Thanks to Carrie Underwood, wishing wells are going to be getting a lot of action from little girls who want to grow up to be just like her.

"When I was little, I knew I loved to sing, and it was a lot of fun for me. So I would find four-leaf clovers or throw pennies into a wishing well. My wish was always, 'I want to be a famous country singer,' "Underwood says by phone as her tour bus rolls down the road. "As I got older, I was like, 'The chances of that happening aren't very good.' So I concentrated on school and what I wanted to do in the real world, then everything else happened."

"Everything else" was a little show called "American Idol" that catapulted Underwood to instant stardom after she won the fourth season in 2005.

Underwood will headline today's concerts at Country Jam USA just outside Eau Claire. It is the final day of the festival, which was expected to draw 25,000 people daily.

Underwood's debut album, "Some Hearts," has sold more than 7 million copies and produced five chart-toppers: "Inside Your Heaven," "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Don't Forget to Remember Me," "Wasted" and "Before He Cheats."

She continued her momentum with her second album, "Carnival Ride," which was released in October and has sold more than 2 million copies. "So Small," "All-American Girl" and "Last Name" have added to her collection of hits.

Underwood has piled up awards from Billboard, the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and a couple of Grammys, but it all pales in comparison to the honor she received in May when Garth Brooks, a fellow Oklahoman and member of the Grand Ole Opry, inducted Underwood, 25, into the venerable Opry, making her the youngest member.

As a girl, she would listen to the show on the radio and was awed by a visit to Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., when she was about 10. The Opry was the first place she performed solo after winning "Idol." As her records flew off the shelf, she was clear that one of her dreams was to become an Opry member.

"It's something no other genre of music has," Underwood says. "To me, it's almost like a hall of fame. They don't ask everybody. Just because you're successful in country music doesn't mean you get a free ticket into the Grand Ole Opry. So it's a great, great honor."

The Opry was the latest success for Underwood that has been unparalleled in recent country-music history. Her debut album is the fastest-selling in Nielsen SoundScan history.

Music City offers a lot of opportunities for young artists with big dreams, but it also offers a lot of opportunities for people hoping to make money off those artists.

"I know that I am a product," Underwood says. "I sometimes refer to myself as 'Carrie-bot' - a robot. Sometimes I might do a photo shoot, and they've got to get their pictures, but it's 30 degrees out and I have a show tomorrow. That doesn't matter to some people as long as they get their shot. You just have to realize that for some people, their goals are not what mine are."

She keeps the phone numbers for Kellie Pickler, Miranda Lambert and Keith Anderson close at hand, and she fires off text messages to them to see how they're doing. When they can find common days off, Pickler and Underwood will have a girls' day out. She also finds an understanding ear in a Grand Ole Opry veteran.

"Vince Gill has always been very nice to me. He's just a great guy, and he always carries himself so well - as a person and as Vince Gill, the artist," she says. "When I see him, we talk about being on the road."

She says her maturity is evident in her current album, which includes more of her own writing than her debut did.

"I hope my core being hasn't changed. My morals and values haven't changed, but I've gotten to do a lot more stuff, seen a lot more stuff and I guess I've grown up," she says. "(This album's) more me. I had a bigger hand in it because I know more of what I'm doing, but I sing what I like to sing and sing what I'd like to hear if I were