Keith Urban: The Song That Changed His Career
Keith Urban will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame tonight (10/11) at their annual gala in Nashville. Keith will be inducted alongside Kix Brooks, David Lee Murphy,…
Keith Urban will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame tonight (10/11) at their annual gala in Nashville. Keith will be inducted alongside Kix Brooks, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, and Rafe Van Hoy, and he couldn't be more honored to be included in the Class of 2023.
Urban told us recently that it's "impossible" to pick a favorite song he's written since he's written thousands, but he can point to specific songs that have changed the course of his career.
RELATED: Keith Urban Performs Song Clips For 'Hall' Benefit
He said of one of those career-changing songs, "I would have to look at something like 'Somebody Like You' as one of the most important songs for me that happened and to a large degree, just sent my career into a whole different speed in a really wonderful way. Of course, you know, there's hundreds of songs I've written that led up to that one getting written, and it's just magic. It's magical how that song got written."
He continued, "I wrote it with a guy called John Shanks, who I'd never met, and I was nervous showing up that morning to write that song. And he had a little drum loop happening, and I happened to bring my six-string banjo. I pulled it out of the case, and the first thing that I played was that opening riff of the song, and I started singing a melody, and the words started coming fairly quickly, and it was one of those pretty easy-to-write songs. I think it's just where I was in my life at the time, too."
Keith added, "It really captured probably more of the person I wished I could be. I wasn't that person in the song, but I wanted to be, and I felt I was getting close to being that person. So, it's a truthful song. It came from a truthful place, and I'm still incredibly grateful for it. I can't imagine doing a show and not doing that song, and I feel really grateful that I love it. I love it as much today as the day I wrote it."
Keith Urban is a superstar in country music and a gem of a man who plays the guitar like no one else before him or since. His concerts are epic, and he changes them for each city he is in to fit that city.
Recently in Nashville, he bought up-and-coming country singer, who sang in the bar across the street from the Bridgestone Arena, to sing with him giving her two songs and one heck of a push in the music industry.
In the same show, he brought out superstar Luke Combs to sing a couple of songs and even brought his wife, Oscar winner Nicole Kidman to the stage just to say hi to his fans.
It's hard to find just 20 songs that encompass the mega-career of Urban, but we ranked what we believe are his very best for his 55th birthday today (10/26).
20. "You're My Better Half" 2004
UMGSo good! The song was released in October 2004 as the second single from his album ‘Be Here.’ The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
19. "You Look Good in My Shirt" 2008
UMGIt’s hard not to picture Nicole Kidman wearing his shirt in this song. The couple was married two years earlier. The song’s lyrics tell of a male and female who had previously broken up but reunited the night before. The chorus takes place the morning after their reunion.
18. "Kiss a Girl" 2009
UMGThe official video for the song consists of Keith and the band performing in an animated city. Also included are two people who eventually find each other and fall in love. In the end, the Ferris wheel they ride displays "KISS" on each car, a reference to the song's title.
17. "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" 2015
UMGFrom Urban's Ripcord album. The song uses several name-drops to illustrate the narrator's influences in life, culminating in "I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16."
16. "Wasted Time" 2016
UMGRight before the release of the song, as his final performance on American Idol, the show on which Urban was a judge at the time, he sang "Wasted Time," playing the "ganjocaster," a combination between a banjo and electric guitar built by his former bandmate Brian Nutter.
15. "You'll Think of Me" 2004
UMGThere is some debate as to the correct line "take your cat and leave my sweater" which has been misheard as "take your cap and leave my sweater." In 2018, Keith confirmed in an interview that the lyric is in fact "cat.”
14. "Better Life" 2005
UMGThe song became Urban's seventh number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and spent six weeks at that position. The song's video shows Keith and his band performing the song in a Los Angeles culvert, intercut with scenes of a struggling young pair of lovers having their ups and downs. The video won the CMT Music Awards Video of the Year in 2006.
13. "Blue Ain't Your Color" 2016
UMGWhat an amazing love song. "Blue Ain't Your Color" received two Grammy nominations at the 59th Grammy Awards – Best Country Solo Performance for Urban and Best Country Song for its songwriters. It also won both the CMA Award for Single of the Year and the American Music Award for Favorite Country Song in 2017.
12. "Sweet Thing" 2008
UMGAlthough a love song, the lyrics were inspired by Keith's relationship with his Ford Mustang, which is seen in this song's music video.
11. "Raise 'Em Up" (featuring Eric Church) 2015
UMGAccording to Urban, when he sent a demo to Church with the intent of having him serve as a duet partner on it, Church asked, "How do you write a song as good as that?" and Keith replied that he did not write the song, but when he heard the demo, he was "floored."
10. "Somebody Like You" 2002
UMGThe banjo at the beginning of this song wins me over from the very first note. In December 2009, Billboard ranked "Somebody Like You" as the number one country song for the first decade of the 21st century.
9. "We Were" 2019
UMGI remember Keith performing this song with just a guitar at Country Radio Seminar in March of 2019. We all knew right then that it was going to be a big ole hit. Eric Church co-wrote the song. The song charted top five in Billboard.
8. "Days Go By" 2004
UMGThe song became Urban's fifth number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in late-2004, spending a four-week stay at that position. The video won the CMT Award for Best Video of 2005.
7. "We Were Us" (with Miranda Lambert) 2013
UMGThis is a wonderful pairing of Keith and Miranda Lambert. The song is the narrators' reminiscence of lost love. Lambert sings the first verse, Urban sings the second verse, and both sing the choruses and bridge together.
6. "But for the Grace of God" 2000
UMGAn early single and his first number one song, Keith wrote it with Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s and held it for two years thinking it didn’t fit him just right. He recorded it, and it fit him like a glove. Great song!
5. "One Too Many" (with P!nk) 2020
UMGWho knew these two would sound so good together? The song debuted at the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards on September 16, 2020 and was released that day as the third single from The Speed of Now Part 1. Urban said, "I've always loved Pink's voice, but her artistry and her multi-faceted ability to create, and her God-given talent, truly makes her one of the greatest voices of our time."
4. "God Whispered Your Name," 2020
UMGKeith said of the song, " It absolutely spoke to me and tells my journey in such a profound way going through a season in a life of being very lost and lonely and confused and not knowing how to get out of that."
3. "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" 2003
UMGClassic Urban, and who *wouldn’t* want to be him? The music video premiered in mid-2003. It features footage from Keith's 2003 summer tour, as well as shots of Keith riding a motorcycle.
2. "Where the Blacktop Ends" 2001
UMGThe guitar riff in this song has become legendary. This classic was released in April 2001 as the fourth and final single from Keith’s first American self-titled album. The song became his third (consecutive) Top 5 hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart after reaching number 3.
1."The Fighter" (featuring Carrie Underwood) 2017
UMGPossibly one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s so simple yet so good, and he and Carrie’s vocals together are amazing! Love the lyrics and the melody. Keith said he wrote the song after having a conversation with his wife Nicole when they first got together. It was his way of reassuring her he would always be there for her.
