September 27, 2021 • 10 mins
If you are “Holding Out For A Hero,” this Cody Cast podcast was made just for you!
Country superstar Keith Urban drops in with Cody Alan to chat about everything from crushing on Nicole Kidman’s character role to manifesting dreams and stepping away from self-doubt. Keith also reveals how his personal journey led him to record and serve up “Wild Hearts,” a country anthem for dreamers.
PLUS: Keith comes unhinged after writing the forward for Cody’s new book ‘Hear’s The Thing’ coming November 9th.
Take a listen to get the latest from the greatest by clicking the link below, and be sure to pre-order Cody’s book at CodyAlanBook.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Cody Cast. This is Cody Allen's podcast. Really
this podcast guest needs no introduction. But Keith Urban, obviously singer, songwriter, entertainer,
incredible musician, guitar player, a c M, c M A
Grammy Award winning, he's done it all, married to Nicole Kidman,
wrote the forward from my new book Here's the Thing,
(00:22):
out in November nine. You could pre order that right now.
I love Keith Urban. How about that introduction? Huh, my hero.
I'm holding up for a hero because he's got i'd
be strong, and he's got I'd be something, and he's
got to be fresh from the fight. Fight, fresh from
(00:44):
the fight. That's not a lyric you're gonna hear in
Nashville right there, fresh from the fight. How are you?
I'm good? How are you, Cody? I'm so excited to
see you, and thank you for all the help with
the book. I can't say thank you enough. It just
I know, I feel every bit of it said. Was
harder Keith writing the foreword or writing Wild Arts the foreward. No,
(01:07):
either of them were difficult because they both come from
a place of truth. That's that's really the truth, The
truth in that answer is that they both they both
flow because they're they're they just you know, I speak
my truth. Have you ever thought about writing a book yourself? Um? No, no, no,
why do you? I do want to do the foreword? Yes, right, No,
(01:31):
I just I would love to read a book about
Keith Herb. But I think so many fans would love
to hear the stories, the behind the scenes over the years,
So please consider. Okay, okay. I love the song thank You.
I think it's so great and it's one of those
first listening songs thank you. You hear it one time,
it's like, wow, that's so and it's so inspiring. I mean,
mayally want to join the Olympics or like, you know,
(01:53):
do something, get up and do something, amps you up.
You know what I'm saying. Yeah, thank you. I love
how you went straight straight past a pro sports team
and just went straight to the Olympics. It's fantastic. They're
a high achiever. You punch above your weight. Cody Allen
tell with the idea behind it, because you had a
great set of songwriters that you wrote this with first. Yeah,
this is this. It's an unusual story of creation for
(02:16):
this song. It was written by Brad Tercy from Old Dominion,
Jen Wayne from Runaway June, and Eric Passley, who are great,
great songwriters, all of them. And I got sent this
song called wild Hearts, you know, as just a straight
up pitch, and I listened to it and I liked it,
(02:38):
but it didn't It didn't get under my it didn't
like sort of just didn't. It didn't hit me, didn't
stay with me, and so I passed on the song.
And about a week later, I woke up very early
one morning singing the freaking chorus of this song, and
I was like, oh, this is a this is a
good this is a good song. So I went and
listen to it again and I, you know, it starts
(03:01):
with the verse like most songs do, and I realized
very quickly that I loved the chorus, but but the
verses didn't speak to me. They didn't say anything that
stayed with me. So I called the writers and I said,
you know, this is a song about chasing your dreams
and and just believing in those dreams and going for it.
And I can really relate to that. I mean, my
(03:24):
whole life has been that. Coming from the other side
of the world over here, that's all I was doing,
was following my dreams. Can I rewrite these verses so
that they're more about my own story? And they said yeah,
So they sent me the track with no verses, just
the chorus, and I rewrote both verses top to bottom
and made them more personal about my own journey. So
(03:47):
and so when I thought about, you know, my my
musical journey, where where did that begin? Um? It was
immediate that I went five years old going to see
Johnny Cash. Okay, that's where it begins. Saw the man
in black, spotlight in the air, heard a thousand screams,
saw my dad's there. I feel like I've been running
(04:08):
since the day that I was born, Eagle on my back,
phoenix on my arm. And then we're often running into
the song. And I knew, I knew right then and
there this thing is is so just so true, so
true to me. So is it part of the speed
of now Park two? Are you working on that part
of it? Will that happened or is this going to
stand alone? Yes? To stand alone? I mean it was
(04:30):
that the whole thing was just very strange. I I
got into town in May, I sent that song. The
whole story that I just told you happened within the
space of a week. Uh. I wrote those verses, went
down into my studio due a quick vocal on the demo,
like took the vocal off the demo and sang on
the demo, and then I thought, this demo actually sounds
(04:50):
pretty damn good. So I just started building on top
of the demo that a guy called Mitch for had
already done the demo, So I just built on top
of it, and very quickly this thing just became a record.
