American Idol winner Carrie Underwood performed her new song, "Smoke Break," for Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show this past Thursday and received acclaim from the equally famous host. Written by Underwood, Chris DeStefano and Hillary Lindsey, the track is the first single off of her upcoming album, Storyteller, with a release date scheduled for late next month (Oct. 23.) On a casual view of the title, the listener might think that her song is pushing tobacco use, but it's actually about the complete opposite. "Smoke Break" is just a metaphor for taking a step back to inhale and exhale.
Rolling Stone Country reported that Underwood said, "The song is about how life is so hectic and it's so nice when you actually get to step away for a second."
The singer-songwriter gave birth to her first child, Isiah, this past February and is currently in the process of balancing a high-powered career with the high-pressured task of being a new mother. She conversed with Fallon about various aspects of her new (and most important) job, and related a story about the suspected competition between her two rescue dogs and infant son when they "accidentally" locked him in the car.
"Maybe it was their evil plot," she chuckled, "The car was running, air conditioning going - and the second we shut the doors, the dog jumped up on the control panel and the doors locked. We spent the next half hour trying to get them to unlock it!"
It was noted in Country Weekly that the country star accompanied herself for this performance, something that fans have missed at her recent gigs. The track is upbeat, soulful and super-stylized, yet authentic country in the star's typical fashion and it was clear from both the audience's and Fallon's reaction that her new album is likely to go over well.
