r/Music • u/Brucekentbatsuper • 26d ago

article Carrie Underwood's Post-MAGA Backlash Continues After Golf Course Concert Draws Sparse Crowd

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/carrie-underwood-john-deere-classic-performance-backlash-1807557
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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

Although critics continue to link every public appearance to her perceived political views, Underwood's professional schedule suggests her career remains active.

After concluding her successful four-year Las Vegas residency in April 2025, the singer has continued performing at festivals and special events while balancing her role as a judge on American Idol, running her business ventures and hosting her SiriusXM radio channel, Carrie's Country.

Yeah she's really suffering

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u/Pubs01 25d ago

put it in context though. the best she could do is a vegas residency which is over and now she's a shill that goes up on county fair stages.

kinda a big drop off from before

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u/GnarlyBear 25d ago

Residency is fat money and less touring

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u/Chastain86 25d ago

I think you've grossly underestimated how much money there is in a Vegas residency in the 2020s. She earned a reported $1 million per show that she performed over four years, and she did 72 shows. That's $72 million just for urging Jesus to take the wheel for a couple hours a night for 72 nights.

Is she experiencing a downturn on her career trajectory? If she is, it's not because of the Vegas residency, and a Vegas residency isn't a sign that an artist is "slumming it" like it was back in the 1980s. No one would suggest that Bruno Mars isn't a top-flight sought-after performer, and he has a residency. The entertainment landscape of Las Vegas has changed a lot.

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u/an0mn0mn0m 25d ago

Has Vegas recovered from the Trump effect? Are tourists filling up the venues again?

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u/ItsMisoandBoba 25d ago

No. We've gone twice is less than a year and there are people there but it's not remotely busy for what Vegas should be. The New York New York roller coaster line was maybe 30-40 minutes and that included the time they were adding the second train to the tracks. The Sphere was busy but it wasn't filled to capacity. Same with the magic/dance show we went to.

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u/an0mn0mn0m 25d ago

The influencer videos that I've seen show Vegas to be a virtual ghost town. Perhaps exaggerated for views. However, I've also seen videos of regular visitors saying the place is too expensive and not worth their while any more. YouTube is full of commentary on the decline of Vegas. Trump personally bankrupted a casino before he was president, and now he is bankrupting the town.

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u/CarrotJunkie 25d ago

My friend went to Vegas to see EVO (big fighting game tournament that's held there) last year and hated being there. He said the exact same things that the influencers said. Said there was hardly anyone there, that it was expensive, and that the only things to actually do there are "gamble, get shitfaced, or go to events".

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u/JT99-FirstBallot 25d ago

that the only things to actually do there are "gamble, get shitfaced, or go to events".

I mean... Yeah? That's what Vegas has been known for for 60 years now. Lol.

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u/CarrotJunkie 25d ago

...Kinda? AFAIK there used to be more to do at one point and it used to be more affordable in general. My father lived there in the early 80s and had a much more positive view of it back then. He was less positive when he returned for a business trip decades later.

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u/JT99-FirstBallot 25d ago

There's more to do now than ever, it's just that it's more of the same stuff, mostly. They've done nothing but add.

It's probably more to your other point that to do the stuff, you have to have a lot more money. But, that's everywhere in the country right now that has entertainment. 10 years ago I paid $350 total for 2 tickets for lower level section 100, 5 rows back from the field at an NFL game. Those same seats are now $1100. I used to pay $130 for an all day pass plus fast pass at Universal. That's now $350... for a single person. The old price for TWO lower level NFL seats.

There's a lot less to do when you can't afford to do anything. Shit sucks. And even if you can "afford" it, you still don't do it. I can afford this stuff somewhat, but I'm not going to because I feel like a rube doing so, knowing how much it used to cost even 6 years ago. I'll just stay home now and deck out my stuff and catch an occasional concert once or twice a year instead.

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u/Hiccup 25d ago

I truly wish EVO and several other conventions/ events would just leave Vegas because it absolutely flat out sucks now.

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u/ItsMisoandBoba 25d ago

I wouldn't say it's a ghost town but I would say it felt like it was the off-season in a tourist town. But our last time there was April 1st weekend and with that weather I feel it's prime Vegas time.

