Keith Urban is a force to be reckoned with in country music. From his genre-blending hit songs to his incredible guitar skills, Urban has faithfully followed his own path for more than 30 years. Along the way, he’s uplifted new artists following in his footsteps, particularly those who have recorded songs he’s written.
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Check out three songs you didn’t know Urban wrote for other artists.
1. “Dancin’ in the Country” by Tyler Hubbard
Written by Tyler Hubbard, Keith Urban, Ross Copperman, and Jon Nite
Tyler Hubbard released “Dancin’ in the Country” in November 2022 as the second single off his self-titled debut album as a solo artist. Originally, the writing session was just supposed to be with Hubbard, Ross Copperman, and Jon Nite, but Hubbard decided to invite Keith Urban to join days before. Nite tells Billboard that both Hubbard and Urban kept commenting that the song would be “great” for the other. “When we got finished writing, Keith said, ‘I think we just wrote your first single,’” Hubbard recalls. “It was nice that Keith put his stamp of approval on it.”
2. “Falling” by Trent Harmon
Written by Keith Urban, Brett James, and Dallas Davidson
Keith Urban partnered with two of the biggest songwriters in country music to pen this track that Trent Harmon recorded as his winning song on season 15 of American Idol. Urban originally planned to record it himself, but when the then-Idol judge was approached by producers about Harmon cutting it as his coronation song, he agreed.
“That one just sort of fell by the wayside a little bit,” Urban said at the time, per Billboard. “I was focusing on the songs and the next thing I knew they called me and asked if I would be cool with Trent singing it. I was all for it…I heard his version of it and it was amazing.”
Harmon included a remix of “Falling” on his 2018 debut album, You Got ‘Em All.
3. “Throw it Back” by Breland
Written by Breland, Keith Urban, Sam Sumser, and Sean Small
Despite being a new artist to country music, Breland has some heavy-hitting writers on his debut album, Cross Country, one of which is Keith Urban. The two teamed up with Sam Sumser and Sean Small to write this ear-catching country trap song that features Urban as a guest vocalist and was the second single off Cross Country. Breland and Urban had previously worked together on “Out the Cage,” which was released as the last single off Urban’s 2020 album, The Speed of Now Part 1.
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