Keith Urban Radiates Positive Energy in ‘Wild Hearts’
This performance earned him a standing ovation!
Keith Urban set all the “Wild Hearts” on fire with his passionate performance at the 2021 CMA Awards.
Leaning into nostalgia, Urban opened the song with a stroll down an empty Broadway in downtown Nashville, walking past the closed bars with a guitar on his back and a voice-over where he discusses the power in following one’s dreams. All roads lead him to the stage at Bridgestone Arena where he delivered a fiery performance, singing to “the wild hearts just like mine.”
The singer’s passion and excitement could be seen radiating from the stage and into the audience where his wife Nicole Kidman could be seen grooving to the song alongside tablemate Jennifer Hudson. Urban lit up the stage with the lively number, bringing the positive energy with smiles abound as he formed a mini jam band with his background singers, the performance immediately earning him a standing ovation from the impressed crowd, including the likes of Kidman, Chris Stapleton and Eric Church.
Urban released “Wild Hearts” over the summer, describing the track as an autobiographical anthem. Its opening refers to the real-life Johnny Cash concert Urban’s father took him to as a boy, and how that fateful show helped inspire his dream of becoming an entertainer.
He went on to co-write the dreamer’s anthem with a handful of other artists who know exactly how he felt — Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, Runaway June’s Jennifer Wayne and solo artist Eric Paslay — and the track is now headed up the country radio charts as it leads off a new album cycle.
“I’m here to tell you anything can happen in this life if you got the heart and the passion and a God-lit fire inside,” Urban says of the song.
Back in their usual format after the pandemic-impacted 2020 show, the 55th Annual CMA Awards aired live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 10. The night featured dozens of performances and awards presentation for a glitzy ceremony dubbed “Country’s Biggest Night,” and was hosted by superstar Luke Bryan for the first time. You can check out Sounds Like Nashville’s full coverage here.
