Defying Gravity (Keith Urban album)

Defying Gravity (Keith Urban album)
Defying Gravity
Studio album by Keith Urban
Released 31 March 2009 (2009-03-31)
Genre Country
Label Capitol Nashville
Producer Dann Huff
Keith Urban
Keith Urban chronology
Greatest Hits: 18 Kids
(2007)
Defying Gravity
(2009)
Get Closer
(2010)
Singles from Defying Gravity
  1. "Sweet Thing"
    Released: 3 November 2008
  2. "Kiss a Girl"
    Released: 10 March 2009
  3. "Only You Can Love Me This Way"
    Released: 29 June 2009
  4. "'Til Summer Comes Around"
    Released: 23 November 2009
  5. "I'm In"
    Released: 10 May 2010
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[1]
Rolling Stone 2/5 stars[2]
Slant Magazine 2.5/5 stars[3]
The 9513 2.5/5 stars[4]
Entertainment Weekly B[5]

Defying Gravity is the title of the fifth studio album by Australian country music artist Keith Urban. It was released on 31 March 2009 (see 2009 in country music) on Capitol Records. The album's lead-off single is "Sweet Thing", which topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in March 2009. "Kiss a Girl" was released on 7 March 2009 as the second single. The album became Urban's first number-one album on the Billboard 200, selling 171,000 copies in its first week of release. On 2 December 2009, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, but lost to Taylor Swift's Fearless.[6]

Contents

Background

The title Defying Gravity comes from the lyrics of "If Ever I Could Love" ("your heart and mine tonight are defying gravity"), a phrase that Urban said "really defined the joyous, optimistic and uplifting spirit that seemed to show itself while making the album."[7] The track "I'm In" was previously released in 1998 by Radney Foster (as a duet with Abra Moore) on the album See What You Want to See, and later in 2000 by The Kinleys[4] from their album II. Both Foster's and The Kinleys' versions were singles.

"Sweet Thing" is the album's lead-off single. Written by Urban and Monty Powell, this song topped the Billboard country singles chart in March 2009. They also wrote the second single, "Kiss a Girl," which peaked at number 3 later the same year. "Only You Can Love Me This Way" was released in June 2009 as the album's third single, reaching number 1 as well. The fourth single is "'Til Summer Comes Around." Urban's rendition of "I'm In" is the fifth single release.

Reception

Commercial

Upon its release, Defying Gravity reached number 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, becoming the first album of Urban's career to do so.[8]

Critical

Defying Gravity has received mixed reviews from music critics. Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine gave it two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the album lacked the "rawness" of his earlier albums. He also said that most of the songs, including its first two singles, were "retread"s of his earlier hits, and that his vesion of "I'm In" was inferior to The Kinleys'. In addition, he considered the love ballads "schmaltzier impulses", although he also said that it was "a rebound from the bloated, self-indulgent Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing" (Urban's last studio album) and noted that "Sweet Thing" showed Urban's and Huff's ability to use a banjo effectively in a rock-influenced song.[3] Rolling Stone critic Mark Kemp, who gave the album two stars out of five, said that it lacked the ambition of Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing and had "idyllic" themes.[2] Jim Malec, reviewing it for The 9513, gave a two-and-a-half star rating as well. He considered it overproduced and said that it lacked a more "artistically engaging" song to balance out the "lighthearted confection" such as "Sweet Thing." He cited that song and "If I Could Ever Love" as standout tracks, despite also describing the latter as "prefabricated," and added that his "I'm In" cover lacked the "urgency" of The Kinleys' rendition.[4]

Thom Jurek gave a four-out-of-five rating in his review for Allmusic. Jurek also noted Urban's use of banjo in more rock-oriented songs, as well as the variety of instruments used overall. He described the first two singles and the "I'm In" cover favorably, saying of "I'm In" that its backing vocals recalled The Rolling Stones, and he called the final track ("Thank You") a "nakedly open paean to wife Nicole [Kidman]." In addition, Jurek considered the album's sound an expansion on Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing by "seamlessly combining hook-laden crafty songwriting with a pop sensibility in the modern country vernacular that blazes a new trail."[1] In addition, Entertainment Weekly critic Whitney Pastorek gave a B rating, saying that the album had "Kidman-centric lyrics" but also showed "a gift for making radio-baiting hooks and production feel enthusiastically fresh."[5]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Kiss a Girl"   Keith Urban, Monty Powell 3:46
2. "If Ever I Could Love"   Urban, Darrell Brown 5:00
3. "Sweet Thing"   Urban, Powell 3:48
4. "'Til Summer Comes Around"   Urban, Powell 5:31
5. "My Heart Is Open"   Urban, John Shanks 5:29
6. "Hit the Ground Runnin'"   Jerry Flowers 3:24
7. "Only You Can Love Me This Way"   Steve McEwan, John Reid 4:07
8. "Standing Right in Front of You"   Urban, Rick Nowells 4:01
9. "Why's It Feel So Long"   Urban 3:24
10. "I'm In"   Radney Foster, Georgia Middleman 4:33
11. "Thank You"   Urban, Nowells 5:14

