Together with Underwood’s all-sparkle-everything wardrobe, including a bedazzled GNR romper she wore in honor of her special guest, the singer’s vocal athletics mark her as a clear successor to the larger-than-life pop-country divas of the 1990s and early 2000s. But given how hard she sings, it might also be a physical necessity: Headlining the Stagecoach country festival on Saturday night, Underwood sent her voice booming out over the expanse of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., with such intensity that you could see the veins popping out from her forehead.Īnd that was before Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses turned up for a surprise cameo that literalized the hair-metal heritage in Underwood’s music - and led the 39-year-old to pronounce Saturday “the greatest night of my life.” The pose makes for dramatic images, as the former “American Idol” winner certainly understands. When Carrie Underwood does a big song - and for this superstar of theatricalized country music, they’re all big songs - she bends over slightly at the waist, tilting her upper body toward the ground, while she sticks her left arm out behind her as though to steady herself. Axl Rose performed the Guns N' Roses classics "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine" with headliner Carrie Underwood at Stagecoach.