Carrie Underwood: Covering two bases

When a big-time country act plays Atlantic City, the cowboy hats and pressed Wranglers can make it seem like you're really in the South, and not just South Jersey.

But Stetsons were scarce at Carrie Underwood's show Friday at Caesars' spiffy Circus Maximus Theater, which has undergone a $9 million renovation in step with A.C.'s keeping up with the Borgata (and Pennsylvania slot parlors) vibe.

This was an American Idol crowd that packed the 1,600-seat venue two years to the date since Underwood won the TV popularity contest. Back then, Simon Cowell shrewdly predicted that the Oklahoma native would become the biggest-selling Idol winner.

Sure enough, Underwood's Some Hearts has moved 5.6 million copies since late 2005, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's more than any other American, Idol or otherwise.

Underwood's secret, which she displayed in an uneven 60-minute set at Caesars - where she also performed Saturday - is that she expertly plays to two demographic bases.

She belted out "Jesus, Take the Wheel," her shout-out to the son of God, with complete conviction, serving up red meat to Red Staters. She was quick to ID herself as a small-town girl in "Don't Forget To Remember Me" and "I Ain't In Checotah Anymore," which she sang with Dolly Parton sass.

But she often splits the difference between country and pop. The pivotal concept of "We're Young and Beautiful" - that one day, we won't be so young and beautiful - is straight out of the country playbook. But it was one of several mediocre power ballads that the 24-year-old cutie pie sang with a gusto Celine Dion or Jon Bon Jovi could get behind.

Underwood is cautious: She qualified her headlight-smashing revenge fantasy "Before He Cheats" by reassuring fans that she doesn't advocate violence. And she did an able job with Chrissie Hynde's "I'll Stand By You," which she sang on an African segment of this year's gallingly paternalistic Idol Cares special.

Then, after singing the absolutely wretched "Inside Your Heaven," she pulled off a pair of startling Guns N' Roses covers - an acoustic "Patience," followed by over-the-top "Sweet Child O' Mine."

The latter registered as subversive, coming from a girl-next-door Idol winner (even if Sheryl Crow did it first). And it was a positive sign that, beneath the honky-tonk angel exterior, Underwood's got an inner Axl Rose struggling to get out.