The Real Reason Keith Urban is Releasing an Album of Cover Songs [Exclusive]

On Friday (June 12), Keith Urban will take the country music world by storm when he releases his new album, Flow State. Aside from one original song (that's "We Go Back," with Michael McDonald), the whole track list will be comprised of covers.

Specifically, these songs fall under the yacht rock category of music, and date back to the '70s and '80s.

That move was a surprise to fans, and it was also a surprise for Urban.

The Real Reason Keith Urban is Covering Yacht Rock Songs

In an exclusive interview with Taste of Country Nights, I asked Urban why he decided to make this album and it turns out he didn't really decide to make it, it kind of made itself.

"I bought a studio in Nashville and it took about nine months to get it up and running and working really well," Urban says.

"By the time it was ready to hit record, I was about to hit the road on the High and Alive world tour and I was so frustrated because I was like 'I wanna record something,'" he remembers.

Get our free mobile app

He continues to explain, "We put a session band together and I said, 'Let's just do a couple of yacht rock songs just for fun...' that's all it was going to be, just to break in the studio. Everybody had such a good time that we did a couple more when I came back off the road."

"They just kept coming. We just recorded another one then another one then two more and it just kept growing and growing. Across four months or so, this album started to reveal itself. It wanted to get made, I just needed to keep up with it."

Read More: Keith Urban Kept It Casual + Cool on the 2026 ACM Awards Red Carpet [Photos]

Was Any of Keith Urban's Flow State Album Planned Out In Advance?

No. The country superstar tells me "None of this was preconceived. I never in a million years thought I would end up making a yacht rock record that wasn't in my sights."

I have heard the entire record, ahead of it's release, and let me be the first to tell you it is incredible. Between Urban's guitar skills that he lent to these classic tracks and his voice making them sound new again, he has a hit on his hands once it gets released.

How Many Tracks are On Keith Urban's Flow State Album?

Urban's yacht rock project, Flow State, is his 13th studio album. It features 10 mellow soft-rock covers, collaborations with John Mayer and Little Big Town, and an original track with Michael McDonald.