Country Music’s Class Of 2005: Miranda, Carrie, Jason
Was 2005 really 20 years ago? It was the era of the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. The first video was uploaded to YouTube, titled “Me at the Zoo.” Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, killing 1,836 people.
In country music, three fresh names made a massive impact with their respective debut albums. We’re talking about Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, and Jason Aldean, all of which have since gone on to sell millions of albums and have all been crowned with country music’s highest honor of Entertainer of the Year.
Carrie Underwood
It was in 2005 that Carrie won American Idol and then released her debut album, Some Hearts, in November of the same year. That album generated two huge hits for Underwood: “Jesus Take The Wheel” and “Before He Cheats.” Some Hearts was the best-selling country album in the United States in both 2006 and 2007, making her the first female artist in Billboard history to earn back-to-back honors for Top Country Album.
The album was listed as one of the 100 best-selling albums of all time by the RIAA in 2009. Some Hearts has since sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. and over 10 million worldwide. In December 2009, Billboard announced that the album was the biggest-selling country album of the decade, as well as the fourteenth biggest-selling album of any genre.
Carrie went from that album to becoming a household name and superstar in not just country music but in all genres of music. Fast-forward to 2025 and she is set to be a judge on the show that made her a star: American Idol. In her first season as a judge, she joins Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie in the premiere of American Idol on March 9, 2025, on ABC.
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Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert’s debut studio album, Kerosene, was released on March 15, 2005, by Epic Nashville Records. After placing third in the television competition Nashville Star in 2003, Lambert signed with Epic Nashville in 2004. The album spawned four top 40 Billboard Country Chart singles; however, only the title track was a major hit, peaking at number 15.
While it took a little longer than Carrie’s stardom did, Miranda steadily rose to the top of country music, winning 35 awards from the Academy of Country Music, including winning Female Vocalist from the ACMs 8 times and Entertainer of the Year in 2022. She also won Album of the Year from the ACM three separate times for her albums, The Weight of These Wings (2017), Platinum (2015), and Four the Record (2012).
Since that time, she has had a sold-out residency in Las Vegas (2023/2024), headlined extensively, opened her own Nashville bar, and even started her own record label imprint at Big Loud Records in Nashville.
Jason Aldean
Jason released his self-titled debut album on July 26, 2005, by Broken Bow Records. The album produced three singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: “Hicktown” (No. 10), “Why” (No. 1), and “Amarillo Sky” (No. 4). In the same year, Aldean would win the Top New Male Vocalist award from the ACMs.
In 2018, he won the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year, and in 2019, he was honored with the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award.
Jason has been consistent in his touring and in 2024, wrapped his “Highway Desperado Tour” in October. He will launch his 2025 tour in May with Brooks & Dunn for a co-headlining show at the renowned Fenway Park in Boston, MA on Friday, May 30th, 2025 with special guests Nate Smith and RaeLynn.
He told us of that upcoming tour date, “Playing Fenway Park has always been a highlight for me over the years. I love the city of Boston, the people, and the energy surrounding the city. Getting to play it with some of my musical heroes, Brooks & Dunn, is going to be one for the ages.”
