The Daily Epic Earworm For October 22, 2025
Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.
Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable song of the day…and the story behind it.
Today’s Epic Earworm: Carrie Underwood — “Before He Cheats”
Music video for Carrie Underwood -“Before He Cheats”, Courtesy of Arista Nashville
After Carrie Underwood won the fourth season of “American Idol” in May of 2005, there was a great deal of anticipation for her debut album. The Oklahoma-born country singer did not disappoint. She released Some Hearts in November of that year and watched it top the Billboard Country chart and reach Number Two on the Billboard 200. The album went on to sell over nine million copies and win three Grammy Awards. The song produced three chart-topping Country singles: “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” Before He Cheats,” and “Wasted.” Some Hearts became the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history.
A large part of the album’s success can be attributed to its third single, “Before He Cheats.” The song topped the Billboard Hot Country charts for five consecutive weeks. It peaked at Number Eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on that chart for an amazing 64 consecutive weeks. The song has sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. It also won Underwood 12 major awards, including two Grammy Awards, three Academy of Country Music Awards, four CMT Awards, and a People’s Choice Award.
Not Intended For Underwood
Of Underwood’s 24 Number One singles, “Before He Cheats” was by far the biggest. Ironically, though, the song was never meant for her. According to the song’s writers (via The Tennessean), the revenge anthem was actually intended to find its way into the hands of Gretchen Wilson. Wilson had just hit it big with “Redneck Woman,” and Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins, like many other songwriters in Nashville, were clamoring to get on Wilson’s next album. They sent a demo of the song out to Sony, but the label ended up playing it for Underwood first. She loved it immediately, and that was that.
When Tompkins called up Kear to tell him that Underwood was going to record the song, he didn’t actually know who she was. Tompkins did, though, and he had a feeling the song was going to be a big success for the “Idol” alum. Looks like he was right. The combination of the acerbic lyrics, Underwood‘s trademark vocals, and the accompanying music video struck a chord with women everywhere, and the rest was history.
Check back again tomorrow for the story behind another epic earworm…
