Maps of Music

Graffiti U (2018)

Where the lyrics of Graffiti U take you, and where it was really made.

The title is neither a song name nor a lyric. Urban coined the phrase himself while working on the record.

Key places

Recorded in Nashville, 2017–18 (2018)

Recording site Nashville — The album is listed as recorded in Nashville, Tennessee between 2017 and 2018. The coordinate is a candidate point and does not confirm a specific studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Westlake Recording Studios (2018)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles is listed as a recording location for the album. Several studio entries for this same site are merged into one point. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Tenth studio album by Australian and American country singer Keith Urban
• Released 27 April 2018 through Hit Red and Capitol Records Nashville
• Heavily influenced by experiences from Urban's youth
• Singles: “Female”, “Parallel Line”, “Coming Home” (featuring Julia Michaels), and “Never Comin' Down”

Background

• Urban's first influences were records by Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, and Merle Haggard that his father collected
• He quit school at age 15 and performed in cover bands that played a variety of styles
• The album combines the styles he played in his youth with those he heard in his father's record collection
• “Graffiti U” is not a song title or a lyric, but a phrase Urban came up with
• Urban said the word “graffiti” came to him while he was working on the album, because the process was like graffiti for him
• “Female” was inspired by the Me Too movement

Recording

• Recorded in 2017–18 in Nashville, Tennessee
• Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles is listed as a recording location

Sources: en.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 to negative reviews
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it three out of five stars, criticizing Urban's attempt to address complicated sexual politics
• In the same review, he questioned the narrator's solidarity on the song “Gemini” because of its provocative lyrics
• Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone gave it two and a half stars
• Bernstein said Urban shone brightest in his well-worn comfort zones and struggled when he tried to break new sonic and lyrical ground

Records

• Debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 145,000 album-equivalent units, 137,000 of them pure album sales
• Sales were helped by a concert ticket and album redemption offer tied to a tour that began 15 June 2018
• Debuted atop the Top Country Albums chart, Urban's sixth number-one album on that chart
• Urban's seventh top 10 album in the country
• In its second week it fell to number 18 on the Billboard 200 and number three on Top Country Albums, selling 17,100 copies
• Certified Gold by the RIAA on 24 July 2019
• As of July 2019 it had sold 282,400 copies in the United States
• Nominated for CMA Award for Album of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• “Graffiti U” is neither a song title nor a lyric on the record but a phrase Urban came up with
• Urban explained that the “U” part meant both the audience and the listener
• “Coming Home” uses a sample of Merle Haggard's “Mama Tried”
• “Female” was performed live during the 2017 CMA Awards, where Urban also performed
• On 23 April, at a Spotify “Fans First” event in Nashville, five local artists displayed murals inspired by songs from the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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