Keith Urban

[Kim]

Nicole Kidman Gets a Little Credit for Keith Urban's 'For You'


Keith Urban can write a song at the drop of a pencil -- unless he's been assigned to write for a specific reason. The singer says when he was asked to pen a tune for the move 'Act of Valor,' he started having second thoughts. But after a representative from Relativity Films showed him the movie, he really wanted to write for it, in spite of the pressure it created.

"I'd never written for a particular thing before and I was really nervous about doing that," Keith tells The Boot. "Also it was right before my surgery last November, and I felt like I was on too much of a deadline to get it done. Then after I saw the film, I really wanted to do it but I couldn't think of an angle for the song."

Thankfully, Keith's wife, actress Nicole Kidman, urged him to try to write it. "She said to me, 'You should do this, you really should. I think you'll be able to do this if you commit to it.' She gently suggested that I do it and I'm glad she did."

Keith called in his songwriting buddy Monty Powell to work on it with him and then took another step that kept him on his toes.

"We were under such a time crunch to get it done that for the first time in my life I actually booked the studio before I had the song," Keith explains. "I thought to myself, 'Well if ever there was any pressure to get a song written it's now because the studio is booked and we have to have a song by next Wednesday.' Monty and I got together on Friday and did most of it, then got back together on Monday and finished it. Then I went into the studio on Wednesday and cut it."

The finished product is 'For You,' which will play during the movie's credits and appear on its soundtrack. So, Keith knows now that he can write a song for a movie, but why, so far, hasn't he acted in one? "Probably because I suck as an actor!" he says simply.

'Act of Valor' is based on the real-life incident of a group of Navy SEALs sent on a covert operation to rescue a CIA officer. The movie will be in theaters Feb. 24. The soundtrack, which includes the song by Keith as well as tracks from Hunter Hayes, Lady Antebellum and Montgomery Gentry, will be in stores Feb. 21.

[Kim]

Keith Urban, 'The Voice' Australia Coach Gives Back


When Keith Urban was first offered a spot on the Australian version of 'The Voice,' he turned it down. However, that decision was based solely on his hectic schedule. The country superstar believes in everything the show is about, so he was happy to say 'yes' once his travel plans allowed.

"The first and foremost thing I loved about it was the blind auditions," he says. "We live in such a visual age, but we don't buy videos, we buy records. So what does it matter what an artist looks like? How about how they sound? How does their voice affect me? And how does that song affect me? I love that this show is the first one that I've ever seen that basically go on just the sound of the voice first, and then we run with other things after that. That really struck me as a cool thing."

Now filming the show in Australia, the singer-songwriter is looking to be more of a mentor than a critic. "The good thing about 'The Voice' is they focus on looking for the strengths in people," Keith says (quote via The Tennessean). "I did a few of these things when I was younger, and I know what it's like to just be crucified."

Alongside fellow coaches Delta Goodrem, Seal and Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, Keith's goal is help everyone who auditions for the show, whether they make his team or not.

"My want is to help someone realize that, 'You nailed these things, and any artist has areas they need help with, and I may have these faults myself and that's why, maybe I'm pointing them out in you,'" he says. "I look at this as an opportunity to give back and help somebody."

Once his team has been assembled, the 'You Gonna Fly' singer also plans to take on the role of a record producer. "It's working with players and trying to have a vision," he says. "It's like, 'If we tweak this and focus this and maybe sing this down here,' and really play to their strengths."

Keith will be back in the States next month. He's performing at the Grand Ole Opry on March 9.

[Kim]

Keith Urban Ready to Return to the Stage


Keith Urban is ready to sing again. He will make his first performance since undergoing successful throat surgery tomorrow, February 3, on the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Not only is it a special night for Keith, it is also the final performance on the current Ryman stage before it undergoes renovations.

“I’m really looking forward to being back onstage, and more specifically on the Opry stage,” Keith said. “When I was told earlier this week that the Ryman was going to start renovations on the stage after our show I thought, ‘You know, when we say we’re really gonna tear it up tonight, maybe they’re worried I mean it literally?”

Later this month, Keith will head to Sydney for a week of filming the Australian version of The Voice. Keith will travel back and forth to Australia over the next few months to film for the show, while keeping a busy schedule in the United States that includes another show on the Opry and his annual All For The Hall benefit concert.