I sent it to my manager and I said this,
this might be good, something good, you know down the track,
and he goes, oh, we should put that out now.
And I'm like, I literally just put an album out
(05:13):
in September. I wasn't really planning on new music. And
he's like, this feels great. It feels great, we should
just put it out, and so like, okay. So we
sent it off and we got it mixed, and everything
just happened so quickly that I had no time to
think much about what we're doing other than creating and releasing.
What's a great summertime song too? Is we you know,
(05:35):
I know we're at the close of summer, but I
just feel like it's got that energy that you want
to bring, and and the kind of energy you also,
I'm sure you want to bring to the shows coming
up in Vegas as well. I know those are just
around the corner. So how will those shows differ maybe
from what people may have seen from you and then
like an arena show, you know. I grew up playing
in the clubs, and we worked our way up into
the theaters and then work their way up into the arenas.
(05:58):
And I resisted playing Vegas for years and years and
years because I always thought of Vegas as sort of
a theater crowd, which I don't I'm not really I
don't really like theaters. I don't like I like rowdy, loud,
drunken crowds. That's like my favorite crowd to play to.
(06:18):
The louder and drunker. They are the better. So um,
they said, oh, you've got to come and check out
this room, you know, because we've actually built it where
it's like an arena stage, but it's like some theater
seating at the back, and then down the front it's
all concrete floor like well, you know, it's like a
club standing room, only like marsh pit. I was like, wow,
(06:39):
So we went and sat to look at that room,
and sure enough, it was all three venues rolled into one.
I couldn't believe it. So we did our first run
of shows and I had such a great time playing
there because you've got the intimacy of a small club show.
You've got the communicative moment with the audience if they
want to sit down and listen to, you know, the
(06:59):
story song, and then you've got this massive arena stage
that you can really do a big production. It's crazy.
So it's an intimate arena, is what it's like. I
hope to make it to one of those shows. And
what's it been like? So far? More electric coming out
of the pandemic and playing again then obviously are people
just are anxious to get out and to see live
(07:19):
music again. It must be more electricity, right, you know?
In in so many ways. The first show we did
up in Ohio last week, which was that that's our
first with the band doing a full set. That was
the first one we've done in five hundred and fifty
nine days. It's insane, right, um, And that crowd was
(07:44):
just they were pure, That's what that crowd was. It
looked like what pandemic It was just they were so
euphorically into it. It was it was incredible, incredible to
be back. How do you do out with like five?
I mean, what was how did you sort of fight
(08:05):
fight your way through that struggle? You know? I wrote,
I wrote, and I did a lot of things. I
did a lot of zoom gigs, you know, and appreciate
the ability to do virtual performances, of which we did
a lot. Technologically speaking, it's it's great to be able
to stay connected with everybody. But um, for me, as
(08:26):
a performer who thrives on a real, live crowd, it
was like standing outside the window of a nightclub playing
to everybody inside. That's what it felt like, like, playing
through a big window. I couldn't couldn't get inside and
be within the same space as everybody. And that's what
I live for. I live for being in the same
space as everybody. Finally, I'm watching your incredible wife on
(08:49):
nine Perfect Strangers right now, and it is so good.
Do you watch it with her? I saw all of
those apps over the court a long period of time,
because you know, they as they edit, they Nick watches them,
and I watched them with her and so forth. And
then sometimes you watched the same app three different times,
(09:10):
so they've made slight edit changes. But I was really
I was hooked pretty quickly, and then this. I couldn't
believe the plot twists that started to unfold across that show.
And it's very David E Kelly to have these. You know,
anybody that saw the undoing and even big little lies
know that David E is great with these plot twists.
(09:31):
And Nine Perfect Strangers has as a zinger coming towards
the end. It's fantastic. I don't know, but I think so.
