Keith Urban Gave Julia Michaels a Grand Housewarming Gift
Keith Urban and Julia Michaels worked on several songs together for the country singer's genre-bending 2018 project, Graffiti U, and as a token of his gratitude, Urban gifted his collaborator with a very special housewarming gift: an upright piano.
In an interview with Radio Disney Country's "Close Up Spot," Michaels shares that she discovered the thoughtful present the day she returned from touring overseas with Niall Horan. Sleep deprived and exhausted from 14 hours of travel, she was confused when her friend approached her at home and said he had a surprise in store for her.
"I was like, 'Oh goodness, I'm so tired. We've been traveling all day,'" she recalls saying. "We had just come back from Portugal, 14 hours on flights ... I get in my house and I'm walking around, trying to figure out what's different. And then I look and I'm like, 'Is that a piano?'"
Michaels, a pop singer-songwriter, smiles as she remembers the day and the card she found atop her new Steinway piano — her gift from Urban. She was dumbfounded by the present and admits she was surprised to see the stunning instrument in her home.
"I was in shock. I think I hugged it for an hour," she says.
Michaels' first collaboration with Urban was "Gemini," which they wrote together for his latest album. After that co-write, Urban approached her about doing a duet on what's now his current single, "Coming Home."
"He said, 'I have this other song that I really love that I'm working on. Can you come and see if this is something you want to do?'" Michaels recalls. "I was like, 'Yeah, definitely!' And it's basically done. I'm like, 'What are you talking about? This is amazing!'"
Country fans seem to agree — Urban and Michaels' collaboration is currently in the Top 10 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.
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