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Graffiti U

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Graffiti U is the tenth studio album by New Zealand-born Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released on 27 April 2018, through Hit Red and Capitol Records Nashville. The album was heavily influenced by experiences from Urban's youth, and includes the singles "Female", "Parallel Line", "Coming Home" (featuring Julia Michaels), and "Never Comin' Down". The album has received mixed reviews from critics but received a nomination for CMA Award for Album of the Year.

Graffiti U
Studio album by
Keith Urban
Released27 April 2018 (2018-04-27)
Recorded2017–18, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry pop
Length52:00
Label
Producer
Keith Urban chronology
Ripcord
(2016) 		Graffiti U
(2018) 		The Speed of Now Part 1
(2020)
Singles from Graffiti U
  1. "Female"
    Released: 8 November 2017
  2. "Parallel Line"
    Released: 18 January 2018
  3. "Coming Home"
    Released: 21 March 2018
  4. "Never Comin' Down"
    Released: 31 August 2018

Background

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Keith Urban said that his first influences were records made by such artists as Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, and Merle Haggard that his father collected. After quitting school at age 15, he performed in cover bands that played a variety of musical styles. Urban also explained that Graffiti U was a combination of those styles he performed during his youth and listened to in his father's record collection.[1]

Graffiti U is neither a song title nor a lyric on the record, but rather a phrase that Urban had come up with.[2] The word "graffiti" came to him while he was working the album, because the process was like graffiti for him. "I have always loved that word, loved the sound of the word, and have loved that it's art-driven," he said.[3] Urban added that "graffiti is free and pure, and very personal" and said, "I thought that this record feels like that to me."[4] He also mentioned that the "U" part was "[both] the audience [and] the listener".[3]

Promotion

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The song "Female" was performed live during the 2017 CMA Awards. Urban also performed. On 23 April, he performed the song at a Spotify "Fans First" event in Nashville, Tennessee along with "Parallel Line" and "Wasted Time", from his previous album Ripcord. At the event, he took questions from fans and displayed murals created by five local artists inspired by songs from the album.[5] he performed the song at UMG showcase at CRS (Country Radio Seminar) with Nicolle Galyon who sang back up vocals on the track and was a co-writer of the song. https://twitter.com/keithurban/status/961396072684904449

Singles

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"Female" was released as the album's lead single on 8 November 2017. It was inspired by the Me Too movement.[6] It reached number 12 on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, his first single to miss the top 10 since his 1999 hit "It's a Love Thing".[7] "Parallel Line" was released as the album's second single on 18 January 2018 in Australia and Great Britain, but was not released to country radio. The album's third single, "Coming Home" featuring American singer-songwriter Julia Michaels was released on 21 March 2018. This song peaked at number 3 on Country Airplay. Finishing off the single releases was "Never Comin' Down”. This song peaked at number 18, making it his first American album since 2006's “Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing” to not produce a single number one hit, and his first album since 2010's “Get Closer” not to have a single reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[7]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
Rolling Stone     [9]

Graffiti U has received mixed to negative reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, criticizing Urban's attempt to address complicated sexual politics. He pointed to the song "Gemini", questioning the narrator's solidarity due to the provocative lyrics.[10] Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone gave a two-and-a-half-star review of the album, saying "Urban deserves credit for refusing to rest on his laurels during the height of his arena-headlining mid-career, but on Graffiti U he ends up shining brightest in his well-worn comfort zones while struggling, perhaps for the first time, when he tries to break new sonic and lyrical ground".[11]

Commercial performance

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In the United States, Graffiti U debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 145,000 album-equivalent units of which 137,000 were in pure album sales. The album benefited from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with Urban's latest tour, which began on 15 June 2018. It became Urban's seventh top 10 album in the country.[12] It also debuted atop the Top Country Albums chart, becoming Urban's sixth number-one album on that chart.[13] In its second week, the album fell to number 18 on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Top Country Albums chart, with 17,100 copies sold that week.[14] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 24, 2019.[15] As of July 2019, the album has sold 282,400 copies in the United States.[16]

Track listing

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Graffiti U track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)[17]Length
1."Coming Home" (featuring Julia Michaels)
[a]
  • Urban
  • Rotem
3:33
2."Never Comin' Down"
  • Urban
  • Kerr
3:34
3."Same Heart"
  • Urban
  • Evigan
3:36
4."My Wave (Intro)"  0:28
5."My Wave" (featuring Shy Carter)
  • Urban
  • Wells
3:32
6."Parallel Line"
[b]
  • Urban
  • Blanco
  • Sheeran
  • McDaid
4:13
7."Drop Top" (featuring Kassi Ashton)
3:44
8."Way Too Long"
Holter3:15
9."Horses" (featuring Lindsay Ell)
  • Urban
  • Rad
3:37
10."Gemini"
  • Urban
  • Kirkpatrick
4:09
11."Texas Time (Intro)"  0:10
12."Texas Time"
  • Max Townsley
  • Drew Erickson
  • Steve Lindsey
  • Dillon O'Brian
4:51
13."Love the Way It Hurts (So Good)"
  • Urban
  • Ben Berger
  • Ryan Rabin
  • Ryan McMahon
3:21
14."Female"
3:16
15."Steal My Thunder"
  • Urban
  • Evigan
  • Weisband
  • Minton
  • Urban
  • Evigan
7:16
Total length:52:00
Notes
  1. ^ Contains a sample of "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard.
  2. ^ Contains a sample of "Everglow" by Coldplay.

