August 19 in 2006, Carrie Underwood released “Before He Cheats” as the fourth single from her debut studio album, Some Hearts. The song topped the Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, giving the Oklahoma native her second No. 1 on both surveys. Additionally, it was the first country song to sell two million digital downloads, and was the best-selling country song of all time at one point.
Underwood’s career caught fire quickly. Her debut single, “Inside Your Heaven,” went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 and peaked at No. 52 on the country charts in 2005. Later that year, she released the smash hit, “Jesus Take the Wheel,” as the lead single from her debut album. It topped the country charts and peaked at No. 20 on the Hot 100. After the album’s title track failed to chart, she found a No. 2 country hit with “Don’t Forget to Remember Me.” Finally, “Before He Cheats” kicked off a ten-year string of top 5 hits across the country charts.
“Before He Cheats” didn’t just bring Underwood sales milestones and chart success. The song also won multiple awards. It took home the ACM Award for Music Video of the Year, the CMA Award for Single of the Year, and the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 2008. Additionally, it brought songwriters Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins the Grammy for Song of the Year.
Josh Kear and Chris Tomkins Reflect on the Appeal of Carrie Underwood’s Massive Hit
“Before He Cheats” wasn’t just a huge crossover hit for Carrie Underwood. It was also a feather in the cap of Josh Kear and Chris Tomkins.
After winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Kear explained the song’s appeal. “It’s like a movie. You’ve got just enough sex and just enough violence to appeal to both sexes,” he said.
Tompkins told The Boot how he and Kear came up with the song. “At the time, Gretchen Wilson was going in to record. After her first record, everybody wanted to have a song on that second record, and I was trying to think of edgy stuff,” he recalled. “I never would’ve thought that Carrie Underwood would record it,” he added. “Usually a song takes a couple of writing sessions, four or five hours each–and talking and goofing off, having coffee. But this was such a quick write. It took about two hours.”