Promotion

iTunes had an exclusive offer called "Countdown To Defying Gravity" where every week fans would be able to download a podcast where Urban talks about the song. Also, iTunes had a "Complete My Album" where fans would complete the whole album and get a bonus track, a cover, "Call My Name" originally recorded by the Christian band Third Day for their Revelation album.[9]

Urban appeared on Today and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 1 April. He sang "Sweet Thing" and "Kiss A Girl" on both shows. He performed "Kiss a Girl" at the Academy of Country Music awards on 12 April.[9]

Charts and certifications

Album

Chart (2009) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1
U.S. Billboard 200 1
Canadian Albums Chart 4

Certifications

Region Certification
Australia (ARIA)[10] Platinum
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Platinum
United States (RIAA)[12] Platinum

End of year charts

Chart (2010) Year-end
2010
US Billboard 200 129[13]
US Billboard Top Country Albums 23[14]

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US US Pop US AC CAN AUS
2008 "Sweet Thing" 1 30 45 96
2009 "Kiss a Girl" 3 16 20 11 34 87
"Only You Can Love Me This Way" 1 34 49
"'Til Summer Comes Around" 3 58 74
2010 "I'm In" 2 67 74
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Defying Gravity review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1493837. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Kemp, Mark (17 March 2009). "Defying Gravity review". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/26655416/review/26749487/defying_gravity. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  3. ^ a b Keefe, Jonathan (30 March 2009). "Defying Gravity review". Slant. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1695. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  4. ^ a b c Malec, Jim (27 March 2009). "Defying Gravity review". The 9513. http://www.the9513.com/album-review-keith-urban-defying-gravity/. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  5. ^ a b Pastorek, Whitney (31 March 2009). "Defying Gravity review". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20267723,00.html. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  6. ^ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List", Grammy.com, 2 December 2009
  7. ^ Keith Urban Picks Defying Gravity as Album Title, Country Music Television, 22 January 2009.
  8. ^ Keith Caulfield, Keith Urban Soars To No. 1 On Billboard 200, Billboard.com, 8 April 2009.
  9. ^ a b Keith Urban news, keithurban.net
  10. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2010Albums.htm. 
  11. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Keith Urban – Defying Gravity". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Defying+Gravity&sa=Keith+Urban&smt=0. 
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Keith Urban – Defying Gravity". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Defying+Gravity%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  13. ^ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-year-end/top-billboard-200?year=2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010. 
  14. ^ "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-year-end/top-country-albums?year=2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010. 
Preceded by
Shine by Martina McBride
Top Country Albums number-one album
18 April 2009
Succeeded by
Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts
Preceded by
Now! 30 by Various artists
Billboard 200 number-one album
18 April 2009

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Defying Gravity — Defying Gravity …   Википедия

  • Defying Gravity — may refer to: In film and television: Defying Gravity (TV series), a 2009 drama television series Defying Gravity (2008 film) Defying Gravity (1997 film), a 1997 independent gay themed romantic drama In music Defying Gravity (song), a song from… …   Wikipedia

  • Keith Urban — performing at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan 2 November 2007 Background information Birth name Keith Lionel Urban …   Wikipedia

  • Keith Urban — während eines Konzerts in Sydney, März 2007 Keith Urban (* 26. Oktober 1967 in Whangarei, Neuseeland) ist ein neuseeländisch australischer Sänger, Songschreiber und Gitarrist. Er ist ein Crossover Musiker in den Bereichen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Once in a Lifetime (Keith Urban song) — Once in a Lifetime Single by Keith Urban from the album Love, Pain the Whole Crazy Thing Released …   Wikipedia

  • Days Go By (Keith Urban song) — Days Go By Single by Keith Urban from the album Be Here Released 29 June 2004 …   Wikipedia

  • Lotusflower (album) — Lotusflow3r Studio album triple album by Prince Released March 24, 2009 (digital) …   Wikipedia

  • Days Go By (album) — Days Go By Compilation album by Keith Urban Released May 20, 2005 Genre …   Wikipedia

  • Dance with Me (Johnny Reid album) — Dance with Me Studio album by Johnny Reid Released March 10, 2009 …   Wikipedia

  • List of number-one albums of 2009 (U.S.) — These are the US number one albums of 2009, per the Billboard 200. Note that Billboard publishes charts with an issue date approximately 7–10 days in advance. Chart history Issue date Album Artist(s) Reference(s) January 3 Fearless Taylor Swift [ …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”