Keith Urban on Yacht Rock Album ‘Flow State’ & Being in the Moment (Exclusive)

Keith Urban spoke to "Extra's" Alecia Davis as he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame Class of 2026 in Nashville.

Calling it a “huge honor,” Urban shared, “I think of myself as a musician first and foremost… To be recognized in this way, it’s quite surreal.”

He noted that the timing was “extraordinary,” saying, “The fact that it was Dann [Huff] on the same year and Michael [McDonald], of course, because we got a song coming out tomorrow.”

Keith was referencing his new song “Just the Two of Us.” 

Dolly Parton was among Keith's fellow inductees, and while she wasn't there, Keith opened up about how she has inspired him.

He said, “Every facet that she has been so extraordinarily successful in and I think it’s just the joy that she always approaches everything with… her support of all kinds of people and causes. She’s just a beautiful light.”

Keith also dished on his new yacht rock album “Flow State,” which he admitted even caught him by surprise!

He shared, “It wasn’t a plan. I just bought a new studio and I wanted to just break it in and so we thought we’d do one or two yacht rock songs for fun and when we got to the end of the session on the first day, Dann Huff says, ‘You got any more?’ And I was like, ‘Maybe.’

“The record just kept growing and growing and we ended up with a whole album,” Keith added. “The album had a life of its own.” 

Midway through the interview, Keith pulled Dann to be part of the conversation.

Urban noted that the album is about “just being in the moment.”

He elaborated, “I think it's the most important thing and the hardest thing to be is in the moment. This music, these songs that have stood the test of time were written and inspired as a sort of a reaction to and an antidote to the times, the difficulty of the times, and they were the perfect songs to bring everybody together.” 

Keith continued, "I think that's the reason that music's had such a resurgence is it's right back to doing what it was created to do, which is to just bring some blue sky, 75-degree weather to everybody."

As for the songwriting process, Keith said, "First of all, I love that I got to do the record with Dann, which is incredible. And there was only one song on the record that was an original song that I wrote with Breland and Sean Small and Sam Sumser, and it ended up featuring Michael McDonald, so it was a beautiful addition to the end of the record."

Dann said of Keith, “This is a brother. I’ve been a fan of his as long as I’ve worked with him. This is the greatest blessing. I get to enjoy this night with him.”