Dierks Bentley Gushes Over Keith Urban, Maren Morris

Dierks Bentley invited the Taste of Country Nights staff down for a little R&R in Panama City Beach recently. The "Somewhere On a Beach" singer opened up to us about his heroes, and one of them is Keith Urban.

Bentley recently released Black, a 12-track album that's been well-received so far. “Somewhere on a Beach” was the album's lead single, but just one day before dropping Black, he announced the second single. Bentley revealed that “Different for Girls” would be the follow-up single to his No. 1 hit, with Elle King joining him on the mid-tempo track. Although Bentley chose to drop the album and singles in this way, he says there's one artist who does single and album releases the best.

“You know who’s the smartest? Keith Urban," Bentley explains. "He put out two singles and then put the album out. He’s gonna get like seven off his record. Keith Urban is a very smart man. I look up to him for a lot of different reasons.”

“I look up to guys in the business that are married, have kids, are really committed and also that kill it on the road. He’s one of those guys — he’s a good beacon out there for me," he adds.

Bentley also has country newcomer Maren Morris joining him on the album. He knew he had to have her voice, so he called her up and she couldn't refuse.

"I'd heard her voice in the demo, I didn't even know it was her ... She's a great singer. She really took the song to a whole other level."

Fans can catch Bentley's duet with King on the 2016 CMT Music Awards on June 8 at 8PM ET/PT on CMT.

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide.

See Pictures From Dierks Bentley's Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit

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