Carrie Underwood recently — as in, earlier this year — reemerged from some time off, which she'd spent recuperating from a facial injury. In a new interview with Vulture, Underwood revealed that this professional timeout wasn't just because she needed to heal; she also needed to practice singing again.
"I had wanted to be in the studio sooner than I was, actually recording these songs, but I had stitches inside my mouth, outside my mouth. It was physically impossible," she explained. "Going into the studio for the first time, it was a mind game: 'Do I sound the same? Is my diction the same? Does my mouth move the same as it did before?'"
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She says she specifically struggled with the letters M, B, and P, otherwise known as the bilabial plosives and the bilabial nasal. (These sounds all require the use of both lips, which could be made difficult with stitches on your mouth.)
Underwood returned in April with her anthem "Cry Pretty," a powerhouse ballad that many saw as a song about Underwood's injury. Last November, Underwood fell, sustaining injuries on her face and wrist. She took time off, telling her fans that she might look different when she returned. Upon her return, though, many were perplexed, telling Underwood that she looked just as she'd always done. The singer has maintained that, regardless of what others see, she feels different. Mid-September, Underwood returned in full force, dropping her sixth album, which also happens to be called Cry Pretty.