Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” will be included on this year’s Grammy 2017 Nominees album, which is set for release January 20th. The compilation also features songs by Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett, as well as Adele, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and The Chainsmokers, among others.
Keith says he wanted “Blue Ain’t Your Color” to be different than a traditional waltz, and he accomplished it by using a drum machine. “It’s a waltz, basically Mmm, da da, mmm da da da It’s a waltz, it’s a waltz. It’s a slow waltz, and I didn’t want it to sound like a typical waltz would sound,” he said. “We played it with drums and bass and a few other things, and it just always sounded kind of like I’ve heard it before. And the drummer I was using – Matt Chamberlain – programmed this drum machine he had, and the sort of machinery sound of it was much more appealing with the acoustic instruments. So, what you really hear is a drum machine and real drums. Real drums do come in at the chorus and play along with I t, but sort of like those old Casio keyboards that had those dink, dink, dink, those things in there, ‘cause I was interested in kind of keeping it a bit minimal and robotic, really.”
A portion of the album’s proceeds will benefit the MusiCares Foundation and the GRAMMY Museum Foundation.
Keith is nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album (Ripcord), Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”
The 59th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in L.A. February 12th at 8pm ET on CBS.
Audio / Keith Urban talks about the challenge of making “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” into more than a typical waltz.
DownloadKeith Urban (Blue challenge) OC: …much more human. 1:03
“It’s a waltz, basically Mmm, da da, mmm da da da It’s a waltz, it’s a waltz. It’s a slow waltz, and I didn’t want it to sound like a typical waltz would sound. We played it with drums and bass and a few other things, and it just always sounded kind of like I’ve heard it before. And the drummer I was using – Matt Chamberlain – programmed this drum machine he had, and the sort of machinery sound of it was much more appealing with the acoustic instruments. So, what you really hear is a drum machine and real drums. Real drums do come in at the chorus and play along with it, but sort of like those old Casio keyboards that had those dink, dink, dink, those things in there, ‘cause I was interested in kind of keeping it a bit minimal and robotic, really. That sort of robotic thing with the drums lets everything else be human, the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, the piano, the vocal – it’s just that much more human.”
