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NBC Insider The Kelly Clarkson Show

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. 

By Jackie Manno

During a 2019 episode of her talk showKelly Clarkson sang one of the biggest country hits of the 2000s — and totally made it her own: "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood

How to Watch

Check your local listings for The Kelly Clarkson Show.

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. 

(l-r) Kelly Clarkson smiling and Carrie Underwood smiles wearing a silver jacket