Before He Cheats
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This article documents a current single. Information is likely to change as the song remains in the charts. |
| "Before He Cheats" | ||
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| Single by Carrie Underwood | ||
| from the album Some Hearts | ||
| Released | August 2006 | |
| Genre | Country/Pop | |
| Length | 3:19 | |
| Label | Arista Records | |
| Writer(s) | Chris Tompkins Josh Kear |
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| Producer(s) | Mark Bright | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Carrie Underwood singles chronology | ||
| "Don't Forget to Remember Me" 2006 |
"Before He Cheats" 2006 |
"Wasted" 2007 |
"Before He Cheats" is the fourth single released from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. It was the third single released to country radio.
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[edit] Mainstream
"Before He Cheats" is a single with possible cross-over appeal to the mainstream pop genre, similar to hit singles from Faith Hill. The single has already garnered interest on the Internet, as it has appeared in both the "Top 10 Pop Songs" and the "Top 20" songs on iTunes. This song has also proven to be a cross-over hit by hitting #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, which makes this Carries fifth consecutive top 50 hit and third top 20 hit.
The day after the CMA Awards, "Before He Cheats" has had a major surge of digital downloads reaching number 12 on iTunes top 100 and still rising. Before this the song was losing digital downloads reaching a new low of 37 but this surge which will be sure to surge again after the American Music Awards performance she is doing. The surge after a ton of live preformances in digital downloads and in mainstream radio has led to a new peak on the Hot 100 at number 16.
[edit] Music Video
In the beginning of the music video Carrie is seen going out to a parking-lot with a Louisville Slugger to eventually damage her boyfriend's four-wheel drive for cheating on her. Other scenes the "boyfriend" is seen with another woman while kissing her as if he did not care about his relationship with Carrie, as the video progresses Carrie takes the stage to sing in a very "rocker" manner. At one point in the video a screen-shot of the front seat of the car is seen with Carrie's named carved in it, just like she mentions during the chorus of the song. Towards the ending Carrie walks down a street singing along with the song while different objects are flying across the air, glasses are seen shattering, and light bulbs exploding. At the very end of the music video the car is shown completely destroyed.
Before He Cheats also made GACTV music video history by debuting at #1. This was the first time a debut video hit #1 on the first week. It also marks the third consecutive #1 music video on GACTV for Carrie.
[edit] Lyrical Content
The song is about Carrie, after suspecting a partner is cheating on her, destroying his four-wheel drive SUV to teach him a lesson. A reference to Shania Twain is made, in the line, Right now she's probably up singing some white-trash version of Shania karaoke, and, after slashing his tires, smashing his car and headlights and carving her name in the seats, Maybe next time/He'll think before he cheats creating the song title.
[edit] Chart Performance
"Before He Cheats" is the third country single to be released from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. It was heavily tipped to be the second single to be lifted from the album after Jesus, Take The Wheel; however, Carrie and her record label plugged for a Don't Forget To Remember Me release in time for graduation. During this time, many stations started to put "Before He Cheats" into heavy rotation, without any word from the label confirming it as a future single. As a result of the "unofficial" airplay from some stations, the song was able to chart for 20 weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart, reaching #48 before being officially released. Some may speculate that the heavy rotation of "Before He Cheats" as an album cut prevented "Don't Forget To Remember Me" from topping the Billboard country charts (although the song did top Radio & Records' country charts). Once the song was confirmed as a single, it cracked the Top 40 on the country charts, and has since gone on to become Carrie's second #1 on the Billboard country charts. It is also her third Top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #16.
| Chart (2006) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 29 |
| U.S. Billboard Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | 13 |
| Canadian Top 100 BDS | 18 |
| Canadian Country Singles | 1 |
| iTunes Top 100 | 11 |
| Mediabase Country Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Quaday Hot 100 Singles Philippines | 1 |
| Carrie Underwood |
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| Studio albums: |
| Some Hearts |
| Singles: |
| "Inside Your Heaven · "Jesus, Take the Wheel" · "Some Hearts" · "Don't Forget to Remember Me" "Before He Cheats" · "Wasted" |
| Related articles |
| American Idol · American Idol performances · Arista Records |
