"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, Some Hearts (2005).

[12] 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 vandalizes his customized four-wheel drive vehicle by keying the sides, carving her name into its leather seats, smashing the headlights with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and slashing all four tires.

[15] In the beginning of the video Underwood is seen leaving a parking lot brandishing a Louisville Slugger, having just vandalized her husband/boyfriend's truck for cheating on her.

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.

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.

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.

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.

However, pop radio began to take notice of the song in February 2007, around the time of Underwood's Grammy Award wins.

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; the song held the record for 14 years.

Despite not charting in the United Kingdom, "Before He Cheats" received a Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry in September 2022 for sales and streams exceeding 600,000.

[22] On December 31, 2015, the song was performed live along with "Smoke Break" and "Heartbeat" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

[23][24] At the 2017 CMA Awards, Brad Paisley and Underwood performed "Before He Tweets", which made fun of President Donald Trump.