20 Keith Urban Songs We Just Can’t Do Without

I’ve been interviewing Keith Urban since his debut album in Nashville came out 22 years ago. He is one of the most talented guys in town and he’s also such a nice guy.

Aside from his music being right on point from day one, he really makes the effort to connect with everyone in Nashville. He remembers my name each time I see him. At first, I thought I was special, but then I realized he remembered everyone’s name in the room, and there were a lot of names to recall. It’s just one thing that makes you love him.

This song list is personal to this journalist because I’ve been listening to these tunes from the very first time we learned about this new artist from Australia. We were told early on, “You’re gonna love him.” And yeah, record labels say that kind of thing all the time. But with Keith Urban, they were right.

As Keith celebrates his 54th birthday today (10/26), we celebrate his music and 20 of his songs that we can’t do without.

• 20. “You’re My Better Half” 2004

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  So 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

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  It’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

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  The 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

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  From 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

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  Right 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

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  There 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

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  The 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

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  What 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

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  Although 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

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  According 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

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  The 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

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  I 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

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  The 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

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  This 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

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  An 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

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  Who 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

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  Keith 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

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  Classic 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

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  The 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

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  Possibly 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.