Songfacts®:

• Lambert penned this Rock ballad with actress and singer Alisan Porter along with Ferras and Ely Rise. Ferras performed "Hollywood's Not America," the exit song during the Hollywood Week for the 2008 series of American Idol.
• Lambert told Rolling Stone about the song: "'Aftermath' is probably the most Idol-esque type song on the album. The cool thing is that the lyrics are basically about dealing with your demons. I think there's a universal message in it. It might be about coming out, it might be about self-acceptance, taking the chance of keeping it real and doing what you feel in your heart you have to do, even though it's scary, even though people might not like it. It might be about going to AA. Any sort of traumatic life moment, and in the aftermath of it, of making that decision and dealing with whatever it is you're dealing with, you'll find solace in it. It's another kind of empowerment-type anthem."
• Lambert told The Hollywood Reporter regarding the song's meaning: "It's about being honest with yourself and the people you love. We've all been there where we've been worried about that moment - whether it's having a secret or something to overcome or get past - of chaos that happens right before you make the big step to fix it or to relieve yourself. It's a scary time, it's uncertain, so that's one of the things that I wrote the song about. In my mind, it was about coming out and how scary a step that is. And how once you do make the leap, you go, 'Wow, I feel liberated, there are other people like me, all I feel now is love!' Hopefully the message gets out there."
• Lambert returned to American Idol on March 10, 2011 to perform an acoustic version of the song.
• Lambert released a dance remix giving away a portion of the profits to raise the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth.