Keith Urban recently reprised one of his earlier hits, joined by one of country music’s most promising rising stars. The New Zealand native sang “We Were Us,” a duet with Miranda Lambert released in 2013, joined this time by Alana Springsteen. The two sang together while both performing at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“The cheeseheads always know how to turn it up a notch,” Urban captioned the video and photos shared on social media. “Thank you Wisconsin and thank you Alana Springsteen for coming out to sing ‘We Were Us’ in Milwaukee.”
View this post on Instagram
“A literal dream!!” Springsteen replied. “Still flying. Thank u so much for having me and for introducing me to ur fam.”
Urban just announced the release of his new album, HIGH, out on September 20. The record includes “Messed Up As Me,” along with “Straight Line,” his “Go Home W U” duet with Lainey Wilson, and “Wildside,” which he released when announcing the record.
“I’ve always been drawn toward the subject of living in the moment, because it’s all there is, and it’s hard to do,” Urban says of HIGH. “And these days with so much ‘content’ flying at us, it can feel like drinking from a fire hose.”
“What makes you ‘high’ can mean whatever you want it to mean,” he continues. “It might be physical, spiritual, herbal, meditative, chemical or musical, but it’s definitely a place of utopia.”
HIGH follows The Speed of Now Part 1, released in 2020. The Grand Ole Opry member didn’t intend on waiting four years between projects, but now says the time — and discarded album — made HIGH exactly what it was supposed to be.
“This album is the result of a prior record I started in 2022,” Urban shares on social media. “It’s 40 minutes top to bottom, and is completely expressive, true, honest and is so much more of what I actually wanted to say when making that scrapped record. I hope these songs bring you joy, levity, some new understanding, energy, and escape!”
The 56-year-old is now revealing more of why the album he scrapped didn’t work for him, even though he poured a lot of himself into creating it.
“At the time I was on tour,” Urban says. “I’d do a concert, go back to Nashville to record, do a concert, and come back to record, and over again. So, I thought I’d call the album 615. That’d keep me on track – focused and disciplined.”
It was only after it was completed, and he was playing it for some people on his team, when he realized how unhappy he was with the finished product.
“There was no continuity,” Urban explains. “The songs didn’t work well together. I learned that what I thought was a framework to create within, turned out to be musically limiting.”
Urban will kick off his HIGH in Vegas residency on October 4 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Pre-order HIGH, and find all of Urban’s music and upcoming shows, at KeithUrban.com.