Underwood’s ‘Cry Pretty’

In Carrie Underwood’s first new radio single since 2016, the country star wants her fans to know that even she ugly-cries now and again. Underwood shared Cry Pretty ahead of her comeback performance at Sunday’s ACM Awards, her first appearance since suffering a fall in November. The track is a promising return, featuring an enduring melody that’s instantly more memorable than

The Champion, her Super Bowl theme she released in January. For country’s unshakable sweetheart, Cry Pretty shows Underwood in full empowerment mode, even if she’s not always in control of her emotions. Yet her personal struggles add nuance to Cry Pretty’s emotional songwriting, which otherwise might read as just a standard country ballad. In a letter to her fan club Tuesday, Underwood dedicated the song to the moments when “emotions take over and you just can’t hold them back.”