Hey Keith, thank you for the time again. Thanks for
your friendship. It means the world to me. This has
been Cody cast. Subscribe now on iTunes, listen to any
(09:52):
time on the I Heart radio app. Cody is Hurt
on hundreds of radio stations across America and seen on
CMT Heart twenty countdown every week Kent. For more, go
tot CMT Cody dot com
Welcome to Cody Cast. This is Cody Allen's podcast. Really
this podcast guest needs no introduction. But Keith Urban, obviously singer, songwriter, entertainer,
incredible musician, guitar player, a c M, c M A
Grammy Award winning, he's done it all, married to Nicole Kidman,
wrote the forward from my new book Here's the Thing,
(00:22):
out in November nine. You could pre order that right now.
I love Keith Urban. How about that introduction? Huh, my hero.
I'm holding up for a hero because he's got i'd
be strong, and he's got I'd be something, and he's
got to be fresh from the fight. Fight, fresh from
(00:44):
the fight. That's not a lyric you're gonna hear in
Nashville right there, fresh from the fight. How are you?
I'm good? How are you, Cody? I'm so excited to
see you, and thank you for all the help with
the book. I can't say thank you enough. It just
I know, I feel every bit of it said. Was
harder Keith writing the foreword or writing Wild Arts the foreward. No,
(01:07):
either of them were difficult because they both come from
a place of truth. That's that's really the truth, The
truth in that answer is that they both they both
flow because they're they're they just you know, I speak
my truth. Have you ever thought about writing a book yourself? Um? No, no, no,
why do you? I do want to do the foreword? Yes, right, No,
(01:31):
I just I would love to read a book about
Keith Herb. But I think so many fans would love
to hear the stories, the behind the scenes over the years,
So please consider. Okay, okay. I love the song thank You.
I think it's so great and it's one of those
first listening songs thank you. You hear it one time,
it's like, wow, that's so and it's so inspiring. I mean,
mayally want to join the Olympics or like, you know,
(01:53):
do something, get up and do something, amps you up.
You know what I'm saying. Yeah, thank you. I love
how you went straight straight past a pro sports team
and just went straight to the Olympics. It's fantastic. They're
a high achiever. You punch above your weight. Cody Allen
tell with the idea behind it, because you had a
great set of songwriters that you wrote this with first. Yeah,
this is this. It's an unusual story of creation for
(02:16):
this song. It was written by Brad Tercy from Old Dominion,
Jen Wayne from Runaway June, and Eric Passley, who are great,
great songwriters, all of them. And I got sent this
song called wild Hearts, you know, as just a straight
up pitch, and I listened to it and I liked it,
(02:38):
but it didn't It didn't get under my it didn't
like sort of just didn't. It didn't hit me, didn't
stay with me, and so I passed on the song.
And about a week later, I woke up very early
one morning singing the freaking chorus of this song, and
I was like, oh, this is a this is a
good this is a good song. So I went and
listen to it again and I, you know, it starts
(03:01):
with the verse like most songs do, and I realized
very quickly that I loved the chorus, but but the
verses didn't speak to me. They didn't say anything that
stayed with me. So I called the writers and I said,
you know, this is a song about chasing your dreams
and and just believing in those dreams and going for it.
And I can really relate to that. I mean, my
(03:24):
whole life has been that. Coming from the other side
of the world over here, that's all I was doing,
was following my dreams. Can I rewrite these verses so
that they're more about my own story? And they said yeah,
So they sent me the track with no verses, just
the chorus, and I rewrote both verses top to bottom
and made them more personal about my own journey. So
(03:47):
and so when I thought about, you know, my my
musical journey, where where did that begin? Um? It was
immediate that I went five years old going to see
Johnny Cash. Okay, that's where it begins. Saw the man
in black, spotlight in the air, heard a thousand screams,
saw my dad's there. I feel like I've been running
(04:08):
since the day that I was born, Eagle on my back,
phoenix on my arm. And then we're often running into
the song. And I knew, I knew right then and
there this thing is is so just so true, so
true to me. So is it part of the speed
of now Park two? Are you working on that part
of it? Will that happened or is this going to
stand alone? Yes? To stand alone? I mean it was
(04:30):
that the whole thing was just very strange. I I
got into town in May, I sent that song. The
whole story that I just told you happened within the
space of a week. Uh. I wrote those verses, went
down into my studio due a quick vocal on the demo,
like took the vocal off the demo and sang on
the demo, and then I thought, this demo actually sounds
(04:50):
pretty damn good. So I just started building on top
of the demo that a guy called Mitch for had
already done the demo, So I just built on top
of it, and very quickly this thing just became a record.
