Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

The Fighter

Credits

Release Date

Record Label

Performance

Reviewer

Adam R. Holz

Album Review

We can safely say actress Nicole Kidman’s 11-year-marriage marriage to Tom Cruise didn’t end well. And I think we may also assume that her current husband, fellow Aussie and country superstar Keith Urban, is singing about that sensitive subject in his latest hit, “The Fighter.”

“I know he hurt you,” Urban begins. “Made you scared of love, too scared to love.”

From there, Urban unfurls a litany of vows that he’ll always be a different kind of man.

A Faithful Fighter

This countrified pop song (and it really is closer to being pop than country; it could practically be a Maroon 5 track) is infused with knight-in-shining-armor chivalry pretty much from start to finish. Urban’s playing that knight role, obviously, while fellow country icon Carrie Underwood plays the part of a somewhat timid woman who’s not yet fully convinced that her would-be knight’s shining armor is quite as shiny as he insists it is.

Picking up where we left off with the lyrics above, Urban sings, “He didn’t deserve you/’Cause your precious heart is a precious heart.” That’s followed by an earnest exclamation of thanksgiving (“He didn’t know what he had, and I thank God, oh, oh, oh”) and the first of that long list of promises about how good this relationship is going to be (“And it’s gonna take just a little time/But you’re gonna see that I was born to love you”).

At that point, Carrie Underwood chimes in on the chorus.

But What About … ?

Underwood’s contribution is almost entirely in the form of “what if” questions that Urban addresses, one by one.

“What if I fall,” Underwood wonders. “I won’t let you fall,” Urban promises.

Underwood: “What if I cry?” Urban: “I’ll never make you cry.”

Underwood: “And if I get scared?” Urban: “I’ll hold you tighter.”

Then the “knockout punch” (from Urban): “When they tryna get you, baby, I’ll be the fighter.” Well, BAM!

As the song moves toward the conclusion, the woman whose perspective Underwood voices is almost ready to believe, but she’s still got some anxiety: “I wanna believe that you got me,” baby.” Urban assures her that he does, with something very close to until-death-do-us-part language: “I swear I do, from now until the next life.” That seems to be enough for her: “I wanna love, wanna give you all my heart.”

Adorable and Adorable-er

Honestly, the song and its accompanying video (which mostly focuses on Urban and Underwood trading lines, intercut with footage of a young woman dancing to her own beat) is adorable. The only conceivable criticism I could fathom being lobbed is that the woman here seems to be somewhat of an old-fashioned damsel in distress, someone prone to falling, crying or getting scared.

But back in the real world, we know we have moments where we’re scared. Where we cry. We fall. Men and women both. That’s why when we get married, we make vows that cover every conceivable contingency. Because we simply don’t know what life is going to throw at us.

As much as I like this song and its official video, though, I found another on YouTube that’s even adorable-er. The clip shows Urban and his real-world bride of 10 years, Nicole Kidman, singing the song back and forth to each other in their car (sorta Carpool Karaoke-style). She’s not particularly made-up, you know, Hollywood style. They just look like a “normal” couple having a blast singing these lyrics to each other.

And they look like they mean it.

The Plugged In Show logo
Elevate family time with our parent-friendly entertainment reviews! The Plugged In Podcast has in-depth conversations on the latest movies, video games, social media and more.
adam-holz
Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.