NEW YORK — The end of the year looks busy for Carrie Underwood, and she couldn’t be happier.

The six-time Grammy-winning singer will host the Country Music Association Awards for the sixth time. You can see her singing the opening on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” And for one night in December, she’ll star in a live television version of “The Sound of Music.”

The 30-year-old star said on the red carpet Tuesday night at the TJ Martell Foundation gala, where she was one of the night’s honorees, that she is nervous doing something she’s never done before. But then she realized, “None of us have. This is a live show on TV. So this is definitely a challenge for all of us.”

She said the live singing and acting was like “going to a Broadway show, but you’re in your living room.”

“The Sound of Music” airs Dec. 5 on NBC with Underwood playing Maria alongside “True Blood” vampire Stephen Moyer. He portrays Captain von Trapp. Broadway veterans – and Tony winners – Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti and Christian Borle round out the cast as Mother Abbess, Elsa and Max.

While the Nashville, Tenn.-based Underwood is no stranger to performing before millions of people on live television – she won the fourth season of “American Idol” – she felt she needed more preparation, so she showed up in New York three weeks early.

“I wanted to be here and have all my lines memorized and everything and be ready for it. It’s been really wonderful,” Underwood said.


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