Carrie Underwood’s Most Powerful Duet Performances: Ranking Her Greatest Country Music Collaborations

Ever since she blew the roof off American Idol, Carrie Underwood has become one of country music's most in-demand performers, with several artists lining up to have a duet with her. Whether she’s belting out with legendary artists or singing verses with rising stars, Underwood’s flexible musical artistry made it easy for her to collaborate with just anyone.  

Her collaborations have topped charts, received awards and recognitions, and occasionally left us wondering how the stage could handle that much star power. Here’s a roundup of Carrie Underwood’s most powerful duet performances that proved two voices can be better than one.   

One of her most successful duets, “If I Didn’t Love You” with Jason Aldean, reached #2 on Billboard Hot Country Songs and #15 on Billboard Hot 100. It’s a song that made history; it’s the highest debut for a male-female artist duet on the Hot Country Songs chart at the second spot. During its first week, the track was downloaded 29,500 times and had 9 million streams. The duet also earned Underwood and Aldean Single of the Year at the 2022 ACM Awards, Video of the Year, and Collaborative Video of the Year at the 2022 CMT Music Awards. It was also nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 64th Grammy Awards.  

The song tells the story of someone suffering from a broken heart and how they knew they’d be okay if only they didn’t love the person who broke their heart. The chorus perfectly describes what someone with a broken heart often feels in the wake of a breakup: “If I didn't love you I'd be good by now/I'd be better than barely gettin' by somehow/Yeah, it would be easy not to miss you/Wonder about who's with you/Turn the want you off whenever I want to/If I didn't love you.”  

Similar to her duet with Aldean, “The Fighter” with Keith Urban also received several recognitions. It won Collaborative Video of the Year at the 2017 CMT Music Awards and the ACM Award for Vocal Event of the Year in 2018. Underwood and Urban performed show-stopping renditions of the track at multiple award shows, including the 2017 Grammys, Academy of Country Music Awards, and CMT Music Awards.  

“The Fighter” was a crossover success, reaching No. 2 on country charts and falling at the intersection of country, dance, and pop. Critics described it as “fantastic,” the chorus “catchy,” and an exceptional vocal performance by both artists.  

Underwood’s duet with Miranda Lambert was another career milestone. “Something Bad” became the first duet by two female solo artists to reach No. 1 in over 20 years since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ “Does He Love You” in 1993. It also won Collaborative Video of the Year at the 2015 CMT Music Awards and was nominated for Grammy Awards Best Country Duo/Group Performance.  

The track peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold 1,080,000 copies as of April 2025 and was certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. This collaboration broke through country rock boundaries, debuted at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, and became the basis for Underwood’s NBC Sunday Night Football anthem.  

Underwood’s selective approach to collaboration resulted in consistent chart success and award recognition. Her recent success with “I’m Gonna Love You” with Cody Johnson reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart with 17.3 million audience impressions, marking her 31st Country Airplay Top 10 hit. This made her the second woman with the most Country Airplay Top 10s since 1990, behind Reba McEntire’s 37 Top 10s. Her past and current collaborations have become the standard for successful country duets.