Carrie Underwood Earns RIAA 11x Platinum for "Before He Cheats"

Carrie Underwood's landmark single, "Before He Cheats," has achieved a new milestone, earning an 11x Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The certification, dated October 30, 2025, recognizes 11,000,000 units in sales and streaming equivalents in the United States. Released on November 15, 2005, the song was the fourth single from Underwood's debut studio album, Some Hearts, released on the Arista Nashville label.

Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, "Before He Cheats" tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her potentially unfaithful partner by vandalizing his car. The track became an enormous crossover success, topping Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for five consecutive weeks and reaching the top ten on the Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary charts. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 64 consecutive weeks on the chart, making it one of the longest-charting singles in the chart's history. The song's success was historic, becoming the first country song to sell over two million digital copies. Its critical acclaim was cemented with two Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song.

The success of "Before He Cheats" was a cornerstone of Carrie Underwood's explosive entry into the music industry. She first rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut single, "Inside Your Heaven," made her the first country artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Bolstered by the crossover appeal of "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel," her album Some Hearts became the best-selling debut album by a solo female country artist and was named the top country album of the 2000s by Billboard. The album earned Underwood three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, launching a career that would establish her as a dominant force in country music.