Did “Burden” Bring Keith Urban Luck at the 54th ACM Awards?

Being nominated for the ACM Entertainer of the Year for the tenth time, Keith Urban was excited. It’s much like every nominated artist who attended the show last April 7. But, it’s also possible that he’s ten times more excited than the rest of the artists for another reason. Specifically, he was excited to make a surprise performance of a cover song – something that resonates with him a lot.

Keith Urban’s Debut Performance of “Burden”

The “Blue Ain’t Your Color” singer did not fail to brighten up the 54th ACM Awards stage with a once-in-a-lifetime performance of the song he called “Burden.” From the very moment he heard of the tune, Urban has been dreaming of performing it on stage. And so, the ‘Country Music’s Party of the Year’ gave him the best chance to fulfill that dream.

To ignite his fans’ excitement, Urban posted a clip on his Instagram hinting about the song during a rehearsal earlier in the day of the annual awards show.

“I’m going to be doing a song tonight that is something I heard recently…that absolutely spoke to me,” Urban stated. “I just love the song and it’s not my new single – it’s just something I really wanted to do.”

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When it was his turn to perform, Urban delivered a spectacular rendition of a Foy Vance original, leaving the audience in awe. His passion was vividly there. It was indeed a one-of-a-kind performance that we cannot get over with. When he was declared the night’s top winner, we can’t agree more with the result, and we are so proud of him. Finally, after being nominated for the tenth time, Urban got his first-ever Entertainer of the Year win at the ACM Awards.

About the Song

“Burden” was written by Irish musician Foy Vance. The song appeared on Vance’s 2016 LP The Wild Sun. Urban admitted that the uplifting tune had a profound impact on him the very first time he heard of it.

“I was riding my bicycle, and I just stopped,” Urban told Billboard. “It went right into the center of me. I got back to Nashville and thought I’d love to capture how I feel about this song if I can.”

The song has a universal message of healing and rebirth. The singer has already forwarded his recorded version of “Burden” to streaming services. However, it’s not yet known if the track will be included on his upcoming full-length LP.

Listen to his breathtaking cover of the song below.