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Keith Urban scored one of the biggest hits of a long career with “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” earning a CMA Awards 2017 nomination for Song of the Year. Urban deserves to win, for reasons we’ll explore below.
Songwriters Steven Lee Olsen, Hillary Lindsey and Clint Lagerberg teamed for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which gave Urban another No. 1 hit, topping both the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. It crossed over to mainstream enough to reach No. 24 on the Billboard 100 charts as well.
The song is a new twist on several classic themes, featuring a fairly standard old-time doo-wop feel in the chords, but with very contemporary production values. The lyrics tell a story about a man and woman who meet in a bar as she is trying to seek solace from a difficult relationship, but they do it in a fresh new way, and of course Urban’s performance is also a factor in why the song deserves to win Song of the Year.
Scroll through below to find out why “Blue Ain’t Your Color” deserves to win Song of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards, and let us know whether you agree or disagree in the comments section.
5
Its Cool Factor
There are nothing but great songs in this category in 2017, and any one of them is deserving. But Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” is the hippest song not only from a songwriting perspective, but especially in its production and presentation.
4
The Lyrical Imagery
The main thing that sets “Blue Ain’t Your Color” apart from other heartache songs is its exceptionally vivid lyrical imagery. It’s as unexpected as it is perfectly descriptive when Urban sings, “Blue looks good on the sky / Looks good on that neon buzzin’ on the wall but darlin’, it don’t match your eyes.” Steven Lee Olsen, Hillary Lindsey and Clint Lagerberg put a lot of careful thought into the lyrics that deserves special recognition.
3
Its Perfect Fusion
One of the hardest things to pull off in a new song is to make it sound familiar in a way that’s not too challenging on first listen, while not actually borrowing too much from other sources. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” balances those concerns perfectly, drawing its chord progression and 12/8 time signature from classic sources, but presenting them with a fresh lyrical perspective and an audio production that is completely contemporary.
2
Urban’s Killer Vocal
In addition to being nominated for Song of the Year, Urban is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards, and “Blue Ain’t Your Color” is a primary reason why. The song is rangy, but Urban does not over-sing. He delivers the song with power, but holds back enough to let the lyrics and melody carry the song instead of trying to call attention to what a great singer he is — which only serves to underscore what a great singer he truly is. Song of the Year is an award that goes to the songwriters, but Urban’s vocal inarguably helps make the song as impactful as it is.
5
Urban’s Total Legacy
“Blue Ain’t Your Color” is deserving all by itself, but oftentimes an artist’s career legacy can tilt the voting their way. If we consider Urban’s total contribution to country music, it’s a no-brainer. He’s the total package: great singer, great musician, and an artist who consistently pushes the boundaries of country music without destroying them. Work of this caliber deserves not only Song of the Year, but whatever other awards the CMAs or any other institution could possibly give him and its songwriters.
