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Kelly Clarkson's Cover of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" Is Almost Too Powerful
The Kelly Clarkson Show Host delivered a spellbinding rendition of the Underwood classic.
During a 2019 episode of her talk show, Kelly Clarkson sang one of the biggest country hits of the 2000s — and totally made it her own: "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood.
For her version, Clarkson sang with pure sass in a raspy tone, giving off the perfect, "Don't mess with me!" vibe. For the outro, she shook things up by hitting a super high note before nailing a final riff.
Watch the badass performance here.
About "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood
One of Underwood's biggest hits to date, "Before He Cheats" was released in 2005 off Underwood's debut album Some Hearts. It reached the number-eight position on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart. As of 2012, the song has sold over 3.5 million copies (via The Hollywood Reporter). It also won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
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The lyrics tell the story of a woman who vandalizes her unfaithful partner's car as an act of revenge. "That's the fun thing about music. You do get to play a character. You do get to sing about things or write things or make music videos or whatever about things that you wouldn't actually do in your life. But it is fun to get into character and act like you would," Underwood told Howard Stern in 2023.
"Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood lyrics
Right now, he's probably slow dancin' with a bleach-blonde tramp
And she's probably gettin' frisky
Right now, he's probably buyin' her some fruity little drink
'Cause she can't shoot whiskey
Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick
Showin' her how to shoot a combo
And he don't know
I dug my key into the side (into the side)
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights (both headlights)
Slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats
Right now, she's probably up singing some
White-trash version of Shania karaoke
Right now, she's probably sayin', "I'm drunk"
And he's a-thinkin' that he's gonna get lucky
Right now, he's probably dabbin' on
Three dollars worth of that bathroom Polo
Oh, and he don't know
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Oh, that I dug my key into the side (into the side)
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights (both headlights)
Slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats
I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl
A-'cause the next time that he cheats
Oh, you know it won't be on me
No, not on me
'Cause I dug my key into the side (into the side)
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights (both headlights)
Slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats
Oh, maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats
Oh, before he cheats
