And the progress ball keeps on rollin'...
Carrie Underwood: US country queen speaks out for gay marriage – but how will conservative fans take it?
She is the musical darling of American conservatives: a God-fearing farm girl from Oklahoma who became a music phenomenon on the back of wholesome hit records about faith, family and the greatness of the United States.
Until now, that is. In a development that will doubtless outrage her many fans on the religious right, the nation's most popular country singer, Carrie Underwood, has come out vehemently in favour of gay marriage.
"As a married person myself, I don't know what it's like to be told I can't marry somebody I love, and want to marry," she said. "I can't imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love."
I'm not much of a country music fan, so I don't know much about Ms. Underwood, but good on her:
Underwood, whose new album Blown Away knocked Adele off the top of the US charts, draws much of her fanbase from evangelical Christians, speaks frequently about her faith and has made religion the subject of several of her best-known songs, including the No 1 country hit "Jesus Take the Wheel".
She said, however, that her liberal attitude towards same-sex marriage comes because of her Christian values, rather than in spite of them. Though raised a Baptist, a church that tends to oppose homosexuality, Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher, a professional ice-hockey player, now worship in a non-denominational congregation.
Bravo, Ms. Underwood. Bravo.