"Polaroid" is a song 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 ...

. The track was written by Griffen Palmer, Geoff Warburton, Steph Jones, Sam Fischer, and Mark Trussell, while Urban produced the track with Joey Moi. It was the third single released in Australia off Urban's eleventh studio album '' The Speed of Now Part 1'', and the first single off the album released in the United Kingdom.

Background and release

Although Urban did not write the song himself, he felt connected to the concept of it after co-producer Joey Moi sent him the song to listen to it. He stated that when he moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, he and his band lived in a "rundown" house, and someone had given them a

Polaroid camera Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polaro ...

which they used to take many pictures that were hung up on their wall. Urban said "the idea that this couple in this photograph who were at a party that they didn't really want to be at ... And then, all these years later, they're still together," was a "great lyric". Urban released a snippet of "Polaroid" on social media on the morning of Thursday, 23 April 2020, before officially releasing the full track at midnight the next day.

Critical reception

Lars Brandle of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the song as a "rollicking guitar-driven pop number". Joseph Hudak of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called the track a "breezy, evocative jam," also adding that it is one Urban's "more electronic-focused musical adventures".

Music video

The official music video for "Polaroid" premiered on 24 April 2020, and was directed by Dano Cerny. The video was filmed largely using motion control technology, and is centred around a pool party that includes couples, a barbecue, and Urban himself with a guitar. He remarked that he did not initially realize most of the couples in the video were real-life couples, and joked that he thought to himself "Man, they're really committed to this role".

Commercial performance

"Polaroid" peaked at number 2 on the ''TMN'' Country Hot 50 in Australia. It also reached a peak of number 33 on the

Hot Canadian Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart.

Track listings

Digital download – single # "Polaroid" – 2:30 # " God Whispered Your Name" – 3:52

Credits

Adapted from '' The Speed of Now Part 1'' liner notes. * Nathan Chapman –

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 ...

* Dave Cohen – keyboards * Joey Moi – mixing,

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 ...

, programming *Jerry Roe – drums, percussion *

Ilya Toshinsky Bering Strait was a Russian country music band, whose style was sometimes called "redgrass". In 2003, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award and appeared on the TV show ''60 Minutes''. The group disbanded in 2006. The lineup on their first al ...

– acoustic guitar *Mark Trussell – programming *

–

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, electric guitar, production, all vocals

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 songs 2020 singles Keith Urban songs Songs written by Steph Jones Songs written by Sam Fischer Songs written by Geoff Warburton Songs written by Griffen Palmer Song recordings produced by Joey Moi