Keith Urban’s Yacht Rock Country Album ‘flow state’ Makes Top 10 Debut

Keith Urban anchors his 10th top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated June 27) as his new yacht rock-inspired set, flow state, starts at No. 7. The mostly covers project also arrives No. 12 on Top Country Albums, his 15th top 40 set there, and No. 57 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

The 11-track effort sees Urban put his spin on 10 classic soft rock tunes including Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze” and Player’s “Baby Come Back,” and includes help from friends — such as Little Big Town (on Walter Egan’s “Magnet and Steel”) and John Mayer (on Bread’s “The Guitar Man”).

One original track is included on the set: “We Go Back,” with Michael McDonald.

The album’s genesis perhaps surprisingly traces to Urban wanting to test out his new recording studio. “It was just a break in the studio. What took me by surprise was how much it became my next album,” he told Billboard earlier this month. And, for those wanting even more soft rock from Urban, he says if “there’s any reason to do a second (album), I literally have the 10 songs picked out already.”

The 10 covers on flow state were all top 20-charting hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1972 and 1981, with seven of them reaching the top 10.

Here’s a recap of where the originals peaked at on the Hot 100 by each original hitmaking act (listed by their order on flow state).

Artist, Title — Peak Position, Peak Year