Carrie Underwood returns to Vegas, enjoys elevated stardom

Few songs have lived the life of Carrie Underwood's double-platinum digital-selling debut single "Before He Cheats."

In its latest iteration, a four-wheel drive Jeep is wheeled onstage in one of the penultimate moments of the multi-platinum award-winning country icon's ongoing "REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency" greatest hits revue at the 5,000-seat Resorts World Theatre. Then, its seats are carved into, tires slashed, front headlights busted with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and the stage is set aflame.

"REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency" returns to Resorts World on June 21, with dates now listed through the end of 2023. While speaking to The Tennessean, the Grammy winner and most-awarded artist in CMT Music Awards history giggles and remains mum about whether any other songs in her catalog receive such vibrant treatment in her live Sin City set.

"I'm a mild person, but it's fun to get angry or sassy and [embody] the characters that my songs inhabit," she says. "So using fire, water, dancers, whatever, to bring my songs to life is pretty cool."

Underwood has either headlined or has been featured on 12 different tours in 16 of the past 18 years. In that time, she has recorded nine studio albums.

To say that she's well-versed in the art of production is an understatement.

She sees her Las Vegas residency as an opportunity to elevate expectations of herself and her brand, which is already arguably one of the most visible in music.

"To come to [Resorts World], I know most of my fanbase has to make the extra effort of getting on a plane and finding hotel reservations -- and I'm grateful that they've done that and had fun," she says. "But also, for people who may have seen me or listen to me regularly -- but have not seen me in concert, what we're giving them in Vegas highlights my wide range of musical and personal influences, plus where I'm at right now."

Where she's "at right now" includes body-twisting mid-show and mid-air acrobatics.

Underwood's physical fitness is legendary. She said her decision to literally elevate her show was inspired Cirque du Soleil, the acrobatic spectacle that has become a staple on the Vegas Strip.

"Instead of being distracted by what they're doing, I decided to add their inspiration to my show," says Underwood about the aerial feats she debuted at Resorts World in 2021.

Underwood's work in Las Vegas follow in the tradition of iconic artists including Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton.

"Sharing a legacy of putting on proper shows that, like Dolly's and Reba's, are extra -- meaning filled with more of the glitz, glamour, extravagant wardrobe and staging that's a part of our lives already -- and tell a full, emotion and vibe-driven story with a beginning, middle and end," Underwood said. "I'm not just showing up and singing. Instead, I'm immersing the audience in song."

Carrie Underwood's "REFLECTION" returns to Las Vegas' Resorts World Theater from June 21-July 1. She also returns to close 2023 at the venue on Sept. 20-30, plus Nov. 29-Dec. 16.

For ticket information, visit www.axs.com/carrieinvegas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Carrie Underwood returns to Vegas, enjoys elevated stardom