"Raise 'Em Up" is a song written by Tom Douglas,

Jaren Johnston Jaren Ray Johnston (born October 4, 1980) is an American country music and rock singer and songwriter. He is a member of the group The Cadillac Three. Career Jaren is a multiple time Grammy nominated songwriter and producer. Johnston was former ...

and

Jeffrey Steele Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit ...

and recorded by New Zealand-born Australian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

as a duet with American country music singer

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

. It was released in January 2015 as the fifth international single, sixth overall and final single from Urban's 2013 album ''

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

''.

Background

According to Urban, when he sent a demo to Church with the intent of having him serve as a duet partner on it, Church asked, "How do you write a song as good as that?" and Urban replied that he did not write the song. Regarding his own reaction to hearing the demo, Urban said that "I was floored" and added, "There’s so much imagery in the song and it’s written in such a way that you can fill in all the blanks. I love that kind of style of songwriting".

Content

The song is a mid-tempo

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

song speaking about various objects being "raise up, such as lighters at a concert, "raising one's voice", and raising children.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' reviewed the single favorably, saying that "In barely three minutes, Urban’s new single from ‘Fuse’ goes from a wild weekend to raising kids, all while hinting at the preciousness of time. Rarely is so much said in so little time with so much efficiency and emotion." The song was nominated for

Best Country Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. It was first awarded in 2012, after a major overhaul of Gramm ...

at the

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...

Chart performance

As of June 2015, the song has sold 250,000 copies in the US. Sales figure give
here
/ref> On August 16, 2019, the single was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for combined sales and streaming data of over 500,000 units in the United States.

Music video

The music video is in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, and was directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley, Madd ...

and premiered in April 2015.

Personnel

From ''Fuse'' liner notes. * Nathan Chapman — programming,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

keyboards 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 * Musi ...

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

* Eric Church — lead vocals * Keith Urban — all vocals,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{CMA Musical Event of the Year 2015 singles Keith Urban songs Eric Church songs Black-and-white music videos Capitol Records Nashville singles Songs written by Tom Douglas (songwriter) Songs written by Jaren Johnston Songs written by Jeffrey Steele Song recordings produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer) 2013 songs Music videos directed by Chris Hicky Country ballads 2010s ballads Male vocal duets