If you caught Carrie Underwood‘s powerful performance of ‘Blown Away’ during the Billboard Music Awards 2012 on Sunday night, you know that some of her musical influences lie outside of the country genre. Although the ‘American Idol’ winner is a member of team country music, sometimes her powerhouse vocals point to a different era and genre entirely. Last night on the red carpet, Underwood caught up with MTV to talk about the passing of the Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb — and how he impacted her musical tastes.

“My parents listened to the Bee Gees quite a bit when I was little, so I was definitely exposed to them at an early age. They just had a sound that was all their own, obviously, [it was] never duplicated,” the chart-topping country star said. “They were very influential on music in general, and it’s very sad to hear about any loss. There have been a lot of legends lost this year, so it’s always sad to see it happen, but they are paying a couple of tributes here [at the Billboard Music Awards], and I know that they’ll be classy and respectful and allow us all to remember them.”

Robin Gibbs was one of the three falsetto harmonies that made up the Bee Gees and the founding member. The trio was responsible for such disco mega-hits as ‘Stayin’ Alive’ and ‘Night Fever.’ After his time with the Bee Gees came to a close, Gibbs embarked on a successful solo career, during which he co-wrote hits like ‘Islands in the Stream’ (performed by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers).

Unfortunately, in November of last year the Gibb family announced that Robin had fallen sick with liver cancer. During the past few months he had grown thinner and sicker until he passed away on Sunday (May 20).

Without time to give the Bee Gees’ singer a full-on tribute, Billboard Music Awards co-host and ‘Modern Family’ co-star Julie Bowen noted that Gibbs’ voice and the music of the Bee Gees will “live on forever.” Thanks to Gibbs’ influence on stars like Underwood and other pop singers, it definitely will.

Watch Underwood and Other Stars Remember Robin Gibb

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