During Keith Urban‘s set at the iHeart Radio Music Festival on September 21, the country legend switched up the lyrics of one of his classic songs. The change highlighted Lainey Wilson’s incredible presence on country radio. Urban also debuted songs from his new album, HIGH, which dropped the day before on September 20.
Videos by American Songwriter
Urban closed his set with “Wasted Time,” originally from 2016, which featured the line “Had The Guns on the radio.” During the performance, he changed it up to “Lainey Wilson on the radio,” not only shouting out his duet partner on his new song “Go Home W U,” but also the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year. She’ll be defending her title this November when the award show returns.
According to a report from the iHeart Radio station Buckeye Country 105.5 out of Ohio, Urban put on an electric show at the festival. He opened with “Straight Line,” the first single from the new album, leading to renditions of “Wildside” and “Messed Up As Me.” He has previously described “Straight Line” as a song “born of wanting to break out of routine and feeling like somewhere along the line, life lost some color and excitement.”
Keith Urban Delivers High-Energy Set at iHeart Radio Music Festival, Shouts Out Lainey Wilson
Keith Urban put out a statement introducing his new album when it dropped last Friday. He said, in part, “Life is about contrasts – highs, lows, confidence, insecurity, love found, love lost, clarity, blurry, disciplined, and then the next minute, couldn’t care less. Sexy, warm summers and lonely, cold winters. This album flows with all of these in various ways.”
He continued, “Out of all of the things that have changed in my life, one has been a constant. I love making music. The feeling of writing a song that has real magic in it, bringing that song to life in the studio, and then playing it on stage and watching complete strangers sing every word.”
Urban concluded the statement by writing, “My desire is for the ‘flow state,’ and that’s what happened when we started this album HIGH. It just FLOWED and I feel the spirit of the whole album really reflects that. I hope you feel that too.”
Prior to the iHeart Radio Music Festival, Urban celebrated his new album with a huge pop-up show in Nashville. He has also played random sets at airports and gas station parking lots, leaning into his love of performing anything and anywhere. Now, he’s gearing up for a 10-night Las Vegas residency kicking off on October 4 and lasting until February 22, 2025.
Featured Image by John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.