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Why Keith Urban felt recording “Messed Up as Me” was a must

By Jeremy Chua Aug 16, 2024 | 5:00 AM
Courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville

Keith Urban may not have written “Messed Up as Me,” but its story resonated with him so much that he had to record it.

“I’ve got to have experienced what the song is about, you know? And that was absolutely the case with ‘Messed Up as Me,'” Keith shares in a press interview. “I’ve definitely been in those situations, not just once. But I know that place really well, and that’s everything for me [about] why a song is going to work for me or isn’t going to work for me.”

Sure, having more hits won’t hurt Keith, but recording a song that he relates to far outweighs the potential hit factor.

“It’s like someone’s sending you a song and they go, ‘This is a really hit song,’ and I go, ‘I don’t feel it.’ Maybe it’s a hit song, but it doesn’t feel true to who I am,” says the “Blue Ain’t Your Color” singer. “And ‘Messed Up as Me’ was [one that I felt] in every part of me right from the beginning.” 

You can find “Messed Up as Me” on Keith’s forthcoming 11th album, High, which arrives Sept. 20 and is available for preorder and presave now. The project’s latest single, “Go Home W U” with Lainey Wilson, is #17 and ascending the country charts.

Here’s the track list for High:
“Blue Sky”
“Straight Line”
“Messed Up As Me”
“Wildside”
“Go Home W U (with Lainey Wilson)”
“Chuck Taylors”
“Daytona”
“Love Is Hard”
“Heart Like a Hometown”
“Laughin’ All the Way to the Drank”
“Dodge in a Silverado”
“Break the Chain”


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