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Keith Urban: A New Duet He Refuses To Reveal

Keith Urban has been working on a new album slated for release later this year. On the new project, Keith teased that he has one collaboration. He told us, “I…

Keith Urban is posing in a black shirt on the CMA red carpet.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Keith Urban has been working on a new album slated for release later this year. On the new project, Keith teased that he has one collaboration.

He told us, "I have one collab on this record, which we recorded a duet and we recorded it last summer. It's been so frustrating sitting on this song, which will come up in a year, probably by the time it comes out. It's just been sitting waiting to come out, but I'm so excited for that to come out."

Mystery Duet

So, who is the duet with? Urban would not say. He smiled evasively when asked who the mystery duet would be with and said, "I can't wait for you to hear it because it was a lot of fun doing it."

Keith loves collaborating with other artists and has done so many times in his career. He offered, "I think it comes from being a guitar player. I'm already wired to collab with a band."

He added, "Performing with other people is something I love doing. I love doing it because I learn something from it. We get to make something that's more than both of us. I've gotten to do many collabs with artists and people I love, and I love that this thing comes from it that would never have happened on our own. It just wouldn't have existed."

Urban continued, "It becomes what I call the third thing; we get to create the third thing. So, it's not what this person does, not what that person does, we do. It's that third thing that happens."

He concluded, "It's what happens in concert between me and the audience. You know, it's what I do, it's what they do, but when we come together, this third thing happens. It's really, really magical."

Dolly Duet

In 2005, Keith appeared on Dolly Parton's Those Were The Days album in a duet called "The Twelfth Of Never," a remake of the Johnny Mathis classic. He told us he would love to sing with the country music icon again. He gushed, "I'd be down for it in a heartbeat. I would love to sing with her at some point."

Country music tells stories of real life. And no genre sings it better when it comes to heartbreak, the loss of love, and divorce.

Looking back to the 1960s and 1970s, there were two songs about splits by country music queens of their day: Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Lynn sang the classic "Rated X," which was out in 1972, and talked about what women go through in the public eye after a divorce. It was quite salty at the time it came out.

Wynette is known for the ultimate country music divorce song, "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," which topped the country charts in 1968. It was six years later, in 1975, that she and George Jones got divorced. It was a huge deal at the time because, in their day, they were the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill of country music.

Fast forward to the 2020s, and breakups and heartbreaks leading to divorce still top the country's music charts. Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton are close to topping the charts with their GRAMMY Nominated (Best Duo/Group Performance) heartbreak duet about a couple that communicates so little: "We Don't Even Fight Anymore."

They say divorce is one of the three most stressful changes in life, next to death, sickness, and losing a job. Sadly, statistics say that 40-50 percent of marriages these days end in divorce. The divorce rate for second marriages is even higher, with approximately 60-67% of second marriages ending in divorce.

In country music, many marriages end in divorce, so when Tim and Faith celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary last year, it really was something to celebrate. They are not the only marriage success in country music as Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Keith Urban, and Nicole Kidman are approaching 20 years of wedded bliss.

We look at five country music songs about the loss of love and divorce.

"Starting Over Again" (1980) - Dolly Parton

This Dolly Parton classic is the ultimate divorce song. The song lyrics' first verse gets right to the point, "Momma moved out / Daddy sold the house / They split up the money / And went on their way / And all the king's horses / And all the king's men / Couldn't put mommy and daddy back together again."

This Dolly album, Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, came out right before she released her 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs album, which brought her a whole new set of music and movie fans. Reba remade this touching song on her 1995 On My Own album, where she recorded some of her favorite covers.

"Every Other Weekend" (2007)

Reba McEntire with Kenny Chesney - Reba makes another divorce song that hits home for many going through this tough lot in life. This song appeared on her 2007 Duets album. The song features Kenny Chesney and tells the tale of divorce from both sides, Mom and Dad.

The two released a video for the song, which features the couple exchanging kids. It features video footage of Reba sitting in a park but just Chesney's vocals.

"Give It Away" - (2006) - George Strait

The King of Country Music himself, sings the sad tale of divorce in his 2006 hit "Give It Away." The song details the stuff being divided when a married couple split. The song was written by Jamey Johnson, Bill Anderson, and Buddy Cannon. Jonhson's divorce inspired it at the time. The song became Strait's 41st No. 1 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, setting a new record for most No. 1 singles on that chart at the time. Conway Twitty held the previous record for number-one hits.

"Mama's Broken Heart" (2011) - Miranda Lambert

This classic breakup song is epic, with Miranda telling her mom not to share her advice after such a bad breakup. The song was written by Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, and Shane McAnally.

Lambert told us of the song when it came out in 2013, "I think we all have at some point or another, mostly when we're young. Especially crazy teenage love — you think the world is ending if you break up." The music video really adds to the tension of the song, as we see Miranda playing the role of someone not dealing very well with a breakup.

"You'll Think of Me" (2004) - Keith Urban

This heartbreaking big hit from Keith Urban ranked number one on the country charts and even peaked at number 6 on the US Adult Top 40 chart. The song's lyrics say in the chorus, "Take your records, take your freedom / Take your memories, I don't need 'em / Take your space and take your reasons / But you'll think of me."

The music video for the song features Keith singing in a dark and empty house with flashbacks of good times with his love.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.