How Keith Urban Struck Gold with the Country-Pop Crossover ‘Somebody Like You’

Before Keith Urban became the stadium-filling country superstar we know today, he was a newbie trying to find his footing in Nashville. Then came his first single, “Somebody Like You” from his third studio album, Golden Road. The track became his second No. 1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. In 2009, Billboard crowned it the number-one country song of the 2000s decade.  

But how did this country-pop crossover come to life, and how did it turn Urban into one of the most successful crossover artists?   

Urban co-wrote the song with John Shanks, a songwriter and producer with impressive credentials who already had success in the rock and pop industry, before crossing over to the country genre with Urban. Before working with Urban, Shanks had already worked with other major artists, including Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks, Michelle Branch, and Bon Jovi. He’s also worked with pop stars Kelly Clarkson and Ashlee Simpson.   

During the writing session, Urban admitted to being nervous about writing with Shanks since they’d never met before. When the Australian singer-songwriter arrived, Shanks was playing a drum loop. Urban, who'd brought his ganjo (a six-string banjo), played the opening riff of the song. The melody and words came quickly, making the track “one of those pretty easy-to-write songs.”  

Urban, who was personally struggling at the time, felt the timing was right. The meeting with the rock/pop producer and country artist was magical and unexpected, but fortunate since it led to Urban’s long and thriving career.  

Despite at the time being, in his own words, “in a bad way personally, struggling a lot” and “in a relationship that was not... I was not in a good way,” there was a silver lining: Urban got a hit song out of the situation. The track, which was about wanting to find someone to love: “An' I'm lettin' go of all my lonely yesterdays / I've forgiven myself for the mistakes I've made / Now there's just one thing / The only thing I wanna do, mmhmm / I wanna love somebody, love somebody like you.”  

When Urban played the demo for his girlfriend at the time, she heard it as a love song but then called him a “f—king hypocrite,” walked out, and later broke up with him. He agreed with her, “She wasn't wrong. It wasn't the guy I was, it was the guy I wished I could be.” His vulnerability in admitting what was happening in his real life is what inspired the track, giving it more authenticity.  

Writing the song itself was perhaps the easy part, because the recording process was grueling. Capitol Records wanted Urban’s album The Golden Road to have a fiery production style and electric guitar features, so they included producer Dan Huff in the process. Urban initially butted heads with Huff because his previous work “wasn’t his kind of music.” Urban and Huff had contrasting approaches: Urban had a “ridiculous punk rock ethic,” while Huff had a “pedigree of pop music.” Huff described their collaboration at the beginning as “oil and water.”  

In one instance, Urban blew up during a guitar solo recording because of the retakes, finally asking, “Crikey! What the f— do you want?” Huff said he was waiting for the perfect moment: “If you're done, you're done. I think we might have it.”  

The tension between the two and Urban’s emotional state became the catalyst for the emotional guitar solo. Their different styles demonstrated how friction and differences in creativity can lead to a breakthrough.   

To say “Somebody Like You” was a hit is an understatement. It reached No. 1 on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for six weeks, peaked at No. 23 on Billboard Hot 100, reached No. 3 in Canada, and spent 41 weeks on the country chart. It also achieved 2x platinum certification by the RIAA and 3x platinum in Australia.   

The song’s success not only made Urban a country music star, but also set him up as a major crossover artist. The song’s multi-genre appeal paved the way for other country artists to go mainstream, without completely abandoning their roots.   

“Somebody Like You” changed Urban’s career trajectory. He said that the song “sent my career into a whole different speed in a really wonderful way” and that it is “one of the most important songs for me that happened.” Urban had achieved moderate success with his first two albums, but this song from his third album was what launched him into superstardom and established his signature sound of country with pop-rock elements.   

After the success of "Somebody Like You," Urban went on to release nine more studio albums. The most recent, High, dropped just last year. He also appeared as one of the four vocal coaches in the Australian version of the reality singing competition, "The Voice," and was a judge on "American Idol" from 2012 to 2017.

Urban appeared in the documentary film Slim and I and currently stars in CBS’s "The Road," another reality TV competition where 12 musicians compete to be the opening act for his performances in different venues nationwide.   

In non-entertainment ventures, Urban has released a signature guitar line through the Home Shopping Network.  

Keith Urban’s “Somebody Like You” transformed him from a struggling artist into a crossover superstar. Not only did it help his career and other artists', but the song also expanded the genre’s reach. More than two decades later, the track remains included in Urban’s live performances and is still beloved by fans. Urban recently played it during his High and Alive World Tour and in one of his performances in Nashville, fans held up red paper hearts while he performed the song.  

His personal vulnerability, plus Huff’s musical innovation, went into creating this song, establishing Urban both as an authentic artist and a musician willing to experiment and take risks.