Song: “Before He Cheats”
This 2005 Carrie Underwood banger has some of the best lyrics ever written
In 2005, fresh off her American Idol victory, Carrie Underwood released her debut album Some Hearts, which spawned a number of crossover hits, including “Jesus Take the Wheel” and the title song. Underwood went on to win two Country Music Awards (CMAs) that year — for Best New Artist and Album of the Year.
The album has been certified 9x Platinum, making it the best-selling debut album by a solo female country artist.
“Before He Cheats” was the fourth single off the album. It won the CMA for Single of the Year, adding to Underwood’s haul. The song tells the story of a woman vandalizing her cheating lover’s car outside a bar where she imagines him with a woman “getting frisky.”
The song was written by by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear. Tompkins kicked off the writing with Gretchen Wilson in mind for the song, typing out lines like, “Right now, he’s probably slow dancing with a bleach blond tramp” and “she can’t shoot whiskey.” Then Kear spontaneously sang “Maybe next time, he’ll think before he cheats.” About two hours later, the song was written.
Sporting some of the most delicious lyrics in music, “Before He Cheats” is a guilty pleasure, and always a great choice for karaoke. The crowd in the video below knows it . . .
Underwood nearly passed on the song because she was afraid of fan backlash as the attitude clashed with her nice girl persona from American Idol. At the same time, Tompkins and Kear worried she couldn’t really rip it like they imagined. But despite doubts all around, they went for it, and got a song that crushes and went on to top numerous charts.
It was also a slow burner, holding the record for the longest ascent to the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
By the time the dust settled, “Before He Cheats” reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart and was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts. The song also reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it remained for 64 consecutive weeks, and reached #4 in Canada. It became the first country song to sell over two million digitally, and was once the best-selling country song of all time. It has been certified 11x Platinum, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Tompkins and Kear earned the Grammy for Best Country Song for their songwriting.
“I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up four-wheel drive . . .”
Enjoy!