Carrie Underwood In Need of a Self-Esteem Boost

We read once that you should never, ever ask your significant other if you look fat.  Which makes sense, right?  Because it’s rude to fish for compliments and it puts your partner in an awkward spot?  Nope!   Because people are apparently so susceptible to suggestion that pointing out your shortcomings to others might lead to them actually perceive those flaws.

We dismissed the idea at the time, but when we read “Carrie Takes the Wheel” in the November issue of Self, we suddenly had a more thorough understanding of the logic.  This is the singer’s second Self cover in less than two years, and yet, she keeps staring at her ass in the mirror and wondering whether she’s gained weight since lunch.  (Metaphorically, that is.)  Sure, being famous for an actual reason is increasingly rare, but it does happen!  Reading Underwood’s comments, we can’t decide if she’s genuinely modest or engaging in the celebrity equivalent of “Do I look fat in this?”   If, as she attests, she’s so ordinary, why is she on the cover of Self at all?

Decide for yourself!  Her modest and/or self-deprecating quotes are after the jump.

1. “I’ll be in my car and realize, Wow, I have it good,” she says. “I was normal two and half years ago. It feels like yesterday.”

2. “I’m my toughest critic: I’ll be the first one to say, ‘Eh, it’s not good enough.’ But it’s been awesome to realize that I’m an OK writer. I accepted that Some Hearts would be tough to beat…”

3. “You just have to realize these people paid money [to see you].  They think you’re cool.  So I’ve got them fooled!” [laughs]

4. “I’m my biggest critic with this too. I try to realize when I look at pictures of myself, where maybe I’m not standing up straight, that they might not be as bad as they think.”

5. “I know some people can balance it all, but I’m not sure I’m one of them.”