
Key Points
- Keith Urban forgot lyrics to “The Fighter” during Nashville tour performance, sparking viral attention.
- Absence of guitarist Maggie Baugh fueled fan comments and romance rumors, now resolved.
- Urban addressed lyric changes, saying, “Stop reading sh*t into it,” dismissing personal speculation.
Keith Urban closed out his High and Alive Tour by forgetting the words to his own song— and it quickly went viral.
Performing in Nashville on Friday, October 17, the 57-year-old country star forgot the lyrics to his 2016 duet with Carrie Underwood, “The Fighter.” Mid-performance, Urban paused, laughed, and told the audience, “And I’ve forgotten my own words to my song,” drawing cheers from the crowd. His touring musician, Natalie Stovall, danced beside him, helping carry the tune until Urban found his footing again.
The flub came during a headline-grabbing chapter in Urban’s personal life. The singer, who recently split from wife Nicole Kidman after 19 years of marriage, had previously removed “The Fighter” from his setlist amid speculation surrounding his onstage chemistry with guitarist Maggie Baugh — who was notably missing during the performance.
“Doesn’t come close to Maggie,” one fan commented on a TikTok video of the moment.
Another declared, “He’s much better with Maggie Baugh on stage.”
“Thank god Maggie Bough is gone,” a third stated.
READ MORE: Keith Urban Admitted Life Was ‘Lonely and Miserable’ Before Nicole Kidman Split
During a September show in Chicago, Urban tweaked a lyric to reference Baugh directly, singing, “When they’re tryna get to you, Maggie, I’ll be your guitar player,” instead of the original line, “When they’re tryna get to you, baby, I’ll be your fighter.” This seemingly started their romance rumors, which have since been put to rest.
This isn’t Urban’s first time editing lyrics on the fly. Earlier this month, the rocker changed a lyric in his 2002 breakup song “You’ll Think of Me” to “Take your space and all your stupid bulls**t reasons,” which many assumed was about Kidman and their split. But during his Nashville show Friday, the country star dismissed the rumors, telling fans, “I’ve been covering like this for a long time. Stop reading sh*t into it.’”