Once in a Lifetime (Keith Urban song)

"Once in a Lifetime" is a song co-written and recorded by Australian country music artist Keith Urban. It was released in August 2006 as the first single from his 2006 album Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing. Urban wrote this song with John Shanks.

"Once in a Lifetime"
Single by Keith Urban
from the album Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing
Released	22 August 2006
Recorded	2006
Genre	Country
Length	5:54 (album version) 4:11 (radio edit)
Label	Capitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)	John Shanks Keith Urban
Producer(s)	Keith Urban Dann Huff
Keith Urban singles chronology
"Tonight I Wanna Cry" (2005) "Once in a Lifetime" (2006) "Stupid Boy" (2006)

On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for the week of 2 September 2006, the song entered at No. 17, setting what was then a new record for the highest-debuting song in the history of the modern country music charts.^[1] The previous record was held by Eddie Rabbitt's "Every Which Way But Loose" and Garth Brooks' "Good Ride Cowboy", both of which debuted at #18 (in 1979 and 2005, respectively).

Track listing

Australian CD single

1. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:17
2. ""Days Go By" (live) – 3:48
3. "You'll Think of Me" (Jeremy Wheatley Mix) – 3:53
4. "You're My Better Half" (live) – 4:05

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.^[2]

• Keith Urban – lead and backing vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, ganjo, EBow, piano
• Tom Bukovac – rhythm guitar
• Larry Corbett – cello
• Eric Darken – percussion
• Rami Jaffee – Hammond B-3 organ
• Tim Lauer – synthesizer
• Chris McHugh – drums, drum machine programming
• Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar
• David Stone – upright bass
• Russell Terrell – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Once in a Lifetime"

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[3]	18
Canada Country (Billboard)^[4]	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[5]	92
US Billboard Hot 100^[6]	31
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[7]	26
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[8]	6

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Once in a Lifetime"

Chart (2006)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[9]	40

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[10]	Gold	500,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Keith Urban's 'Once In A Lifetime' Debut @ Top40-Charts.com - 40 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 25 Countries
2. Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing (Media notes). Keith Urban. Capitol Nashville. 2006. 09463-77087-0-5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. "Keith Urban – Once in a Lifetime". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
4. "Keith Urban Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
5. "Keith Urban – Once in a Lifetime". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
6. "Keith Urban Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
7. "Keith Urban Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
8. "Keith Urban Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
9. "Best of 2006: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
10. "American single certifications – Keith Urban – Once in a Lifetime". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 August 2019.