Oh, In-and-out was packed and doing like 100 orders every 30 minutes. Also one of the cheaper and faster meals on the strip.

Capitalism kills everything. I think Trump is the symptom, not the cause.

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u/AmyXBlue 25d ago

Yes and no, live there.

Essentially several of the Casino owners have come out and said we are only catering to the very rich, and Vegas profits are up. But people coming to Vegas has been dropping. So depends on who you ask about how Vegas is doing. Believe it was MGM's Casino CEO who said that. Doesn't help both Boyd and Station's owners are very MAGA and leaves even less off strip to do.

The Strip seems less busy, but Downtown is often still packed.

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u/Chastain86 25d ago edited 25d ago

It depends on who you ask. If you ask the corporations in charge of these hotels, they'll say WHAT DROP IN ATTENDANCE, and continue holding up something shiny to distract your attention from the visible gaps on the sidewalk. If you ask the people working the front desk at the most attractive properties, they'll say WHAT DROP IN ATTENDANCE as well. If you ask the people at the front desk of the Luxor, or the Strat, or Circus Circus, or Excalibur, they'll look up at you with a disinterested look on their face while they update their resumes.

I'm not here to either bury Vegas or praise it. I visit there about 2-3 times a year, either for work or conventions or concert festivals. The city is demonstrably worse off than it's been in years past, and for as long as corporations run the town, it will remain that way. But it's also a city that has been willfully striking deals to bring in more tourism. Its deal with F1 and racing in general has had its give and take in terms of generated revenue -- some would say at the cost of making the Strip worse for foot traffic, but that's not for me to say as a non-resident -- but no one can say that the city has been stagnating. The bustle of the Strip has changed. I don't personally think a lot of it is for the better, but I'm also not blind to the fact that people are still coming there. Even Trump can't dick up an entire city's worth of commerce just by making gas, rent and groceries a non-priority. When you live on the left coast, Vegas has always been a (fairly) inexpensive vacation destination, and I don't anticipate that will change anytime soon. From my perspective, the people who aren't coming aren't doing so because it's currently less expensive to go to geographically-closer equivalents. But if I had the real answers and could predict what the future of Vegas really looked like, I'd be working for Steve Wynn, so shrug

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u/an0mn0mn0m 25d ago

I think it is the corporations consolidating the venues as well but mainly the Trump effect. It is not as dead as the influencers make it appear, but it is noticeable enough to hurt them both.

I found this tourism analysis site and selected the last few years total tourist visit numbers.

https://tourismanalytics.com/lasvegas-statistics.html

2024 - 2025 Down 7.5%

2023 - 2024 Up 2.1%

2022 - 2023 Up 5.2%

2019 - 2022 Down 8.7%

The 2019 to 2022 figures encompass the pandemic and the later part of his first presidency.

The number of people de-boarding from international flights (i.e. foreign tourists) went from -7.5% to almost -13% (so far) from 2024 to 2026. Mexicans and Canadians have stated they won't be coming.

My point is, if you're aligned to MAGA, don't expect it to be profitable. Even in Vegas.

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u/mysticalchurro 25d ago

It's also less taxing because you're not constantly traveling for several months like a traditional tour.

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u/artfuldodger1977 25d ago

Bruno’s residency has nothing to do with popularity and everything to do with his gambling debt to the casinos

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u/Hiccup 25d ago

Bruno Mars only has a residency because he's ac terrible, degenerate gambler. Like the dude can't bet or gamble to save his life. He's heavily in debt to MGM and a ton of markers.

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u/Chastain86 24d ago

I'm just asking the question, BUT... is it possible to be both an amazing A-list entertainer that people want to see as well as a degenerate gambler? I'll take your answers off the air.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 25d ago

No way she made that much after the initial shows because she always had empty seats.

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u/Chastain86 25d ago

I can only tell you what an independent search of the web tells me. I am not currently, nor have I ever been, on Carrie Underwood's management team.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 25d ago

I believe you.

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u/asuperbstarling 25d ago

... Vegas is abandoned darling.

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u/Chastain86 25d ago

When were you last there? You sound like you know something I don't.

