Carrie Underwood is both country queen and rock star at Allstate

Carrie Underwood was a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll Saturday at a packed Allstate Arena. Actually, despite the bounty of Southern-styled apparel and accents on display, the vocalist leaned more toward the rock spectrum at a vibrant concert at which the 39-year-old served notice that she can likely succeed at anything she wants — and make it look effortless.

Whether singing barefoot while straddling an orb-shaped contraption ferrying her high above the crowd, holding notes for lengthy periods without veering off key, delivering witty narratives as she sipped red wine or wielding microphone stands as potential weapons, Underwood showcased incredible versatility and oozed charisma. She also knew how to have fun. From the instant streamers rained from the rafters amid the opening song “Good Girl” to the moment pyrotechnic blasts acted as sharp daggers on the closing “Before He Cheats,” the superstar paused only to change costumes.

Underwood’s breathless energy shouldn’t be news to anyone keeping tabs on her. The Oklahoma native has maintained a whirlwind pace since winning “American Idol” in 2005. Unlike the show many viewers once considered appointment television, the vocalist has remained a constant mainstream presence. During the past five years, she released four albums, including a gospel collection, a Christmas LP and the recent “Denim & Rhinestones.” She also penned a bestselling lifestyle-and-fitness book (“Find Your Path”), launched an exercise app and completed the second part of a Las Vegas residency this past spring.

Those accomplishments add to a resume that includes eight Grammy Awards, 16 ACM Awards, 23 CMT Music Awards and 17 American Music Awards. Underwood reigns as the most-followed female country artist on several social media platforms and continued her decade-long involvement with the opening of “Sunday Night Football” on NBC last month. She’s also prolonging another long-standing practice, philanthropy, by donating money from each ticket sold on her current “Denim & Rhinestones” tour to the nonprofit Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Yet for all the tradition that still informs Underwood’s career, nothing at present seems more impactful than her having invited Guns N’ Roses vocalist Axl Rose to perform two songs with her at the Stagecoach Festival this past April — and calling it “the greatest night of my life.” Rose and his band returned the favor in July at two concerts in London. On Saturday, Underwood seemingly projected those experiences onto a broader canvas.

Performing with joyful swagger and unflappable confidence, Underwood remained in full-on rock star mode throughout the 115-minute set. She and her eight-piece band hinted at the mood before the curtain even dropped by blaring Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” over the PA system as the lead-in to their spectacle. If that message wasn’t clear or loud enough, the Grand Ole Opry member later took a surprise turn behind the drum kit and, hair and arms flailing, pounded out a solo that would’ve made Dave Grohl smile.

Indeed, Underwood could’ve easily been describing herself when she sang, “‘Cause when she walks in / Poor everybody else.” She owned the main stage — as well as a small area at the opposite end of the venue and the air separating the two spaces. A combination of three hydraulic lifts, two aerial devices and a pair of ramps complemented a multi-tier platform that stretched to the middle of the arena. Three video screens ensured everyone enjoyed close-up views of Underwood’s glamorous outfits. Her singing needed no such technological assistance.

Replete with stamina, control, purity and depth, Underwood sang with hurricane-strength force and avoided the exaggeration that plagues many pop divas. Though many of the glittery visuals and glossy arrangements suggested sweetness, her authoritative tones indicated otherwise. Underwood’s songs frequently featured female protagonists taking charge of their lives (“Undo It”), reclaiming their identity (“Ghost Story”) and/or emerging from toxic situations (“Church Bells”). Her vocals — assertive, dramatic, determined, a balance of fierce intensity and graceful power — gave them toughness, pride and courage.

Singing in an understated manner that conveyed relief more than anger, she put a clever twist on the conventional country trope of cheating on “She Don’t Know.” Electric guitar in hand, the vocalist approached the same theme with noir-like secrecy and gritty menace on “Two Black Cadillacs.”

Not everything in Underwood’s universe involved victims or broken hearts. Anchored by a keytar and synth-pop melody, the summery “Denim & Rhinestones” found her dancing and duetting with opener Jimmie Allen. On several faith-themed excursions, Underwood sang with unblemished sincerity. In segueing from “Jesus, Take the Wheel” into a brief interpretation of the spiritual “How Great Thou Art,” she channeled her church roots and hit gospel peaks.

Her range and magnetism extended to her movements. With her band following her every step, Underwood strutted, shuffled, kicked, stomped and sashayed. At a few junctures, she headbanged. The singer’s left arm often spoke a language of its own, and when needed, she crouched into a compact stance to allow herself more lung capacity to project over the din of fiddles, banjos, slide guitars, keyboards and percussion. Underwood’s only glaring misstep? Piping in a pre-recorded video of Jason Aldean for a duet of “If I Didn’t Love You.” It reeked of artifice.

By contrast, Underwood’s embrace of hard rock sounded utterly convincing. Bringing it full circle, she emerged toward the end of the concert in a black Guns N’ Roses jacket and belted out a searing rendition of the group’s “Welcome to the Jungle” complete with hip-and-leg swaying that aped the moves of Rose’s signature glide. Though Underwood’s sass on many tunes implied the sentiment, here, she openly declared it: She is not to be crossed. And how.

Memo to Underwood: Go the distance and get in a studio to make a warts-and-all rock album, be it covers or originals. If you record it, they will come.

Setlist at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont Oct. 22: