Before He Cheats
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"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer
Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005, returning as a judge beginning with the twenty-third season. Underwood's f ...
from her debut studio album, '' Some Hearts'' (2005). Written by
Chris Tompkins Christopher G. Tompkins (born Muscle Shoals, Alabama) is an American songwriter based in Nashville. Since 2002 he has co-written songs for pop, rock, and country artists Jimmy Buffett, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean ...
and
Josh Kear Josh Kear is a multi-Grammy Award winning songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2007, Kear co-wrote Carrie Underwood's hit " Before He Cheats" with Chris Tompkins. The song dominated the US Hot Country Songs chart for five weeks and earned ...
, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her unfaithful partner by vandalizing his car. The song became an enormous crossover success, topping the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart for five consecutive weeks, reaching the top five on the ''Billboard''
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
chart, and becoming a top ten hit on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
and
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
charts. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, "Before He Cheats" reached number eight and achieved a longevity of 64 consecutive weeks on the chart, making it the eighth longest-charting single in the history of the Hot 100 chart. It also reached number four in Canada. "Before He Cheats" became the first ever country song to sell over two million digitally and was once the best-selling country song of all time. It had sold 4,483,000 digital downloads as of January 2020, and was once the best-selling song by an ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' contestant but is now the third best-selling (behind Phillip Phillips' "
Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...
" and
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
's "
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson and the title song from her fifth studio album, ''Stronger (Kelly Clarkson album), Stronger'' (2011). Originally titled as "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) ...
"). It has also been certified 7× Platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, Underwood's largest-selling single to date. It was the sixth-bestselling song of 2007 in the US. The song has received a number of accolades. At the
50th Annual Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonie ...
, Underwood won the
Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as ...
and the song's writers won the
Grammy Award for Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, unless the artist is also the songwriter. There have ...
. It received a nomination for the
Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...
as well. It was also named the 2007 Single of the Year by the
Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...
. It ranked on CMT's ''40 Greatest Songs of the Decade'' at number 25, along with Underwood's other signature hit, " Jesus, Take the Wheel", which ranked number four.


Background

"Before He Cheats" tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her potentially unfaithful boyfriend or husband. It was originally written for
Gretchen Wilson Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973, in Pocahontas, Illinois) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She made her debut in March 2004 with the Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman", a number-one hit on th ...
before it was recorded by Underwood. She imagines him hanging out and flirting with a "bleach-blonde" girl, shooting pool, buying her a
drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...
, dancing, and hoping to " get lucky" with her. In retaliation, she vandalizes his customized
four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...
vehicle by keying the sides, carving her name into its leather seats, smashing the headlights with a
Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
baseball bat and slashing all four tires. All of these actions are part of her hopes that this will make him "think before he cheats" again. Although the song is about a tale of revenge, according to Underwood, while she had been cheated on before, "I wouldn't recommend doing any property damage, though. I'm a 'let it go, move on' kind of person." "Before He Cheats" is set in the key of
F-sharp minor F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major). ...
. It has a moderate tempo in cut time with a "shuffle" beat. The song's main chord pattern is Fm-E-D2-C, and Underwood's vocals range from F3-C5.


Critical reception

In 2024, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked the song at #67 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.


Music video

The music video for "Before He Cheats" was directed by
Roman White Roman White is an American music video and film director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Cassadee Pope, Josh Groban, ...
. In the beginning of the video Underwood is seen leaving a parking lot brandishing a
Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
, having just vandalized her husband/boyfriend's truck for cheating on her. In other scenes, the "husband/boyfriend" (portrayed by actor Tabb Shoup) is seen kissing another woman. As the video progresses Underwood takes the stage to sing as various objects behind her, such as lamps, are seen exploding. At one point, a screen shot of the front seat of the truck is seen with Underwood's name carved in it, which she mentions during the chorus of the song. Eventually, she catches up with her cheating husband/boyfriend with the other woman. After looking shocked for a second, she scoffs and drops the keys to his now-demolished truck into his drink. Towards the end Underwood struts down a street, singing along with the song, while different objects are shown flying across the air, glasses are seen shattering, and light bulbs explode, paying homage to
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...
's '' Carrie''. At the very end of the music video, the truck is shown completely destroyed. The early scenes in the video featuring a crowd in a narrow street and Underwood in a parking garage, were filmed in and around
Printer's Alley Printer's Alley is a famous alley in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., between Third and Fourth Avenues, running from Union Street to Commerce Street. The portion of the alley between Union and Church Street is the home of a nightclub distric ...
in downtown
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. The final scene, featuring the exploding glass and light bulbs, was filmed on Fourth Avenue just north of Church Street in Nashville. "Before He Cheats" made
GAC Gac or GAC may refer to: *Gấc, pronounced £É™k̚˧˦ a Southeast Asian fruit of the species ''Momordica cochinchinensis'' *Gać (disambiguation), a common Polish place-name Acronyms Companies and organisations * GAC Group, a Chinese automo ...
music video history by debuting at number one. It also marks the third consecutive number-one music video on GAC for Underwood. It made history on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown for being at number one for consecutive five weeks. In December 2006, "Before He Cheats" was named the best video of 2006 by CMT's Top 20 Countdown. It also finished number two in GAC's Video of the Year for 2006 behind
Trace Adkins Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...
's " Honky Tonk Badonkadonk". Proving its crossover success, the video made a debut at number 15 on the '' VSpot Top 20 Countdown'', peaking at number 4. The video premiered on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's ''
Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...
'' in April 2007, this is the second country music video to be premiered in this program, the first being "
These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. ...
" by
Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' ...
. On April 16, 2007, the video for "Before He Cheats" swept the
CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The ceremony launched in 1967 as Music City News Awards; it is the oldest award show currently airing under Paramount Global. The ceremony ...
, winning three categories: Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, and Director of the Year. Underwood made history by being the first female to win Video of the Year. The video also garnered Carrie a nomination for Music Video of the Year at the 2007
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...
Awards and a nomination for a 2007 MTV Video Music Award in the category of Best New Artist. The music video was ranked number nine on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos. It also ranked number one on
GAC Gac or GAC may refer to: *Gấc, pronounced £É™k̚˧˦ a Southeast Asian fruit of the species ''Momordica cochinchinensis'' *Gać (disambiguation), a common Polish place-name Acronyms Companies and organisations * GAC Group, a Chinese automo ...
's ''Top 50 Videos of the 2000s''. In 2009, the music video for the song was voted number one by fans as VH1's Greatest Diva Music Video of all-time, before the airing of the annual VH1 Divas Live special.


