Bolstered by the success of its singles, Some Hearts became the best-selling album of 2006 across all genres in the United States. The album was also the best-selling country album in the United States of both 2006 and 2007, making Underwood the first female artist in Billboard history to earn back-to-back honors for Top Country Album. Additionally, it was the best-selling female country album of 2005, 2006 and 2007. Some Hearts has since been certified 9× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and is the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the Nielsen SoundScan era, the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, the best-selling country album of the last 10 years, and the best-selling album by an American Idol alumni in the U.S.
It was listed as one of the 100 best-selling albums of all time by the RIAA in 2009. Some Hearts has since sold over 7.45 million copies in the U.S. and over ten million worldwide. In December 2009, Billboard announced that the album was the biggest-selling country album of the decade, as well as the fourteenth biggest-selling album of any genre.
Underwood co-wrote "Jesus, Take the Wheel" with Brett James.
About the song "Jesus, Take the Wheel", co-writer Brett James said it was written at Hillary Lindsey's house, with the original title being "When Jesus Takes the Wheel", and that there was no specific artist in mind to record the song.[1] In 2016, singer Hillary Scott said she was initially offered the song while Underwood was on American Idol.[2] Following her win, Underwood traveled back to her home in Oklahoma before heading again to Los Angeles for the American Idols Live tour rehearsals.[3] At the time, Underwood told People, "This is my time to see the world. Home will be there when I get back." She later bought her first home in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee in November 2005 before selling it in 2007.[4]Billboard article from October 2005 first announced the name of the debut album, but mentioned "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore" and "What Else You Got" as tracks, with the latter being cut from the finished record.[5] According to co-writer Chris Tompkins, the song "Before He Cheats" was written in two hours at his home, and was initially meant for Gretchen Wilson's second album, with a more humorous delivery, until Underwood recorded it.[6] Recording of the album took place in three months, while Underwood was touring, and she met with writers such as Hillary Lindsey and Rivers Rutherford at Karian Studios during a writing session.[7]
Promotion
Singles
Carrie Underwood's American Idol winning single "Inside Your Heaven", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 five months before the release of Some Hearts,[8] is included on the album as a bonus track.[9]
The first single from the album, "Jesus, Take the Wheel", was No. 1 on BillboardHot Country Songs chart for six consecutive weeks[10][11] and reached No. 20 on Billboard Hot 100.[12] Included in CMT's 40 Greatest Songs of the Decade at number 4,[13] "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was reported to have been sold more than 1 million ringtones and was certified Platinum in August 2008, the first achievement by a country artist for two Platinum Mastertone ranked songs.[14] As of February 2016, it has sold 2,473,000 copies in the United States and has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.[15] "Some Hearts", written by Diane Warren and originally recorded by Marshall Crenshaw in 1989, was released to pop and adult contemporary radio only[16] and eventually reached number 12 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[17] As of June 2011, it has sold 207,000 copies.[18]
"Don't Forget to Remember Me" is the third single from the album. It reached number one on the Mediabase Country Chart,[19] number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart,[10] and number 49 on the Hot 100.[12] The song has sold 403,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Gold by the RIAA as of August 12, 2013.[20] "Before He Cheats" was released as the next single, and climbed into the top twenty of the Hot Country Songs chart before the release of a music video. It subsequently peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart for five consecutive weeks.[10] and at number eight on the Hot 100.[12] "Before He Cheats" spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, before finally falling off in late November 2007.[12] "Before He Cheats" reached No. 6 on the 2007 Hot 100 Year-End Chart,[21] and was named the 2007 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association.[22] It is Underwood's best selling single and had sold 4,312,000 digital downloads as of August 2016, making it the third best-selling country song of all time.[23] It is also the third best-selling song by an American Idol contestant in the United States (behind Phillip Phillips' Home and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"),[24] and the sixth longest-charting single in the history of the Hot 100.[25] It has been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA.[26] "Wasted" also proved another successful hit for Underwood by peaking at number one for three consecutive weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart, and going to number 37 on the Hot 100.[12] The song has sold 705,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Platinum in August 2015.[27]
To promote Some Hearts, Underwood embarked on her very first solo tour, which was called Carrie Underwood: Live 2006. The tour started April 4, 2006 and ended November 30 of the same year.
20th Anniversary Edition
In May 2025, Underwood announced a vinyl special edition of the album to commemorate twenty years since the album's debut.[28] Available for pre-order on November 14 through Target, ahead of the album's anniversary date,[29] it features an all-new alternate cover, an exclusive photo booklet, and four live tracks from her 2005 session at Nashville's Blackbird Studios.[30]
The album received mixed reviews from music critics, with most of them criticizing the slick production and lyrical content.