“It’ll be a blast spending a little time in Australia working on The Voice, getting the opportunity to try and help some killer raw talent blossom,” Keith said. “And I have a feeling that being immersed in that new kind of ‘everything is possible’ energy, will have a real inspiring and liberating effect on creating new music for my new album!”

Keith is planning to spend a lot of time at home in Nashville this year working on writing and finding songs for his next album. His current single, “You Gonna Fly,” is at No. 5 on the charts this week.

[Kim]

Keith Urban, 'The Voice' Leads to Difficult Goodbyes


Keith Urban was working in a Nashville recording studio recently and took time out to update fans on a few of his latest 'Urban Developments.' In Episode 116 of the web series with that very title, Keith explained that he was at Blackbird Studios working on 'For You,' his tune from the 'Act of Valor' soundtrack. He also spilled details of his recent Grand Ole Opry appearance, performing 'Kiss a Girl' with members of the audience and also treating the crowd to 'You Gonna Fly.'

Keith also revealed that he's headed back to his Australian homeland for the "battle rounds" of 'The Voice.' Having formed his team, the singer says he's at the point of having to pair up contestants, which means choosing one person over another and saying goodbye to those who won't be moving ahead as part of his team.

"I'm not looking forward to that, having to say goodbye to people. Not my strongest suit," he confesses.

Something he's a little more confident about, as evidenced by the clip, is playing for a live audience and he's getting prepared to do just that in Nashville on April 10 for the rescheduled 'All for the Hall' benefit concert. Special guests for the show, which benefits the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, will include Vince Gill, Alabama, Rascal Flatts, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Little Big Town, the Band Perry, Blue Sky Riders, Diamond Rio, Exile, Lady Antebellum, Pistol Annies, Thompson Square and the Oak Ridge Boys. In past years, Keith and Vince have functioned as the "house band," performing with every artist.

[Kim]

[Kim]

[Kim]

I think little Faith looks like mommy Nicole and Sunday looks like daddy Keith!

[Kim]

Keith Urban’s Explosive New Video


The video for Keith Urban’s “For You” had a lot going on – scenes from the film, Act of Valor, performances and explosions. In the clip, Keith and his band are in a desert performing the song he wrote for the film’s soundtrack, and at cool, key moments, explosions go off behind them and in front of them. So, we asked if he felt any shrapnel raining down on him during the making of the video. “I think my drummer got a little bit of [shrapnel] every now and then,” recalls Keith. “And actually, I think in the video there’s one scene where they go off, and you can see my drummer’s head go forward a little bit…it’s so loud. Those things going off is just insanely loud and stuff goes everywhere.” Keith and his band were never in any real danger, however. “They were set a long way back from us, but there’s a lot of force going on.”

youtu.be/gWK1sG3spiE

[Kim]

Keith Urban, LoCash Cowboys Celebrate Success of You Gonna Fly in Nashville


On Wednesday (April 11), Keith Urban hosted yet another No. 1 party at his favorite one yet at Chappy's restaurant in Nashville celebrating his latest chart-topping hit, You Gonna Fly. Joining Urban for the upbeat celebration were the songwriters, Preston Brust and Chris Lucas of the LoCash Cowboys, as well as country rocker Jaren Johnston.

The tune marked the very first time the three writers have had an outside cut, an outside single and a No. 1 hit by another artist, giving Urban his 14th chart-topper. Urban says he always knew the song would be a single, but wanted to wait until the time was right. Obviously the timing worked out for everyone involved, especially the writers whose lives have been forever changed.

"When we found out it was going to be a single, that's when I flipped out," Lucas told Taste of Country at the party. "I will never forget sitting in my apartment at the time, thinking I don't know how I'm going to make ends meet or how I was going to get by this year. Then two minutes later, I got the call that Keith was putting it out as a single."

"I just might be a little nervous right now, but instead of butterflies being in my stomach, I have blackbirds in my stomach," Brust added with a laugh, referencing the line in the song about a blackbird. "Everything just started to happen. The song got recorded, [Keith] sang it on the Super Bowl, it became a single and it went to No. 1. I think when all those things started happening and then today it just starts to hit you more and more and more that this is really something special."

