Carrie Underwood

 
Since Apple iPods were introduced in 2002, more than 67 million have been sold! Ever wonder what's playing on all those portable music players? Oprah has invited some of America's best-selling artists to the show to perform their most downloaded songs. "Let's get this party started!" she says.

The first performer became America's sweetheart after winning the fourth season of American Idol...Carrie Underwood! Growing up in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma—population 3,533—Carrie says she never dreamed she'd sing in front of 30 million people each week on a hit television show. Before becoming a household name, Carrie worked at a gas station, a hotel, a pizza place and a veterinary clinic.

Since winning American Idol, this country girl has taken the music business by storm. Her first album, Some Hearts, has gone quadruple platinum—selling more than 4 million copies. Along with the Idol title, Carrie has also taken home top honors at the Billboard Music Awards and the American Music Awards. And in what she calls the thrill of her life, she was named Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2006 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards.

Carrie performs her most downloaded song, "Jesus, Take the Wheel," which was nominated for Music Video of the Year and Single of the Year at the CMA Awards.
Carrie Underwood clears up the Faith Hill controversy.

 
At the 2006 CMA Awards, Carrie was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year alongside some of country music's most respected singers—Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and Gretchen Wilson.

Carrie's big win wasn't the only news that made headlines the day after the awards show...Faith Hill's reaction to the announcement stirred up controversy throughout the country music industry.

When the presenter read Carrie's name, cameras caught Faith mouthing the word "what?" before walking out of the frame. Many people in the media said that Faith was upset that she didn't win, but Carrie says it was all in good fun.

"What really happened is she was just joking around backstage," Carrie says. "I'm not even sure if she knew the camera was taping her, but she was just messing around. ... It was no big deal."

Carrie says that as soon as the show was over, Faith called her personally to clear things up. "She called and said, 'I mean no disrespect,'" Carrie says. "I was like, 'You didn't even have to call, and my respect for you just went way up.'"
Carrie Underwood discusses the best part about being famous.

 
Just two years before winning big at the CMA Awards, Carrie says she was sitting at home in Oklahoma watching the same awards show on television. Now, Carrie is the first artist in 10 years to have three singles off her first album reach number one on the country charts.

"I always swore to myself, if I was meant to sing then somehow the right doors would open up and I would know it," she says. "Sure enough, American Idol came along and there it all was just, bang, right there."

Carrie boarded her very first airplane when she traveled to Hollywood for her Idol audition, but now she travels all over the country performing for her fans. Carrie says performing is her favorite part of being famous. "[I get] to do what I love to do. I get to sing every night, and I've never dreamed that would be possible to be able to go to awards shows and sit on the couch with [Oprah] and do things like that. It's all just amazing."

Although Carrie became a star the moment she stepped onto the Idol stage, she never lost sight of previous goals. Carrie went back and finished college after landing a recording contract.

"I think the world needs more women like you who still understand no matter how many wonderful things happen to you, there is a value in education," Oprah says.
Gayle King introduces Josh Groban.

 
Grammy-nominated vocal virtuoso Josh Groban's most downloaded hit is "You Raise Me Up," and you better believe it's on Gayle King's iPod playlist. Oprah says Gayle is the world's biggest Josh Groban fan. He even made her wildest dream come true when he surprised her at work and sang some of her favorite songs.

"It was a private concert I will never, ever forget." Gayle says. "I wonder if it was as good for him as it was for me."

Josh's first two albums have sold millions of copies and his third CD, Awake, also rose to the top of the charts. "All of the songs [off Awake] were loaded on my iPod weeks ago," Gayle says. "I already have them all memorized."
Josh Groban sings 'So She Dances.'

 
Gayle's favorite song from Josh's third album is "So She Dances." She likes his song so much, she says she even had the nerve to suggest ideas for the music video. "I said, 'Picture this, Josh. You and I dancing in a video, me wearing a pink tutu, long flowy chiffony kind of number,'" she says. "I thought it would be so dreamy."

Although Gayle got no response from Josh about her video proposal, she does get to see him perform "So She Dances" on The Oprah Show!

"You're one of the artists when I buy your CDs ... I always like every cut," Oprah says.
Josh Groban shares his Aha! Moment.

 
Recently, Josh shared his aha! moment with Gayle for the January 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Josh may be a musical sensation these days, but in the article he admits that he was kind of a nerd in high school.

"I was one of those kids who just had a hard time finding my way," he says. "[I went to] a school that was big on the athletics, big on the academics. I wasn't necessarily a hotshot at either, and I just knew that music was my language."

After years of struggling to find his voice, Josh transferred to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, which focuses on academics for half of the day and arts for the second half. "It was the first place that I really felt like I had a voice," he says. "From that moment on, [I] decided that it's okay to be different, it's okay to follow your heart, it's okay to really dive into what you believe in."
Music legend Tony Bennett

 
Throughout the '50s and '60s, master crooner Tony Bennett kept the sock-hoppers swinging with chart-topping hits like "Because of You," "Cold, Cold Heart" and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

Thirty years later, Tony hit it big with a new generation of fans with his Grammy-winning album "MTV Unplugged." In 2006, Tony turned 80, won his 13th Grammy and recorded his 106th album. He has sold more than 50 million records in a career that has spanned five decades.
Tony Bennett sings some of his greatest hits.

 
Tony entertains the Oprah Show audience with a medley of his hits "The Best is Yet to Come," "The Way You Look Tonight" and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco."
Tony Bennett on his best year ever

 
The best seems to keep on coming for Tony Bennett. "It's really the best year I ever had," Tony says. Within 12 months, he received Kennedy Center honors and won the National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Award.

Life is so good for Tony that he doesn't even own a home or have a driver's license! "All I love to do is sing or paint. I don't need a car. I don't need a boat. I don't need a vacation," Tony says. "I'm always on a vacation because if I get tired of singing or get burnt out from it, I paint. And when I paint, it lifts me up and I feel inspired by it. When I get burnt out with that, I go back to singing."
Michael Bublé and Tony Bennett singing 'Just in Time.'

 
On his latest album, Duets: An American Classic, Tony teams up with big names like Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Bono, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Michael Bublé.

Canadian jazz singer Michael Bublé climbed the Billboard charts with his sophomore album It's Time. The album features remakes of the hit songs "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Try a Little Tenderness." For Michael, working alongside Tony Bennett is a dream come true. "He's my idol, and more than just musically. I think that cool is as cool does."

Michael and Tony sing "Just in Time" to get the audience swinging.
Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, Carrie Underwood and Josh Groban

 
It's the one-time-only performance you won't see anywhere else! Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, Carrie Underwood and Josh Groban sing "For Once in My Life."
Oprah with Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, Carrie Underwood and Josh Groban

 
Tony, Michael, Carrie and Josh appear on many people's iPods, but what are they listening to?

Tony says he listens to Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie. Does Tony have his own songs on his iPod? "Yep," Tony says, "Just a few songs."

Michael says he has the entire Tony Bennett collection on his iPod, and he admits to listening to himself sometimes too. "Sometimes I think, 'Oh, Michael, you're so good,' he jokes. "And then other times I think, 'You know, it would've been really effective if I had sung that in the same key that the band is playing.'"

Carrie says she listens to a wide variety of music including rock, country and "everything in between." However, Carrie says listening to her own songs is not something she enjoys.

"I really hate listening to myself," she says. "But sometimes if I don't sing my songs for a while, I need a little refresher to make sure I remember all the words."

Josh also likes to mix things up. His iPod includes Tony, Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock and Bjork—and he occasionally listens to his own music, but not "You Raise Me Up," he says. "I've taken a break from listening to that one."