Carrie Underwood's Phoenix concert: That voice is a superhuman show of force

The vocal prowess that helped Carrie Underwood power her way to the top on “American Idol” was still very much on display Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, from the time she hit the stage in her denim and rhinestones to welcome fans to the party at Desert Diamond Arena with the vocal fireworks of “Good Girl.”

That voice is quite the instrument, which Underwood applied with just enough restraint to serve the song while earning spontaneous outbursts of applause when she hit a particularly dazzling run or leaned into a high note at full throttle and let it ring out long enough to make it feel like we were witnessing a superhuman show of force.

The soulful wailing at the end of “Church Bells” was beyond impressive. So too the impassioned vocal showcase that was “Wasted.”

Did it feel like showing off at times? Of course it did. But in a good way.

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Carrie Underwood channels Axl Rose on 'Welcome to the Jungle'

Underwood has never been the world’s most “country” country singer, often favoring the slicker, more pop-oriented side of modern country. But her inner rocker took the wheel for much of Saturday’s performance — which began with the PA blasting “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead.

“Last Name” felt a bit like tossing six or seven AC/DC riffs and Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” in a blender, one of several moments in the back half of her set that made it clear that should she ever get it in her head to do an album paying tribute to the hard rock of the early ‘70s, it might not sell as much as “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” but it would definitely nail the essence of that era.

So what did she do for an encore? “Welcome to the Jungle” in a Guns N’ Roses biker jacket, showing off the moves she cribbed from Axl Rose, who joined her on two Guns N' Roses songs at last year's Stagecoach Festival.

She didn't need him.

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Underwood said of Dolly Parton, 'That's just who we're all trying to be'

Underwood has always been a charismatic presence with a down-home charm that serves her just as well in country music as it did on a reality TV show where the votes are based in part on how much viewers like you as a person.

That was certainly the case at Desert Diamond Arena, where she did her best to make it feel like she was just your old friend Carrie hanging out at the arena like you do.

After going downstairs to “get a little extra countrified for you guys,” she gave a speech about her love of country music and its storytelling properties while noting that she has two fiddle players in the band, “so we’re a little more country than most.”

Then she revealed that “She Don’t Know” had been inspired by “Jolene,” the Dolly Parton song.

“I love me some Dolly Parton,” she explained. “For the record, that’s just who we’re all trying to be. We’ll never get there. But I’m gonna give it my best effort.”

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'How Great Thou Art' was the night's most awe-inspiring vocal showcase

Four songs later, she climbed aboard a swing adorned with scarves and flowers, which she rode to a satellite stage at the opposite end of the arena, singing “Ghost Story” while floating high above the crowd.

It was on that second stage that Underwood performed her first chart-topping entry on the country charts, a heartfelt “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which morphed into perhaps the night’s most awe-inspiring vocal showcase on a deeply heartfelt version of “How Great Thou Art.”

After singing “Crazy Angel” on her flight back to the main stage, she welcomed Jimmie Allen, her opening act, back out to join her on “Denim & Rhinestones,” one of eight songs Underwood performed from her new album of the same name.

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'Before He Cheats' ended the concert on a high note

It’s not every day you see an artist with nearly two decades of hits to try and squeeze into a set put the focus so squarely on a new release.

But those songs more than held their own against the songs on which her legacy has come to rest. It didn’t hurt that her easy rapport with the audience made the wealth of new material feel like catching up with old friends more than plugging a new album.

And that still left plenty of time to dust off hits as massive as “Undo It,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Blown Away” and “Something in the Water” with “Before He Cheats” held in reserve to end the encore on a high note.

Jimmie Allen was a crowd-pleasing opener

Two years after being named New Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association, Jimmie Allen led the crowd in a spirited call and response on George Strait’s “Check Yes or No” and the Neil Diamond hit most likely to become a rowdy singalong between his own crowd-pleasing singles, from “Best Shot” to “Down Home.”

Carrie Underwood concert setlist 2023 at Desert Diamond Arena

“Good Girl”

“Church Bells”

“Undo It”

“Hate My Heart”

“Cowboy Casanova”

“If I Didn't Love You”

“Wasted”

“She Don’t Know”

“Blown Away”

“Burn”

“Cry Pretty”

“Ghost Story”

“Two Black Cadillacs”

“Garden”

“Jesus, Take the Wheel / How Great Thou Art”

“Crazy Angels”

“Denim & Rhinestones” (with Jimmie Allen)

“Flat on the Floor”

“Poor Everybody Else”

“Last Name”

“Something in the Water”

Encore:

“Welcome to the Jungle” (Guns N’ Roses cover)

“Before He Cheats”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Carrie Underwood lit up metro Phoenix concert with vocal show of force