On This Day in 2006, Carrie Underwood Released the Biggest Hit of Her Career—A Song She Was Afraid to Record

On this day (August 19) in 2006, Carrie Underwood released “Before He Cheats” as the fourth and final single from her debut album Some Hearts. It eventually topped the country chart, spending five consecutive weeks at No. 1. It also reached No. 8 on the Hot 100. The single later won multiple awards, including the Grammy for Best Country Song.

Underwood found chart success early. Her debut single, “Inside Your Heaven,” reached the top of the Hot 100. She followed that with “Jesus Take the Wheel,” which topped the country chart. “Don’t Forget to Remember Me” peaked at No. 2 on the country chart. So, it wasn’t a huge surprise when “Before He Cheats” also became a hit. However, no one could have predicted how big it would be.

“Before He Cheats” was the first country song to sell two million digital copies. It has since been certified 11x Platinum by the RIAA. It brought Underwood the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the CMA Award for Single of the Year. Songwriters Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins won the Grammy for Country Song of the Year.

Carrie Underwood Was Afraid to Record “Before He Cheats”

Before Carrie Underwood embarked on one of the most successful country careers of the 2000s, she won American Idol. As a result, she had gained millions of fans before she recorded her debut album. She almost passed on “Before He Cheats” because she was afraid it would receive backlash from fans who perceived her as wholly wholesome, according to Songfacts.

[RELATED: 19 Years Ago, Carrie Underwood Proved Critics Wrong With an Overtly Faith-Based Song on Her Way to Country Music History]

“I remember at that time–because that was right after Idol–we were on the road, and then I get this song,” Underwood recalled. “I thought, ‘People are going to hate me for singing this song.’ They’re gonna be like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can’t listen to her album. She’s bad. I can’t let my children listen to this.’”

However, after listening to it again, she decided to throw caution to the wind. “Finally, I was just like, ‘You know what? I like this song. I would turn this song up on the radio. So, I’m just gonna go for it.’”

Featured Image by Ray Mickshaw/WireImage

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