As a mega Country music star, Keith Urban sees a lot of music come across his desk from songwriters who are eager to have him record their song. While Urban admits a lot of the songs he hears are bound to be hits, he says they’re not all meant to be his hits.
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“I’ve passed on a few, but I have no regrets about passing on them because I think they found their right home,” Keith told Audacy’s Katie Neal when asked if there were any songs he remembers passing on that later became a hit song for another artist.
“One was ‘These Days’ by Rascal Flatts,” Urban revealed. “[It] was one I didn’t feel suited for where I was at and what I was doing. I knew it was a hit song!”
Mind blown! Now our heads are spinning. What other songs did Keith pass on, and who’d they find their “right home” with?!
“I also recorded a version, oddly enough, of a song that Maren [Morris] has out right now with Ryan [Hurd],” he continued. “I cut ‘Chasing [After] You’ probably two years ago and was planning on putting it on The Speed Of Now, but I didn’t feel like I nailed it or got it where I wanted it."
“Next thing I know, Maren and Ryan had cut it and it definitely found the right home,” he said, smiling.
So how does Urban know when a song is meant to be with him?
“If I don’t react to it musically, then it’s not speaking to me for what it is that I do,” he shared. “It’s just about compatibility.”
With numerous #1s, it’s safe to say Keith is a master at knowing what songs are good for him, but he was quick to share that it isn’t always an easy process, especially when making an album.
“What happens a lot with my records, I have maybe a stack of songs that I feel really, really good about and then a new one comes along that, in context maybe has just pushed four off the table because it’s set a new vibe or direction that feels really good.”
Well, you’ve seemed to nail it with every album so far Keith, and we look forward to the upcoming release of The Speed Of Now Part 2 (once the playlist has been perfected, of course).
Check out the full talk with Katie Neal and Keith Urban above.
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