clinton, Justin Timberlake, Oprah Winfrey, Carlos Slim, Amy Poehler, Gabrielle Giffords, Steven Spielberg and many more.

The TIME 100 features pairings of the influentials and the guest contributors TIME selects to write about them. Carrie’s longtime friend Brad Paisley serves as the guest writer for her profile in this year’s issue. He shares, “Not only has she earned her place [in country music], she’s raised the bar: a prolific songwriter, a trend-setter, and an Opry member. But it’s her decency as a person that is so impressive.”

The list, now in its 11th year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. As TIME has described the list in the past, “The TIME 100 is not a list of the most powerful people in the world, it’s not a list of the smartest people in the world, it’s a list of the most influential people in the world. They’re scientists, they’re thinkers, they’re philosophers, they’re leaders, they’re icons, they’re artists, they’re visionaries. People who are using their ideas, their visions, their actions to transform the world and have an effect on a multitude of people.”