The success of You Gonna Fly is extra sweet for Johnston, who was looking for a way to break into the country music scene after fronting the rock band American Bang for years. "I've been trying to work that angle for a long time, but I didn't think it would happen like this," he said. "I thought I might get a cut or two, but this is pretty exciting."

As partygoers made their way into the upscale Nashville restaurant, they were given white keychains with a blackbird on the front, a token to remember the very special day. While waiting for the party to be underway, everyone enjoyed an amazing spread of Creole-style food that included yellow fin tuna and chicken sliders, deviled eggs, meatballs, fried chicken and cheesecakes.

The party, put on by both BMI and ASCAP publishing companies, was filled with many laughs once Urban and the writers took the stage. Following passing out the awards, each star had the opportunity to take the microphone for a few words, which included comical stories from Brust, Lucas and Johnston about their first encounters with Urban after the song topped the charts.

"He called me up on the phone, and said, This is Keith Urban" Brust told the crowd, as Urban stood behind him on the stage laughing at the reenactment of their conversation. "I said, Get out of here! You gotta sing a song or something! I don't know about this - I got a lot of friends with Australian accents!" I got so nervous because it was Keith Urban on my phone! I said, "How are you, Keith?" and he says, "I'm good, how are you?" "I said, I'm good, how are you?" [laughs] I said "How are you? like three times in a row!"

Brust went on to share another story about the genuine kindness Urban showed following the song topping the chart for two consecutive weeks. He sent all three writers a bottle of 2004 Cristal champagne along with personalized thank you cards, which the LoCash Cowboys received while in the studio recording new songs.

"We were [two] redneck kids holding these bottles of Cristal!" Brust said, laughing. "We were like, What do we do with this? Do you save it, like in the movies, or do you open it and drink it?" All we had in the kitchen were these little paper dixie cups. We were like, "Well, let's Google it and make sure [we know] how to open it." We Google Cristal, and it says: "Don¡¯t open it's too expensive! But I was like, Oh, we're gonna open this!"

As the crowd's laughter got louder and louder, Brust continued his story, admitting the bottle exploded when opened, showering them with the high-dollar bubbly. "It was like the World Series Championship Game," he said. "It was going all over all of us, just pumping! We were like, This is a celebration! Keith knew what he was doing when he sent this! It's a party in a bottle ¡­ we didn't mean to waste $200 worth of it, but it was an amazing moment."

Johnston took the podium next, sharing his personal stories, followed by Lucas. Lucas closed out his speech by presenting a special gift to Urban on behalf of the LoCash Cowboys and Johnston a 24-karat gold whistle in a special engraved box that read "Best Use of a Whistle in a Song Award."

Urban, amazed, said "That's crazy it's a real gold whistle!" He returned the kind gesture by presenting the three writers with custom and personalized Fender Telecaster guitars with gold-plated pickguards.

"I'm either going to write with you guys and/or just get a song from you, just in hopes that we'll have another No. 1 party," Urban said when it was his turn to thank those who made the song possible. "Hands down, [this is] the best No. 1 party I have ever been to. Thank you for trusting me with the song. It's in the repertoire now, so for me, I get to play it, and I really love you guys for that."

The evening came to a close after Urban and took the stage with Brust, Lucas and Johnston for a rockin' performance of the song that brought them all together - and yes, Urban's brand new whistle was used!

Also in attendance at the special celebration was Urban's actress wife Nicole Kidman and award-winning songwriter Jeffrey Steele.

[Kim]

Keith Urban’s Next Record “Needs to be the right record”


Keith Urban is a busy guy. He just wrapped his annual All for the Hall benefit concert in support of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Keith’s Grand Ole Opry induction is just one week away, and he’ll soon be jet-setting back to Australia to continue filming their version of the hit show “The Voice.” To top all of that off, he’s hard at work on a new album, but according to The Tennessean, there’s no deadline.

I feel very blessed to not feel incredibly under a huge deadline to have a record out by a certain time,” he says. “It just needs to be the right record.”

