Keith Urban included one new song on his recent Flow State album, and it’s “We Go Back,” a song Urban sings with Michael McDonald. Urban surprised fans at CMA Fest by bringing out McDonald to sing it with him, a performance that is part of the TV special, CMA Fest Presented by SoFi, streaming now on Hulu.

If fans were surprised that Urban released Flow State, no one was more surprised than the country music hitmaker.

“Nobody was more shocked than me that I did a yacht rock record,” Urban tells the Country Music Association. “It’s not something I saw in my future. But we just started messing around with some things in the studio, and it just came together, and kind of almost really took off. It’s like the album had a life of its own, and we just kept following it, really. There was no premeditated thought to do a yacht rock record, or anything like that. It was just having fun in the studio.”

What Keith Urban Says About Michael McDonald Joining Him on ‘We Go Back’

Urban wrote “We Go Back” with BRELAND in 2020. But Urban held onto it for years, and didn’t record it until making Flow State. When Urban decided he wanted another artist on it, his manager suggested either Kenny Loggins or Michael McDonald.

“I said to the guys, ‘Oh my God, if we’re going to write a yacht rock song, imagine Mike McDonald singing in the chorus,” Urban tells the Associated Press.

“Luckily, he loved it,” he adds. “But man, six years later to actually have him on this song when we just imagined him singing it all those years ago was just crazy. It was so surreal.”

Keith Urban’s Future Plans After ‘Flow State’

Flow State might have been a bit of a departure for Urban, but it was a happy one. Still, the Grand Ole Opry member admits he has no idea what kind of record he will release next.

“I have no idea,” Urban tells Taste of Country.

“I didn’t expect this” he remarks. “I don’t know… I really don’t have a plan with what I’m doing next. I think being spontaneous and having fun in the studio is how this record got born. And I’m up for doing more of that, whatever that looks like and sounds like.”

Why Keith Urban Loves Performing at CMA Fest Every Year

Amid his busy tour schedule, Urban always makes time for CMA Fest. For Urban, it’s a way to honor the fans who allow him to live out his dream every day.

“I’m just the lead singer of a very, very big band, really,” Urban says. “To get to have a night like that for all of them, and also their families too … what the families do in supporting everybody that goes out on this crazy circus, from town to town, from city to city, they sacrifice a lot as well. So having a night when all the family can come like that, and everyone brings everybody, it’s a really, really nice night to honor everyone and celebrate them.”

Photo Credit: Getty Images for CMA