Carnival Ride is the rare example of a successful second album from a reality tv winner. Carnival Ride also sees Underwood take on a larger role with respect to songwriting.
The album contains a lot of the features that made Some Hearts so enjoyable, namely a great mix of ballads and up beat tracks. Last Name is very much in the same vein as Before He Cheats, while So Small is a great emotional country ballad along the lines of Jesus Take the Wheel. All American Girl is a personal favourite for its up beat sound together with the great story telling aspect to the song.
All in all it is a great second helping of Underwood's amazing voice :)