Back in the mid-2000s, Carrie Underwood was country music’s darling. And her album Some Hearts broke a few big records that year. In fact, on this very day in 2005, Underwood released “Jesus, Take The Wheel”, the first single off her debut album. And that very song launched what would be a long and illustrious career in country music, fresh off her win on the singing talent show American Idol.
Carrie Underwood dropped “Jesus, Take The Wheel” on October 18, 2005, a shocking 20 years ago today. The ballad tells the tale of a woman who prays to Jesus Christ during a car accident and surrenders her control over the situation to her higher power.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Legacy of ‘Some Hearts’ and “Jesus, Take The Wheel” by Carrie Underwood
“Jesus, Take The Wheel” quickly became the very first of a string of record-setting No. 1 hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The Christian country tune spent six whole weeks in that No. 1 position. It became a bit of a crossover hit for Underwood, too. The song made it to No. 4 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. The track also hit No. 20 on the coveted Hot 100 chart.
After the song was released, Underwood took home a handful of awards for the tune. Specifically, she won Single of the Year from the ACM Awards and Female Video of the Year from the CMT Music Awards. The song also nabbed two Grammys for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song in 2007. The song has since sold nearly 2.8 million copies in the United States and is Certified Platinum.
Carrie Underwood would later clarify in 2025 that Brett James, who is credited as a co-writer among a number of other songwriters on “Jesus, Take The Wheel”, wrote “basically 75%” of the hit song.
The track would be just the start of an ongoing cycle of hits for Underwood. Following the song’s release, Underwood would hit No. 8 on the Hot 100 with “Before He Cheats” in 2006. She would also hit No. 9 with “I Told You So”, featuring Randy Travis, in 2009.
Today, “Jesus, Take The Wheel” is considered one of the greatest country songs of the early 2000s.
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images