Digital Spy described Some Hearts as "equal parts soft rock and country", noting that its mandolin and fiddle sounds are often drowned out by surging guitars and drivetime drums. The review characterized the songs as "anthemic and perfect for long, lonely car journeys, blessed with big choruses and bittersweet lyrics," while also remarking that they felt "a bit old-fashioned."[33] In particular, Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly said: "Among the Idol classes, Carrie Underwood was refreshing—but now that she's going up against country's big girls with the release of Some Hearts, you mostly notice how even the best songs on this slick debut don't stack up against the worst on Sara's or Lee Ann's latest."[34] Penny Rondinella of About.com gave a positive review to the album, awarding it with a four-and-a-half stars out of five and said: "American Idol Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood's debut album is just as expected, a country feel with some pop added to it. Lots of variety in her vocals, which tells me she has true talent."[31]AllMusic gave it 4 out of 5 stars and classified the album as "anthemic country pop, ideal for either country or adult contemporary radio, with none of the delightful tackiness of Shania Twain—and her debut album, Some Hearts, not only hits this mark exactly, it's better than either album Hill has released since Breathe in 1999." It also praised Underwood's vocal performance and found that "she sounds equally convincing on such sentimental fare as 'Jesus, Take the Wheel' as on the soaring pop 'Some Hearts', and even if she doesn't exactly sound tough on the strutting 'Before He Cheats', she does growl with a fair amount of passion."[32] However, Slant Magazine criticized Some Hearts for lacking originality, arguing that many songs imitate the styles of other country artists, though it acknowledged the album's strong potential for producing multiple hit singles.[36]
Some Hearts debuted at number two on the Billboard 200,[43] behind Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums selling 315,000 copies in its first week.[44] The large first week sales of Some Hearts made it the biggest debut of any country artist since the advent of the SoundScan system in 1991.[45] It was also the fifth best first-week sales for any American Idol contestant (behind Ruben Studdard's Soulful, her own Play On and Carnival Ride, and Clay Aiken's Measure of a Man, which sold over 417,000 copies,[46][47] 318,000 copies,[48] 527,000 copies[48][49] and 613,000 copies,[47] respectively, in their first weeks). In the week of December 25, 2006, the album's fifty-eighth week on the chart, the album rose back up to number six on the Billboard 200 chart,[50] after selling close to 300,000 copies.[51]
Some Hearts became the best-selling album of 2006 in all genres in the United States.[52] The album was also the best-selling country album in the United States of both 2006 and 2007, making Underwood the first female artist in Billboard history to earn back-to-back honors for Top Country Album.[53] Additionally, it was the best-selling female country album of 2005, 2006 and 2007.[54]
On Billboard 200, the album had a run of 137 consecutive weeks on the chart, the second-longest for any album released in 2005, behind Nickelback's All the Right Reasons, making it the sixth album with the most weeks spent on such a chart since 2000.[55][56] On the week dated December 12, 2009, under the changes of Billboard's rules, the album re-entered the Billboard 200, at number 132.[57] It also appeared on the Billboard Year-End Chart for 2009, coming in at number 158 for album sales that year.[58] On the week dated for August 14, 2010, the album climbed back onto the Billboard 200, reaching No. 191.[59] On the week dated for December 5, 2010, the album once again landed onto the Billboard 200, reaching No. 192.[60] On the week dated for December 8, 2012, the album once again landed onto the Billboard 200, reaching No. 69.[61]
Some Hearts has since been certified nine times Platinum by the RIAA,[62] and is the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan era,[63][64] the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history,[65] the best-selling Country album of the last 10 years,[66] and the best-selling album by an American Idol alumni in the U.S.[67] As of December 2015, it has sold over 7,450,000 copies in the United States.[68][69] On October 24, 2016, the album was certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA.[70]
By December 2007, Some Hearts had sold over 7 million copies worldwide.[71] Worldwide sales stand at 10 million copies.[69] In December 2009, Billboard announced that the album was the biggest-selling country album of the 2000s decade.[72] On August 6, 2016 issue of Billboard, Some Hearts reached No. 7 on the All-time Country Albums chart.[73] In October 2021, the album was certified nine times Platinum, with the single "Before He Cheats" certified seven times Platinum.[74]
Violins – Cani, Susan Chatman, Joel Derouin, Endre Granat, Julian Hallmark, Mario de Leon, Michael Markman, Sid Page, Alyssa Park, Michele Richards, Teresa Stanisla, Josefina Vergara
Violas – Denyse Buffum, Andrew Duckles, Matt Funes, Shanti Randall
Cellos – Larry Corbett, Suzie Katayama, Steve Richards, Daniel Smith
↑ Trust, Gary (November 12, 2009). "Chatt Beat Thursday: Multi-Format Diva Domination". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025. Among her 10 songs actively promoted to country radio dating to her first, the six-week No. 1 "Jesus, Take the Wheel"...
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