Seventeen years ago today (Nov. 4, 2004), Keith Urban achieved a major career milestone. It was on that date that the New Zealand-born singer earned gold and platinum status, signifying sales in excess of 500,000 and one million copies, respectively, for his album Be Here.
Be Here, Urban’s fourth solo release, also became his first No. 1 album. It spawned five Top 5 singles, including “Days Go By,” “Making Memories of Us” and “Better Life,” each of which landed at the top of the charts.
Be Here hit both gold and platinum status less than two months after its release date of Sept. 21, 2004. The album has, to date, sold more than 4 million copies. It was later released in Urban’s native Australia on Nov. 30, 2004.
Urban co-produced Be Here with veteran producer Dann Huff and wrote or co-wrote nine of the 13 tracks. The other writers on the project include Elton John, Richard Marx, Matraca Berg and Rodney Crowell.
Be Here helped Urban earn a CMA for Male Vocalist of the Year, along with three ACM Awards, for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year — Artist and Album of the Year — Producer. The project is available for purchase on Amazon.
This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Annie Zaleski.
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