Carrying on in a new way

Pop-country has made superstars out of acts like Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and more, but the term is not particularly endearing in Nashville, even to the artists who have come to define it.

“I hate saying pop-country – I hate using that,” Carrie Underwood says.

Underwood, who has sold more than 10 million albums with hits that appeal to both the MTV and CMT set, prefers to describe such music as “contemporary.”

“I’ve had people tell me, ‘I never listened to country music until I saw you on “American Idol,” and now I’ve been to a Rascal Flatts concert, and I went and saw so and so,’ ” the 26-year-old Oklahoma native says.

“And it’s wonderful that we all kind of have our place in country music and we all pull listeners in for different reasons, and because of that we can hear everything.”

Underwood’s third album, “Play On,” released last week, stretches her country boundaries even further.

Not only did she re-team with “Idol” judge and pop hitmaker Kara DioGuardi – who worked with her on her multiplatinum sophomore album, “Carnival Ride” – she also collaborated with producers known for producing smashes for the likes of Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry and Eminem.

But while Underwood has had great pop success, she’s still firmly a country queen.

She nabbed the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year this spring, and has four nominations for Wednesday’s Country Music Association awards, for which she also will host for the second straight year.

The birthday bunch

Actor Charlie Robinson (“Night Court”) is 64. Actor Robert David Hall (“CSI”) is 61. Actor Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”) is 58. Rapper Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa) is 40. Musician Susan Tedeschi is 39. Actor Eric Dane (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 37. Singer Nick Lachey is 36. Actress Nikki Blonsky (“Hairspray”) is 21.