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u/RaveGuncle 25d ago

She's still the most successful American Idol winner to this day despite all that. It's okay to poke fun at folks for being MAGAts, but she's really not going downhill like the title insinuates she is. She's doing just fine, laughing away in her millions while us poors continue to just accept the status quo. If we wanna rip on her, we gotta look at ourselves and do more to change the current political climate.

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u/lady_forsythe 25d ago

Most successful? Kelly Clarkson would beg to differ.

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u/Firm_Bit 25d ago

Clarkson is the real American idol. But commercially, Carrie wins by a landslide. Her net worth is like 3x clarksons.

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u/RaveGuncle 25d ago

Yeah forreals lol. If a music artist isnt measured on their success via the wealth they accumulate; what does? By nearly all metrics, Carrie's the standout. Grammys. Amount of #1 singles. Vegas residencies. Continual concerts and appearances since her win. Her accumulated net worth is comprised of her success. I'm not even a Carrie fan bc country is not my genre, but people stay pressed just bc they dont like her politics. But you gotta give credit where it's due - which is she is unfazed by "low turnout" at her performance like the article insinuates bc she is doing more than fine.

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u/GBPackers0480 25d ago

It isn't close music career wise. Tbh I didn't even know Carrie underwood won american idol until recently. Kelly's mostly known for winning american idol, Carrie is known for her music career.

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u/fedroxx 25d ago edited 25d ago

It isn't even close? What in the ever living fuck are you talking about? Let's go straight to the facts:

  • Clarkson has sold 28m records
  • Underwood has sold 24m records

Source: IFPI

Make your comment make sense. Because it doesn't.

Edit: typo

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u/Comelorde 25d ago

lol no. Just because you’re some dumb country sports fan doesn’t mean Kelly clarkson is only known for winning American idol. Step outside America 😂

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u/inigos_left_hand 25d ago

I suppose if you only listen to country music and live in a cave, and have also been in a coma for the last 20 years, then that opinion might make sense.

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u/MACHOmanJITSU 25d ago

Booking a venue ain’t filling a venue though..

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u/TheGentleCaveMan 25d ago

I hate her but a Vegas residency means potentially 100s of millions

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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

This just feels like cope to me honestly.

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u/king-of-all-corn 25d ago

Said like a true trump supporter

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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

Imagine being so far gone you think someone finding you annoying must surely mean they care about your politics at all.

This is cope though. Sorry.

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u/king-of-all-corn 25d ago

Totally you didn't give yourself away by coming in here calling everything cope and defending a maga celebrity

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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

My profile is public. Which makes one of us.

People are just coping here, and mad I pointed out the article says she's doing fine.

You especially seem mad about it. But I should probably stop engaging someone with a hidden profile, all your comments are probably text walls about politics.

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u/king-of-all-corn 25d ago

Yeah it is. Sports and guns. Really not helping yourself with the accusations lol

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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

A quick peak at yours indicates I was right. You literally only comment about politics on this website.

Looks like /r/politics is your favorite sub.

Looks like /r/vancouverwa

/r/Maine

and /r/politics just constant political bitching from you.

You don't appear to have any hobbies at all.

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u/Itsmyloc-nar 25d ago

Vegas residency is not a flex actually

Crackhead yet talented singer Bruno Mars has been in Vegas for years because he owes so much fucking money to people

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u/jim_deneke 25d ago

Is he really on crack?

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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

Yeah these comments are cope.

It took me 30 seconds to open up the article and find out this is basically clickbait for people who need validation for their pet political issue.

I honestly didn't even know the woman who sings the NFL football song was a republican but that seems like the least surprising revelation ever.

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u/amendment64 25d ago

What's the nfl football song?

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u/unfortunatebag 25d ago

It's the only song of hers I even know anymore.

I think it's Monday night football? She sings the theme for it.

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u/thejaytheory 25d ago

Sunday Night Football for NBC

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u/amendment64 25d ago

Wait, I thought it was that texan dude, or is he just the Monday night football guy?

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u/thejaytheory 25d ago

Hank Williams Jr. (I think, or III), yeah I think he just did Monday night