Personnel

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Adapted from liner notes[18]

"Coming Home"

"Never Comin' Down"

  • James "J-Hart" Abrahart - gang vocals
  • Shy Carter - vocal percussion, breakdown vocals, gang vocals
  • Josh Kerr - programming, gang vocals
  • Aaron Sterling - drums
  • Keith Urban - bass guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals, gang vocals

"Same Heart"

  • Jason Evigan - keyboards, programming
  • Keith Urban - electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
  • Emily Weisband - background vocals

"My Wave"

"Parallel Line"

  • Benny Blanco - keyboards, programming
  • Johnny McDaid - keyboards, programming
  • Pino Palladino - bass guitar
  • Ed Sheeran - acoustic guitar, programming
  • Keith Urban - electric guitar, all vocals

"Drop Top"

  • Kassi Ashton - lead vocals, background vocals
  • Jimmy Robbins - keyboards, programming
  • Jesse Shatkin - drums, percussion, programming, keyboards, synthesizer
  • Keith Urban - guitar, bass guitar, piano, percussion, lead vocals, background vocals

"Way Too Long"

  • David Bukovinszky - cello
  • Mattias Bylund - string arranger
  • Johan Carlsson - keyboards
  • Michael Engström - bass guitar
  • Oscar Holter - keyboards, percussion, programming
  • Mattias Johansson - violin
  • Keith Urban - all vocals, acoustic guitar

"Horses"

  • Lindsay Ell - background vocals
  • Mozella - background vocals
  • Matt Musty - drums
  • Pino Palladino - bass guitar
  • Matt Rad - guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, percussion, background vocals
  • Jamie Scott - background vocals
  • Keith Urban - guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
  • Eric Valentine - drums

"Gemini"

  • Ian Kirkpatrick - keyboards, programming
  • Seth Rausch - drums
  • Keith Urban - guitar, lead vocals, background vocals

"Texas Time"

  • Mike Elizondo - bass guitar, keyboards
  • Drew Erickson - clavinet, keyboards
  • Aaron Sterling - drums, percussion
  • Max Townsley - acoustic guitar, dobro, background vocals
  • Keith Urban - guitar, lead vocals, background vocals

"Love the Way It Hurts (So Good)"

  • Ben Berger - keyboards, programming, background vocals
  • Ryan McMahon - guitar, programming, background vocals
  • Ryan Rabin - keyboards, programming, background vocals
  • Keith Urban - lead vocals, background vocals

"Female"

"Steal My Thunder"

  • Jason Evigan - electric guitar, keyboards, programming
  • Keith Urban - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
  • Emily Weisband - background vocals

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[34] Gold 35,000‡
United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000‡ / 282,400[16]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Go Into The Studio And 'Start Flicking Paint Around': Keith Urban On Making 'Graffiti U'". www.wbur.org. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. ^ ""She lives this album with me": How Nicole Kidman helped shape Keith Urban's Graffiti U". Beatrice News Channel. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Tingle, Lauren (24 April 2018). "Keith Urban Delivers Graffiti U in His Own Words". CMT News. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Keith Urban's 'Graffiti U' Title Inspired by His Loyal Fans". Country Music. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Keith Urban Is Using Murals to Bring 'Graffiti U' Album to Life". Taste of Country. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  6. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (26 April 2018). "Review: Keith Urban's 'Graffiti U' Is Work of Eclectic, Enlightened Man". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Keith Urban Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Graffiti U - Keith Urban". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  9. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (26 April 2018). "Review: Keith Urban's 'Graffiti U' Is the Work of an Eclectic, Enlightened Man". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Graffiti U – Keith Urban | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  11. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (26 April 2018). "Review: Keith Urban's 'Graffiti U' Is the Work of an Eclectic, Enlightened Man". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  12. ^ Caulfield, Keith (6 May 2018). "Post Malone's 'Beerbongs & Bentleys' Breaks Streaming Record, Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  13. ^ Asker, Jim (8 May 2018). "Keith Urban Writes Latest No. 1 Chapter With 'Graffiti U' on Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. ^ Bjorke, Matt (14 May 2018). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: May 14, 2018". Roughstock. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  15. ^ a b "American album certifications – Keith Urban – Graffiti U". Recording Industry Association of America.
  16. ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (26 July 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: July 21, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  17. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (18 April 2018). "Collaborators, Writer Credits Revealed For Keith Urban's 'Graffiti U'". MusicRow. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  18. ^ Graffiti U (CD booklet). Keith Urban. Capitol Records Nashville/Hit Red Records. 2018.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Keith Urban – Graffiti U". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  20. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Keith Urban Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Keith Urban – Graffiti U". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  25. ^ "Keith Urban Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Keith Urban Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  27. ^ "2018 Annual ARIA Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  28. ^ "2018 Annual ARIA Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Canadian Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  30. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  31. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  32. ^ "2019 Annual ARIA Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  33. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Country Albums 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  34. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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