Watch Keith Urban Perform ‘God Whispered Your Name’ at the Ryman

It was only a week ago that Keith Urban introduced “God Whispered Your Name,” while at his label’s luncheon, held at the Ryman Auditorium during Country Radio Seminar. Thankfully, his performance went better than last year’s, when his attempt to perform his then-new single, “We Were,” didn’t go as well as he had hoped.

“I’m actually pretty nervous,” Urban said as he began “God Whispered Your Name. “Something to do with the Ryman. Actually, it might be to do with trying to sing a new song last year, ‘We Were,’ and it taking, like, four attempts.”

Urban didn’t write “God Whispered Your Name,” but he reacted to it as strongly as if he had.

“‘God Whispered Your Name’ really spoke to me the very first time I heard it,” Urban shared, via his record label. “The opening line: ‘I was so cold and lost / and nothing seemed to ring true,’ God, I know that place so well. The rest of the song unfolded, and I just followed it every step of the way. At the end of the day if I’m gonna record a song that I didn’t write, like this one, then it’s gonna be a song that speaks to me really strongly.

“And ‘God Whispered Your Name’ absolutely spoke to me and tells my journey in such a profound way,” he continued. “Going through a season in life of being very lost and lonely and confused and not knowing a how to get out of that, and then the chorus hits — ‘God Whispered Your Name’ and everything starts to open up and become clear. And that second verse when it said, ‘I can feel the sunshine for the first time in a while,’ again, it just went right to the core of me. And (it was) the most extraordinary song, and I just knew right then and there I had to get into the studio and record it.”

Urban was just announced as the host for the 2020 ACM Awards. He is also nominated in one category, for Male Artist of the Year. He is also the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, but surprisingly did not get nominated in that category this year.

The 2020 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.n. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Getty / John E. Sokolowski