He and songwriter Josh Kear wrote the platinum seller " Before He Cheats " , sung by Carrie Underwood and released in 2007 . It was named 2007 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association . Tompkins won the 2007 '' MusicRow '' " Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year " award and was honored as the Alabama Music Hall of Fame songwriter of the year . The following year " Before He Cheats " won several categories at the 50th Grammy Awards , including Country Song of the Year . While at the awards Tompkins befriended Tom Higgenson of the indie rock group Plain White T 's . They soon began to collaborate , and Tompkins has since co-written several songs on their albums , including " Welcome To Mystery " on '' Almost Alice ''
50th Grammy Awards
50th Annual Grammy Awards
Chris Tompkins