Keith Urban knows good music when he hears it, and there’s one recent tune by Ariana Grande that he simply cannot get enough of.
ET’s Rachel Smith spoke with Urban backstage at Nissan Stadium during day 3 of this year’s CMA Fest in Nashville on Saturday, and the “Straight Line” singer opened up about his recent praise for Grande’s tune “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” which he’s covered several times recently.
“I do love covering that song, yeah,” said Urban, who shared a video of himself performing his take on the track last month.
In the post, 56-year-old Urban called the song “audible heroin,” and he explained to ET that he used that term because “you want to hear it again and again and again.”
“The first time I heard it, [I played it] maybe eight to 10 times,” Urban said. “Literally, just again, again, again.”
“It’s the song, it’s her voice, it’s the recording, it’s the backing vocal arrangement, it’s just masterful,” he added. “It’s really beautiful.”
The track is off Grande’s latest album, Eternal Sunshine, which came out in March.
When asked about whether or not he has plans to collaborate with Grande, Urban said he didn’t know if that would be in the works anytime soon, but explained, “I’m just happy to do that song right now and sort of dismantle it and do a different take on it.”
One collaboration that came together at this year’s CMA Fest was between Urban and Lainey Wilson, who took the stage Saturday evening and surprised fans with a performance of their tune “Go Home W U.”
For Urban, CMA Fest has becoming something of an annual tradition, performing at the event for over 20 years.
“It’s amazing to see how big CMA Fest has gotten over the years,” Urban said. “Great music, great new artists and finally recognizing diversity in country music — it’s always been there, it just hasn’t been represented the way it is now, and you see it here all week at Nashville and especially CMA Fest!”
This year’s CMA Fest — hosted by Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde — airs June 25 on ABC.
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