I’m writing at a feverish pace and listening to songs,” says Urban. “It’s crazy. I get emailed songs all the time. When I’m not on the set on The Voice, I’m in my trailer listening to songs and working feverishly on my record. ”

My intention for the record is to start exploring the stories in my own life,” Urban says. “There’s plenty of them, and I’ve been through a lot of things and there’s a lot more of that exploration that’s happening already. I think it is taking shape a little bit. It feels like it’s the first one.

“I’m really excited about it in a sense that this creative pull and voice and calling is the strongest I’ve ever felt it. I’m just going where it’s going.”

I know we’re all looking forward to where Keith’s creative juices take him. His last couple of records have been themed around love and happiness. Which, let’s face it…it all good and all….but we know there’s more to the man than that.

[Kim]

Apr 21

Keith Urban Inducted Into the Grand Ole Opry

By Sarah Wyland
gactv.com



Keith Urban was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry Saturday, April 21, 2012. (l-r) Pete Fisher, Grand Ole Opry VP and General Manager, Trace Adkins, Keith Urban and Josh Turner. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry.


The first time Keith Urban heard one of his solo songs on American radio, he was at a gas station across the street from the Grand Ole Opry. He’d stopped to fill up in route to downtown Nashville when “It’s A Love Thing” came across the airwaves. Saturday night, things came full circle as he was across the street from that same station, being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Vince Gill surprised Keith with an invitation to join the Opry during their We’re All For The Hall benefit concert on April 10.

“It’s such a long journey for me to get to this stage,” Keith said tonight. “The first time I played the Opry was actually backing another guy, Slim Dusty, a legendary Australian country artist who was invited to perform. He used this little band I had called The Ranch as his backing band and I was standing back there thinking it would be great if I could get up there sometime and sing on that microphone. From that to this tonight is extraordinary.”

Keith was reflective as he discussed his early days in Nashville. As an Australian country artist, he had the odds stacked against him in the beginning of his career. He recalled one of his early visits to Nashville to shop around a self-described ‘terrible demo.’ Several labels turned him down, but one label representative sent him a follow up letter, telling him that country music was in a traditional swing, but wished him the best of luck.

“I was so out of place, but I didn’t feel out of place,” Keith said, going on to paraphrase the letter he received. “She said ‘Your music is a little out of step but I hope you find a home here.’ That was all I needed to hear. It was just like ‘okay, good. This is the right place, it’ll just take a while.’ That’s what I took from the letter. It was totally inspiration for me.”

Keith’s passionate fan base wasn’t far from his mind. He shared his gratitude for them several times throughout the night, expressing that the honor was one he wanted to share with those who have supported him for so long.

“I was driving here thinking about how important the fans are,” Keith said. “Like a lot of artists, I get cards and notes and letters and stories in the meet and greets of how the music affects them, how the songs touch them in their lives. They often say ‘you just don’t know how much that means to me.’ This opportunity for me is a way for me to say they don’t know how much they mean to me. They’re why I do what I do.”

When Keith and his guitar took to the Opry stage, he elected to play some of his fan favorites, kicking things off with a rendition of “Days Go By” that brought the Grand Ole Opry crowd to its feet. He then pulled up a stool and sang “Without You” acoustically with no accompaniment, as wife Nicole Kidman looked on from backstage.

Keith was officially inducted into the Opry family by General Manager Pete Fisher and fellow Opry Members Trace Adkins and Josh Turner. “This is a huge honor for me tonight,” Trace said as he passed Keith the microphone trophy containing a part of the original Ryman Auditorium stage that signifies membership. “I get to say ‘Keith, you are now a member of the Grand Ole Opry.’”

Keith stepped into the historic Opry circle for the first time as a member to deliver an emotional acceptance speech. He thanked his wife and daughters as well as his band, crew and team, country radio, and his legion of fans. The first non-North American artist to be inducted into the Opry, Keith’s gratitude as a recipient of the honor was palpable.

“It’s a long way from Caboolture to the stage here at the Grand Ole Opry,” he said. “This is a responsibility that I take deep into the heart of me. I tell the Opry that why this touches me is two things. One, it says you know where my heart is. And it once and for all shows the global popularity and reach of country music. I am the first I’m sure of many non-North American born inductees because it is truly a global thing. Tom T. Hall says it’s a state of mind. I honor the history of country music but I absolutely fully dedicate myself to the future of country music as well.”

