Top 10 Keith Urban Songs
Keith Urban songs run the complete musical gamut. The singer-songwriter has written and recorded some of the best songs in recent Nashville history, ranging from uptempo summer songs to heartbreaking ballads.
Urban is one of the best singers in country music, and he's also one of a small handful of the greatest guitarists in the business. He also plays the piano, and it's that musical versatility that is at the heart of his success.
Our list of the Top 10 Keith Urban Songs collects his very best tracks from across his entire career.
- 10
"Stupid Boy"
From: 'Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing' (2006)Though it wasn't as big a chart success as some of the other songs on this list, "Stupid Boy" is one of the best Keith Urban songs. Written by Dave Berg, Deanna Bryant and Sarah Buxton, the song originally appeared on a Buxton album. Urban's rendition is self-mocking, recognizing his stupidity for letting the best thing that ever happened to him slip away: "She laid her heart and soul right in your hands / And you stole her every dream and crushed her plans," he sings to himself, in a puddle of regret.
- 9
"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me"
From: 'Golden Road' (2003)Urban was really beginning to close in on his signature sound by the time he released "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me." The track shows off his vocal and instrumental prowess, and it also set the tone for what future songs would sound like. Co-written by Urban and Monty Powell, the song reached No. 1 on Billboard's country singles chart, becoming the first of three Urban singles in a row that would reach the top spot.
- 8
"You Look Good in My Shirt"
From: 'Greatest Hits: 19 Kids' (2008)What woman wouldn't actually look (and feel) good in Urban's T-shirt? This 2008 uptempo ditty tells a story of two lovers rekindling a spark ... even if for just one night. The "morning after" finds the two unsure about the future but darn sure of their mutual attraction. Urban has recorded "You Look Good in My Shirt" twice -- once for 2003's Golden Road, and again for his Greatest Hits album. The latter version became Urban's eighth No. 1 hit.
- 7
"'Til Summer Comes Around"
From: 'Defying Gravity' (2009)"'Til Summer Comes Around" is one of Urban's most hauntingly well-crafted tracks. Written by Urban with Powell, the song tells the story of a man who's walking the boardwalk where he and his love used to enjoy times at the carnival. As the song progresses, it reveals that she has left him and he has remained in town for several years, waiting for her promised return in the summer. The song reached No. 3 in the country charts, and Urban won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for it in 2011.
- 6
"Days Go By"
From: 'Be Here' (2005)Time flies. Life is short. Stop and smell the roses. All of these cliches come to life in a much less cliched way, as Urban feels his days fly by, "like a hand out the window in the wind / As the cars go by / It's all we've been given / So you better start livin' right now." The song was a career milestone for Urban, topping the charts for four weeks. That year he was also named the CMA Entertainer of the Year.
- 5
"Put You in a Song"
From: 'Get Closer' (2010)Urban brought together his love of fast cars and music in the lead single from Get Closer. Written by Urban, Jedd Hughes and Buxton, "Put You in a Song" is an uptempo rocker in which the protagonist comes up with a way to keep his dream girl with him at all times: "If I could press play, repeat, how happy I'd be / Wherever I'd go I'd have you there with me / You'd be right where you belong / I wanna put you in a song."
- 4
"But for the Grace of God"
From: 'Keith Urban' (1999)After an unsuccessful stint in a band called the Ranch, Urban scored his breakthrough with his first U.S.-released solo album, Keith Urban. The third single from that record, "But for the Grace of God," became Urban's first No. 1 single. The song cuts right to the heart of how bad things that happen to other people could as easily be played out in our own lives, "but for the grace of God." Interestingly, Urban's co-writers on the track were Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's.
- 3
"Tonight I Wanna Cry"
From: 'Be Here' (2004)Many of Urban's best songs are based around his exemplary guitar playing, but "Tonight I Wanna Cry" centers around a simple,. but devastatingly effective piano figure. One of the darkest heartbreak ballads of Urban's career, the song, which he co-wrote with Powell, features some of his best wordplay: "Would it help if I turned a sad song on / "All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone / Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters / It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better."
- 2
"Somebody Like You"
From: 'Golden Road' (2002)Prepare to do some head bobbing to this No. 1 song. This 2002 single is the breath of fresh air that happens only when you feel the love bug biting, and you're not looking for a repellent: "There's a new wind blowing like I've never known / I'm breathing deeper than I've ever done / And it sure feels good to finally feel the way I do / I wanna love somebody, love somebody like you." The song topped the charts for six weeks and became Urban's first gold single.
- 1
"You'll Think of Me"
From: 'Golden Road' (2002)Rarely has getting the last word ever seemed as wistful as in "You'll Think of Me." Written by Darrell Brown, Ty Lacy and Dennis Matkosky, the lyric is a perfect amalgam of rhyme and meaning: "Take your records, take your freedom / Take your memories, I don't need 'em / Take your space and take your reasons / But you'll think of me." The song spent two weeks at the top of the country charts, reached No. 24 in the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 in adult contemporary, and also tops our list of the Top 10 Keith Urban Songs.