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Keith Urban delivered a vibrant, energetic performance when he took the stage at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday evening (April 7), hosted again at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. “Straight Line” is Urban’s first song to release as the globally-beloved artist teases his 12th full-length studio album. He delivered an electrifying performance with Mike Gonzales, of Austin, on percussion, plus Anna Vaus on acoustic guitar and vocals, and Maggie Baugh on mandolin and vocals.
Urban wrote “Straight Line” with Chase McGill, Jerry Flowers and Greg Wells, and co-produced it with Wells. His next album will follow THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1, the 16-track album he released in September 2020.
“I think it represents an energy and spirit that became a through line of the whole record. I’m gonna cover a lot of themes, emotions and vibes on this album but a very human spirit runs through them all,” Urban previously said of “Straight Line.” The upbeat anthem aims to “break out of a soul-sucking routine,” and inspires listeners with “a message of feeling alive again...
“‘Straight Line’ is the perfect first track off my album because it’s a song born of wanting to break out of routine and feeling like somewhere along the line, life lost some color and excitement – ‘You and me used to be like a year-round summer…’ This song is about getting it back again – a message of taking back your life and driving out from under the dark cloud. If you’ve seen us in concert, I hope this track gives you that same liberated feeling,” Urban said in a statement shared by his record label. “While ‘Straight Line’s’ lyrics are about being stuck and trying to break out of the monotony, the melody and energy are a boulevard of nothing but green lights. Every song on this album – even the ballads – carries an energy and a life force that became a very strong through line. I hope you feel it. I’m so excited for everyone to hear the whole thing.”
Urban followed “Straight Line” with “Messed Up As Me,” which made its debut on March 1 following Urban’s debut live performance at the 2024 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) on the historic Ryman Auditorium stage in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. He also performed it when he surprised unsuspecting travelers with a pop-up performance at Nashville International Airport.
“Most of us have been in dysfunctional relationships before, where there’s not a lot of compatibility, except for that one area where it’s so good you put up with all the rest. A phone call or a night out and you’re right back where you shouldn’t be,” Urban said, per his record label, when he released the song . He added with a laugh, “it’s a song about a relationship that is kind of pretty dysfunctional, pretty messy, except for one part of it and that one part of it is amazing. In fact, that one part is so good that you figure out just putting up with all the rest that is dysfunctional, possibly toxic and just messy. Between the two of you, that one thing is well worth it.”
Other performers who took stage throughout the evening included host Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Aldean, Dasha, Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town with Sugarland, Megan Moroney, NEEDTOBREATHE with Jordan Davis, Old Dominion with Megan Moroney, Parker McCollum with Brittney Spencer, Sam Hunt, and Trisha Yearwood, who was revealed as the first-ever June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award. CMT also announced an all-star lineup for a tribute to late country legend Toby Keith, who died earlier this year after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 62.
Presenters include Amber Riley, Billy Bob Thornton (Landman), Carly Pearce, Cody Alan, Cody Johnson, Emily Osment (Young Sheldon), Emma Roberts, Gayle King (CBS Mornings), James Van Der Beek, Jane Seymour, Jelly Roll, Max Theriot (Fire Country), Megan Moroney, Melissa Etheridge, Mickey Guyton, Minnie Driver, Montana Jordan (Young Sheldon), Parmalee and Paul Walter Hauser, per a press release issued Wednesday.