Commercial performance

"Before He Cheats" first appeared on the charts in February 2006. Although it had not at that point been released as a single, many country stations began giving the song unsolicited airplay, leading it to debut on the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart at number 59. By the time the song was officially released as ''Some Hearts'' third single in August of that year, it had already racked up 20 non-consecutive weeks on the chart, reaching as high as number 49. After the official release, the song climbed the country charts quickly, reaching number one in November and remaining there for five weeks. This was Underwood's third consecutive number one country single and fourth number one single overall. It also managed to debut on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 92, and by November it had reached number 16 on that chart. By the end of 2006, the song began to slowly descend the charts, and it had appeared the single had peaked. However, pop radio began to take notice of the song in February 2007, around the time of Underwood's
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
wins. As the single increased its top 40 airplay, it began to rebound on the Hot 100 chart. The new airplay, along with attention from numerous award show wins for the song, such as favorite country song at the 2007
People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...
in January and Video of the Year at the 2007 CMTs in April, reinvigorated digital sales as well. When it finally peaked at number 8 in May 2007, it had already logged 38 weeks on the chart, making it the longest-trek to the top 10 ever; the song held the record for 14 years. As pop airplay began dying down, the song got a third life on the
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format, which began playing the song in May. "Before He Cheats" spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 chart, before finally falling off in late November 2007. The song is one of the longest-charting hits in ''Billboard'' history, and was the third longest-running hit of the 2000s decade. "Before He Cheats" was ranked sixth on the 2007 Hot 100 Year-end chart and fifth on the 2007 Hot 100 Airplay Year-end chart by ''Billboard''. It was also ranked tenth on the 2007 Adult Contemporary Year-end chart. The song sold over two million in digital sales in December 2007, and was certified 2× Platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in February 2008, making it the first country song to achieve this feat. It was the best-selling single from an ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' contestant until
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
's "
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson and the title song from her fifth studio album, ''Stronger (Kelly Clarkson album), Stronger'' (2011). Originally titled as "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) ...
" surpassed it in the spring of 2012, and is still Underwood's best-selling single to date. It has sold over one million ringtones. On October 25, 2021, the song was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. In Canada, it is certified Platinum. Despite not charting in the United Kingdom "Before He Cheats" received a multi-platinum certification from the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
in March 2025 for sales and streams exceeding 1,200,000. The song has sold 4,483,000 digital downloads in the United States as of January 2020, and it is the third best-selling song by an ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' contestant in the United States (behind Phillip Phillips' "
Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...
" and
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
's "
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson and the title song from her fifth studio album, ''Stronger (Kelly Clarkson album), Stronger'' (2011). Originally titled as "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) ...
"). It is also the eighth best-selling country song in the US. On January 16, 2014, "Before He Cheats" entered the
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
at number 98, becoming Underwood's first appearance on that chart. On December 31, 2015, the song was performed live along with " Smoke Break" and " Heartbeat" on ''
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE''), billed since 2008 as ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest'', is a New Year's Eve television special broadcast by American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The special broadcasts ...
''.


Cover versions

* R&B singer Joe performed a cover version of the song as a
Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
Smash exclusive on
Yahoo! Music Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...
. He changed the lyrics to fit a male's perspective and titled his version "Before I Cheat". *On the second annual ''
Idol Gives Back ''Idol Gives Back'' was a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of ''American Idol'' during its sixth season. A second ''Idol Gives Back'' concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the show. ''Idol ...
'' special,
Teri Hatcher Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997). She also played Paris Carver in the ''Production ...
and Band from TV covered the song. The performance takes place after a scene in which Hatcher's TV husband (
James Denton James Denton (born January 20, 1963) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Mike Delfino on ABC's comedy drama series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012) and Dr. Sam Radford on Hallmark Channel's fantasy seri ...
) fixes Underwood's sink prompting Hatcher to then "steal her song" because Underwood "tried to steal her man." *In 2010,
Adrianne Leon Adrianne is a given name. It is the feminine form of the male name Adrian. Notable people named Adrianne include: * Adrianne Allen (1907–1993), English stage actress * Adrianne Baughns-Wallace (born 1944), American television journalist * Adriann ...
sang a cover version on the American soap opera ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' while portraying Brook Lynn Ashton. *
Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, producer and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel serie ...
performed the song on the second episode of the first season of ''
The Client List ''The Client List'' is an American television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010. It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was directed by Eric Laneuville. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution s ...
''. *In 2013, Sasha Allen performed the song in '' The Voice''. *On her 2014 debut album, Ana Gasteyer released a jazz cover of the song. *In the movie ''
Pitch Perfect 2 ''Pitch Perfect 2'' is a 2015 American musical comedy film directed and produced by Elizabeth Banks (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Kay Cannon. It is a sequel to the 2012 film '' Pitch Perfect''. The film centers on the fictio ...
'', the song is performed during the Riff-off by the Barden Bellas.


Other versions

At the 2017 CMA Awards,
Brad Paisley Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His first success came in 1997 as the writer of David Kersh's "Another You (David Kersh song), Another You". After this, he signed with ...
and Underwood performed "Before He Tweets", which made fun of
President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
.


Accolades


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Notes


References

{{Authority control 2006 singles 2005 songs Arista Nashville singles Carrie Underwood songs Country ballads Music videos directed by Roman White Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) Songs about infidelity Songs written by Chris Tompkins Songs written by Josh Kear Songs about revenge Breakup songs