"Nightfalls" is a song co-written and recorded by Australian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

artist

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

, released as a single on 31 March 2022. Urban wrote the song with

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...

and

Mozella Maureen Anne McDonald (born May 13, 1981), better known as Mozella, is an American songwriter and singer. Along with her album releases, Mozella co-wrote Miley Cyrus' 2013 single "Wrecking Ball", which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Sh ...

, while Kurstin produced the track. The song was released as a single to radio formats in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Background

Urban previewed "Nightfalls" by posting two videos on social media prior to its release, saying "two summers have gone by without touring and the desire to have that feeling again inspired every part of creating this song". He described the process of writing the song with

and

as "pure joy," saying he wanted to "try and bring something to help us exhale and be in the moment – if only for 3 mins and 41 seconds". The song was premiered on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

in the United Kingdom on 31 March 2022. It was released while Urban's single " Wild Hearts" continued to be promoted at

country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. T ...

in the United States.

Critical reception

Sterling Whitaker of ''Taste of Country'' described "Nightfalls" as a "very progressive pop-country track that's perfect for summer". Caleigh DeCaprio of ''Country Swag'' reviewed the song favourably, saying it would "have you up on your feet, wanting to be dancing the night away with your person and drunk on each other when the night falls". Tiffany Goldstein of '' CMT'' stated that while the song does not highlight Urban's guitar-playing ability, it showcases his "robust vocals", noting the use of the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

and

drum beats A drum beat or drum pattern is a rhythmic pattern, or repeated rhythm establishing the meter and groove through the pulse and subdivision, played on drum kits and other percussion instruments. As such a "beat" consists of multiple drum strokes o ...

, calling it a "radio-ready anthem" that is "perfect" for his then-upcoming "The Speed of Now World Tour".

Credits and personnel

Adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. * Ethan Barrette –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Julian Burg – engineer * Serban Ghenea – mixing * John Hanes – engineer * Scott Johnson – production coordination *

David Kalmusky David Kalmusky (born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada) is an American record producer, mixer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has worked with Shawn Mendes, Keith Urban, Meghan Trainor, Justin Bieber, Carrie Underwood, Mötley Crüe, John Legend, Tenil ...

– recording *

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, composition, drums, engineer,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

, keyboards,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, synthesizer * Maureen McDonald – composition, backing vocals *

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including Blink-182, DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse ...

–

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

* Alberto Sewald – assistant engineer * Matt Tuggle – engineer *

– composition, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals

Charts

References

{{authority control 2022 songs 2022 singles Keith Urban songs Songs written by Keith Urban Songs written by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Mozella Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Capitol Records Nashville singles Universal Music Group singles