Before He Cheats
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| "Before He Cheats" | ||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Carrie Underwood | ||||||||||||||||
| from the album Some Hearts | ||||||||||||||||
| Released | August 19, 2006 | |||||||||||||||
| Format | Digital download | |||||||||||||||
| Recorded | FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL | |||||||||||||||
| Genre | Country, country rock | |||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:19 (Album Version) | |||||||||||||||
| Label | Arista | |||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Josh Kear Chris Tompkins[1] |
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| Producer | Mark Bright | |||||||||||||||
| Certification | 3× Platinum (RIAA) Platinum (CRIA) |
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| Carrie Underwood singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||
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"Before He Cheats" is a song written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear and the third wide-release single from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. It was the fifth release from the album overall. It was named the 2007 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association. It is Underwood's most successful single as of August, 2011, with sales of 3,314,000 digital downloads,[2] making it the fourth best-selling country song of all time behind Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now", with 5.21 million, Taylor Swift's "Love Story", with more than 5 million and Swift's "You Belong with Me", with 3.6 million. It is the second most sold single from an American Idol contestant (behind "No Air" by season 6 winner Jordin Sparks with 4 million),[3] and the fourth longest-charting single in the history of the Hot 100. It also came in 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.
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[edit] Background
"Before He Cheats" tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her potentially unfaithful boyfriend/husband.
She imagines him hanging out and flirting with a "bleach-blonde" girl, shooting pool, buying her a drink, dancing, and hoping to "get lucky" with her. In retaliation, she commits several law-breaking actions including vandalizing his customized four-wheel drive vehicle by scratching its side with a key, carving her name into its leather seats, smashing the headlights with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and slashing all four tires. She hopes that this will make him "think before he cheats" again.
"Before He Cheats" has sold over 3,314,000 downloads as of August 2011,[2] making it the fourth-most downloaded country song after "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum; "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift. The song was certified 2× Platinum in digital sales by the RIAA in February 2008, making it the first country song to ever to do so. It is the second best selling single from an American Idol contestant, and Underwood's best selling single to date. It has sold over one million ringtones. In Canada, it is officially certified as Platinum. On July 30, 2010, the song was officially cetified 3x Platinum by RIAA.
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Before He Cheats" was directed by Roman White.[4] In the beginning of the video Underwood is seen going out to a parking lot with a Louisville Slugger because she has just vandalized her husband/boyfriend's four-wheel drive truck for cheating on her. In other scenes, the "husband/boyfriend" (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'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 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. 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 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 a 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'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's Total Request Live 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'" by Jessica Simpson.
On April 16, 2007, the video for "Before He Cheats" swept the CMT Music Awards, 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 2007 MTV Video Music Award nomination in the category of Best New Artist.
During an NBC Sunday Night Football telecast of a Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game, the song was played over the Dallas offensive lineup announcements after Underwood broke up with Dallas QB Tony Romo.
The music video was ranked number nine on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos.[5]
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. Underwood's top ranking for this honor defeated entries from big-name music icons including Madonna, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Lady GaGa.
[edit] Reception
The song has drawn criticism for its glorification of violence as a justified response to the infidelity suffered by the subject of the song. For example, Glenn Sacks, an American men's and fathers' issues columnist and radio broadcaster, cited "Before He Cheats" as an example of the "double standard about domestic violence [that] manifests itself in ... popular culture".[6] Sacks notes that a "song and a video approving of a violent, jealous man destroying his girlfriend's car" would likely receive dissimilar treatment, and undoubtedly draw widespread criticism.
[edit] Cover versions
- R&B singer Joe performed a cover version of the song as a Pepsi Smash exclusive on Yahoo! Music. He changed the lyrics to fit a male's perspective and titled his version "Before I Cheat".[7]
- On the second annual "Idol Gives Back" special, Teri Hatcher and Band from TV covered the song. The performance takes place after a scene in which Hatcher's TV husband (James Denton) fixes Underwood's sink prompting Hatcher to then "steal her song" because Underwood "tried to steal her man."
- In 2010, Adrianne Leon sung a cover version on the American soap opera General Hospital while portraying Brook Lynn Ashton.
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] 50th Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Before He Cheats" | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Won |
| 2008 | "Before He Cheats" | Country Song of the Year | Won |
| 2008 | "Before He Cheats" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
[edit] 33rd People's Choice Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Favorite Country Song | Won |
[edit] 2007 CMT Music Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Video of the Year | Won |
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Female Video of the Year | Won |
[edit] 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Music Video of the Year | Won |
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Single of the Year | Nominated |
[edit] 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Best New Artist | Nominated |
[edit] 2007 Country Music Association Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Single of the Year | Won |
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Music Video of the Year | Nominated |
[edit] 2007 ASCAP Country Music Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Most Performed Song of the Year | Won |
[edit] 2007 Teen Choice Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Before He Cheats" | Choice Payback Track | Nominated |
[edit] Chart 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 Billboard's Hot Country Songs 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 Hot 100 at number 92, and by November it had reached number 16 on that chart. A controversy involving Faith Hill's reaction to Underwood's win for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2006 CMAs (at which Underwood performed "Before He Cheats") helped bring attention and sales to the single. By the end of 2006, the song began to slowly descend the charts, and it had appeared the single had peaked.
However, Top 40 radio began to take notice of the song in February 2007, around the time of Underwood's Grammy wins. As the single increased its top 40 airplay, it began to rebound on the Hot 100. 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 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. As pop airplay began dying down, the song got a third life on the adult contemporary format, which began playing the song in May. "Before He Cheats" spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, before finally falling off in late November 2007. The song is the fourth-longest charting single on the Hot 100, following LeAnn Rimes's "How Do I Live", Jewel's "You Were Meant For Me"/"Foolish Games" and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours". It is the second longest running hit so far this 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 Magazine. It was also ranked tenth on the 2007 Adult Contemporary Year-End Chart.
| Chart (2006–2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[8] | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 8 |
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 1 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] | 6 |
| US Pop Songs (Billboard)[12] | 9 |
| US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[13] | 5 |
[edit] References
- ^ "2007 ASCAP Country Music Awards". Ascap.com. 2007-10-15. http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/ascapcma/2007/song.html. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ a b "Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood duet passes 1 million downloads". Content.usatoday.com. 2011-10-05. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2011/10/brad-paisley-carrie-underwood-duet-passes-2-million-downloads/1. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ Grein, Paul (2009-03-20). "Chart Watch Extra: The American Idol Alumni Association | Chart Watch - Yahoo! Music". New.music.yahoo.com. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/30573/chart-watch-extra-the-american-idol-alumni-association/. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "Videos: Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats"". CMT.com. http://www.cmt.com/videos/carrie-underwood/106496/before-he-cheats.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ "100 Greatest Videos". http://lounge.teamshania.com/showthread.php?t=6760. Retrieved 2008-07-29.[dead link]
- ^ http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=31850 Americanchronicle.com
- ^ http://video.music.yahoo.com/up/music/music/?rn=1301797&vid=44151156 Video.music.yahoo.com
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Carrie Underwood. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Carrie Underwood. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Songs for Carrie Underwood. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs for Carrie Underwood. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Carrie Underwood. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Carrie Underwood Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Carrie Underwood. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
| Preceded by "Every Mile a Memory" by Dierks Bentley |
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one single November 11 – December 9, 2006 |
Succeeded by "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts |
| Preceded by "Jesus, Take The Wheel" by Carrie Underwood |
Grammy Award for Best Country Song 2007 |
Succeeded by "Stay" by Sugarland |
| Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance 2007 |
Succeeded by "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood |
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