Country music fans at Penn State are waiting to get “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood’s performance at 7:30 tonight at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Underwood is stopping by the BJC for the second time since 2010 as part of her 2012 “Blown Away” tour and is bringing special guest Hunter Hayes with her.
Jess Sharon saw Underwood at her concert last Friday in Atlantic City and said Underwood donated all proceeds from her concert to New Jersey communities affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Sharon (junior-marketing) said Underwood had about four outfit changes ranging from gorgeous dresses to jeans and a white T-shirt and she looked like she flew over the crowd with an intricate stage set up.
“She performed 50/50 of her new and old songs,” Sharon said. “Since American Idol she has only gotten better and she pushes herself with her songs, making them really realistic and personal, staying true to her Oklahoma roots.”
Lauren Chelli said she wishes she was going to the concert tonight because she is an avid country music fan who has seen Rascal Flatts and Little Big Town in concert and often listens to the country music station on Pandora.
Chelli (sophomore-French) said much like Taylor Swift, Underwood is an artist who has the ability to appeal to both country fans and pop music fans.
Underwood now has five Grammy Awards, four successful albums and multiple No. 1 hits on the Billboard 100 behind her like “Before He Cheats” and “Jesus Takes the Wheel,” but opening act Hayes is a newcomer to the country music scene.
Twenty-one-year-old Hayes is starting to leave his mark with his recent win of his first Country Music Association Award for new artist of the year earlier this month.
Sharon described Hayes as comparable to Justin Bieber in the country music world.
“Girls just love him and he is starting out pretty new and has that country music craze going on,” Sharon said.
Gina Feghali who is going to the concert tonight with a few of her friends said she is a big fan of Underwood but is pretty excited to see Hayes as well.
“Hayes’ song ‘Wanted’ is my phone ring tone,” Feghali (senior-broadcast journalism and political science) said. “I’m obsessed with it.”
Feghali thinks that there are enough country music fans in Centre Country to bring out a pretty big crowd.
This seems to be true, since due to high demand, the BJC management released its personal holdings last week to allow fans access to some more seats at the venue.
Feghali said for her and other fans of Underwood, her music is appealing because it is upbeat, relatable and something you can dance to.
