Recently songwriter JT Harding and Keith Urban had a lot to celebrate. How they got to that point is a little unusual. Keith Urban’s recent No. 1 song “Somewhere in my Car” came to be from a chance meeting in the men’s room at BMI.
Urban and Harding were attending a dinner at the performing rights organization, and when Harding saw Urban in the restroom, he approached him about writing a song together.
Urban said telling someone, “Oh, we should write,” is the standard line in Nashville. But Urban said fact that Harding followed up, the co-write happened, the song made it on the album and then went to No. 1 is “extraordinary.”
photo: Carissa Riccardi
“I think people relate to the story, that kind of painful, somewhat pathetic reminiscing,” Urban said of the song.
“That kind of desperate, that you can’t help yourself. You play those memories over and over even though you know it’s never coming back. I think the essence of that within the song is the first thing, and then hopefully the record-making process has an ear appeal to get you to hear the lyric.”
Urban performed a version of the hit on piano at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville Wednesday (March 18) to celebrate the chart success of their jointly written “Somewhere in My Car,” Urban’s recent No. 1 single.
Later, he thanked wife Nicole Kidman from the stage and said being a judge on “American Idol” has made him appreciate his career even more.
“I get to make music,” he said. “It’s real blessing that all of us get to be in the music business.”
The latest No. 1 brings Keith’s career total to 17 and J.T.’s to three. J.T. is also responsible for the Jake Owen smash “Alone With You” and Kenny Chesney’s “Somewhere With You.” The feeling of being back at the top had both Keith and J.T. feeling blessed to be able to create music for a living.
photo: Steve Granitz/Wire Image
“It’s amazing,” Keith told Country Weekly of having success on the charts. “I mean, how many songs have been written, recorded and released [over time]? I think songs come out at such a rapid rate that to land at No. 1 is amazing! It’s a testament to the writers, producers and record label. It’s an amazing team effort, it really is.”
“It feels fantastic,” added J.T. “There is so much you really can’t control at all. You can write a song and you just wonder what is going to happen with it. Then it makes the record, and then it gets on the radio and people like it. I love this feeling. I will take a ton!”
