Maps of Music

Defying Gravity (2009)

Where the lyrics of Defying Gravity take you, and where it was really made.

Defying Gravity became Keith Urban's first album to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold 171,000 copies in its first week.

Key places

RAK Studios, London (2009)

Recording site RAK Studios — RAK Studios in London is listed among the recording locations for this album. The pin marks the studio's building coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Blackbird Studio, Nashville (2009)

Recording site Nashville — Blackbird Studio in Nashville is listed among the recording locations for this album. The pin is set at the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Hound's Ear, Franklin (2009)

Recording site Sound Kitchen — Hound's Ear in Franklin is listed among the recording locations for this album. The pin is set at the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Defying Gravity: sixth studio album by Australian country artist Keith Urban
• Released March 31, 2009 via Capitol Records Nashville
• Five singles released between 2008 and 2010
• Sold 171,000 copies in its first week of release
• Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and the CMA Album of the Year

Background

• Title comes from the lyrics of “If Ever I Could Love”
• “I'm In” was first recorded by Radney Foster in 1998 as a duet with Abra Moore
• The Kinleys also recorded “I'm In” in 2000
• “Sweet Thing”, co-written with Monty Powell, is the lead-off single
• “Kiss a Girl”, also written by Urban and Powell, was the second single
• “Only You Can Love Me This Way” was released in June 2009 as the third single
• “'Til Summer Comes Around” was released in November 2009 as the fourth single
• Urban's version of “I'm In” was released in May 2010 as the fifth and final single
• “Hit the Ground Runnin'” was made into a music video although it was never released as a single

Recording

• Recording locations listed: Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Hound's Ear in Franklin, and RAK Studios in London
• Urban plays banjo, EBow, mandolin, slide guitar and sings lead vocals
• Dann Huff, Tom Bukovac and Adam Shoenfeld contribute guitar parts
• Stuart Duncan plays fiddle and Bruce Bouton plays steel guitar

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Keith Lionel Urban, born 26 October 1967 in Whangārei, New Zealand, moved to Caboolture, Queensland, Australia at age two.
• Took up the guitar at age six; influenced by country music from his parents and by guitarists Mark Knopfler and Lindsey Buckingham.
• Won the Star Maker talent quest at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 1990, leading to a contract with EMI Music Australia.

Career

• Self-titled debut album released in Australia in 1991; moved to Nashville in 1992.
• Formed the band The Ranch in 1995; their self-titled album was released on Capitol Nashville in 1997.
• US solo debut in 1999 with a second self-titled album; "But for the Grace of God" became his first US country number one.
• Golden Road (2002) and Be Here (2004) followed; Be Here became his best-selling album, certified 4× Platinum.
• Won Grammy Awards for "You'll Think of Me" and "Stupid Boy".
• Has charted 37 singles on the US Hot Country Songs chart, 18 of them number one.
• Served as a judge on American Idol and a coach on The Voice Australia.
• Appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2020.

Members

• Solo artist; founded The Ranch as a backing band with drummer Peter Clarke and bassist Jerry Flowers.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave the album mixed reviews
• Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine gave two-and-a-half stars out of five
• Keefe said the album lacked the rawness of Urban's earlier albums
• Keefe called most songs, including the first two singles, retreads of Urban's earlier hits
• Keefe thought Urban's version of “I'm In” was inferior to The Kinleys' version
• Mark Kemp of Rolling Stone gave two stars out of five
• Kemp said the album lacked the ambition of Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing and had idyllic themes
• Thom Jurek gave four stars out of five in his review for AllMusic
• Jurek praised Urban's banjo use in more rock-oriented songs and the variety of instruments
• Jurek called the cover of “I'm In” favorable and said its backing vocals recalled The Rolling Stones
• Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly gave a B rating
• Pastorek praised the radio-friendly hooks and the fresh production

Reappraisal

• Jurek considered the sound an expansion on Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing
• Jurek said the album combined hook-laden songwriting with a pop sensibility in the modern country vernacular

Records

• Reached number 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200, the first Urban album to do so
• Sold 879,000 copies in the United States as of August 2010
• Certified Platinum by the RIAA on 21 September 2010 for a million copies shipped
• Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and the Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year
• Lost both awards to Taylor Swift's Fearless

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Urban appeared on Today and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 1 April and sang “Sweet Thing” and “Kiss a Girl” on both shows
• Urban performed “Kiss a Girl” at the Academy of Country Music awards on 12 April
• iTunes offered an exclusive “Countdown to Defying Gravity” podcast series in which Urban talked about the songs each week
• iTunes's “Complete My Album” offer gave fans a bonus track, “Call My Name”, originally recorded by Third Day for their Revelation album
• Jurek called the final track “Thank You” a nakedly open paean to Urban's wife Nicole Kidman

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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