I sent it to my manager and I said this,
this might be good, something good, you know down the track,
and he goes, oh, we should put that out now.
And I'm like, I literally just put an album out
(05:13):
in September. I wasn't really planning on new music. And
he's like, this feels great. It feels great, we should
just put it out, and so like, okay. So we
sent it off and we got it mixed, and everything
just happened so quickly that I had no time to
think much about what we're doing other than creating and releasing.
What's a great summertime song too? Is we you know,
(05:35):
I know we're at the close of summer, but I
just feel like it's got that energy that you want
to bring, and and the kind of energy you also,
I'm sure you want to bring to the shows coming
up in Vegas as well. I know those are just
around the corner. So how will those shows differ maybe
from what people may have seen from you and then
like an arena show, you know. I grew up playing
in the clubs, and we worked our way up into
the theaters and then work their way up into the arenas.
(05:58):
And I resisted playing Vegas for years and years and
years because I always thought of Vegas as sort of
a theater crowd, which I don't I'm not really I
don't really like theaters. I don't like I like rowdy, loud,
drunken crowds. That's like my favorite crowd to play to.
(06:18):
The louder and drunker. They are the better. So um,
they said, oh, you've got to come and check out
this room, you know, because we've actually built it where
it's like an arena stage, but it's like some theater
seating at the back, and then down the front it's
all concrete floor like well, you know, it's like a
club standing room, only like marsh pit. I was like, wow,
(06:39):
So we went and sat to look at that room,
and sure enough, it was all three venues rolled into one.
I couldn't believe it. So we did our first run
of shows and I had such a great time playing
there because you've got the intimacy of a small club show.
You've got the communicative moment with the audience if they
want to sit down and listen to, you know, the
(06:59):
story song, and then you've got this massive arena stage
that you can really do a big production. It's crazy.
So it's an intimate arena, is what it's like. I
hope to make it to one of those shows. And
what's it been like? So far? More electric coming out
of the pandemic and playing again then obviously are people
just are anxious to get out and to see live
(07:19):
music again. It must be more electricity, right, you know?
In in so many ways. The first show we did
up in Ohio last week, which was that that's our
first with the band doing a full set. That was
the first one we've done in five hundred and fifty
nine days. It's insane, right, um, And that crowd was
(07:44):
just they were pure, That's what that crowd was. It
looked like what pandemic It was just they were so
euphorically into it. It was it was incredible, incredible to
be back. How do you do out with like five?
I mean, what was how did you sort of fight
(08:05):
fight your way through that struggle? You know? I wrote,
I wrote, and I did a lot of things. I
did a lot of zoom gigs, you know, and appreciate
the ability to do virtual performances, of which we did
a lot. Technologically speaking, it's it's great to be able
to stay connected with everybody. But um, for me, as
(08:26):
a performer who thrives on a real, live crowd, it
was like standing outside the window of a nightclub playing
to everybody inside. That's what it felt like, like, playing
through a big window. I couldn't couldn't get inside and
be within the same space as everybody. And that's what
I live for. I live for being in the same
space as everybody. Finally, I'm watching your incredible wife on
(08:49):
nine Perfect Strangers right now, and it is so good.
Do you watch it with her? I saw all of
those apps over the court a long period of time,
because you know, they as they edit, they Nick watches them,
and I watched them with her and so forth. And
then sometimes you watched the same app three different times,
(09:10):
so they've made slight edit changes. But I was really
I was hooked pretty quickly, and then this. I couldn't
believe the plot twists that started to unfold across that show.
And it's very David E Kelly to have these. You know,
anybody that saw the undoing and even big little lies
know that David E is great with these plot twists.
(09:31):
And Nine Perfect Strangers has as a zinger coming towards
the end. It's fantastic. I don't know, but I think so.
Hey Keith, thank you for the time again. Thanks for
your friendship. It means the world to me. This has
been Cody cast. Subscribe now on iTunes, listen to any
(09:52):
time on the I Heart radio app. Cody is Hurt
on hundreds of radio stations across America and seen on
CMT Heart twenty countdown every week Kent. For more, go
tot CMT Cody dot com
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