Remember When Keith Urban Released His Debut Album?

Keith Urban is one of the biggest stars in contemporary country music, but he was just a young relative newcomer when he released his self-titled stateside debut album on Oct. 19, 1999.

Keith Urban was actually Urban's second self-titled solo album, since he had released an entirely different album titled Keith Urban in 1991. That album was only available in Australia, and after Urban moved to America in 1992, he scored a recording deal with Capitol Records as a member of the Ranch, a rock-influenced country group in which he was the lead singer, lead guitarist and principal songwriter.

The Ranch released one album for Capitol Records in 1997 and scored two minor chart singles with "Walkin' the Country" and "Just Some Love," but Urban would later remember that as a terrible time in his life.

“The Ranch was a mess, period, because we were in a s--t van going all over the country playing to three people. It was soul sucking to the ultimate degree,” he recalls.

Capitol signed Urban to a solo deal after the Ranch came to an end and released Keith Urban on Oct. 19, 1999. The album scored four hits with "It's a Love Thing," "Your Everything," "Where the Blacktop Ends" and "But for the Grace of God," which Urban co-wrote with Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's.

The latter song gave Urban his first No. 1 hit, and he would go on to win Top New Male Vocalist honors at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards. He also took home the 2001 CMA Horizon Award, launching him into a huge career that has seen him become one of the most awarded and best-selling artists in country music history.

Keith Urban was certified Platinum in 2003 for sales of a million copies.