Keith closed the Grand Ole Opry performance with an appropriate choice, his hit “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” changing up the chorus at the end to proclaim “‘I’m alive and I’m free and I’m a brand new member of the Grand Ole Opry!’” And he’s definitely a long way from the gas station across the street.

Keith’s induction into the Grand Ole Opry aired live on GAC in our new series, Noteworthy At The Opry. If you missed the live premiere, check the schedule for re-airs throughout the week!

[Kim]

Keith Urban stops being Mr Kidman and becomes 'Our Keith'


We don't know a single one of his songs, but overnight Australia has officially embraced country music singer Keith Urban.

Once relegated to the fringes of the Australian country music charts and best known in recent years as Nicole Kidman’s husband and chief handbag, Urban has wrangled his way into Australian hearts.

And it’s all thanks to The Voice.

After three nights playing the the sexy, soulful, sensitive judge on ratings juggernaut The Voice, Urban, 44, is officially “Our Keith”.

But what do we really know about Keith Lionel Urban?

Well, for a start he was born in New Zealand, not Australia but he grew up in Caboolture, Queensland where his parents owned a convenience store.

He began playing guitar at the age of six and according to mum Marienne he just kept on playing. He also has a wealth of personal experience with talent quests, having appeared in many in his youth.

Around the age of seven he auditioned for local shopping centre talent showcase The Westfield Super Juniors where he won hearts despite being dwarfed by his guitar.

He continued to plug away at country music until he released his debut Australian album Keith Urban in 1991.

He did have a string of number one hits in Australia on the country music charts but was largely ignored by mainstream radio. He has won 11 Golden Guitars at the Country Music Awards in Tamworth.

In 1992, Urban decided to head for the big time and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music in the US.

In 2000 he became the first male Australian performer to reach the top 10 on the US country chart with the song "Your Everything". A country music superstar was born.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Along the way Urban gained a reputation as a womaniser and picked up an alcohol and crack cocaine habit. He checked himself into rehab in 1998 and checked out again saying he was clean.

Before hooking up with “our Nicole” he was dating a veterinary technician Laura Sigler. They were engaged for a short time but broke up in 2002. She later told The Mail on Sunday: "I knew it wouldn't last. Keith is charming and very charismatic, but not reliable."

He met Nicole in 2005 during the G’day LA event…and suddenly it was on. Urban revealed on The Voice last night that during their early dating period he and Kidman used code names to avoid detection. He called her Evie.

Shortly after their marriage in 2005 Urban checked himself into rehab again at the Betty Ford Centre. He released a statement saying: "I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me. One can never let one's guard down on recovery, and I'm afraid that I have."

Over the past three nights fans of The Voice - and there are about 2.37 million nationally - have been going wild for sexy Seal and Joel Madden’s infectious oddball enthusiasm.

But it is Keith's sweet soulful personality that is capturing the hearts of Australians.

Good looking, sensitive Keith sings along to songs performed by contestants.

He also revealed a hint of his own demons when he told one performer who said she had battled self-esteem issues that all performers struggled with this - not the least of all himself.

Twitter also went crazy with interest in Keith.

@itabuttrose tweeted "And no wonder Nicole Kidman fell in love with Keith Urban. What a lovely, fun bloke he is."

@regina Phalangeþ: "I think I'm a little bit in love with Keith urban. Such a sweetheart!!!!!!

þ @prin666cess: "Watching last nights The Voice... just want Keith Urban to call me Baby... just once... or twice..."

þ @andrewvicary: "So I see why everyone rates the voice. Pretty good format. Keith urban is a cool dude"

þ @juliettjuujuu: "Keith Urban on the Voice (Aus)! I can see why Nicole Kidman fell in love with him. Hubba!"

More interesting facts about Keith.

He posed for Playgirl magazine in 2001 but now says he is embarrassed by the pictures which show him with only a guitar to protect his modesty: "I never want to see them again."

His mum used to punish him when he was 10 years old by locking his guitar in the closet. "It was the best punishment ever," he said.

He wrote a song for Nicole with writing partner Rick Nowels called Thank You with lyrics including "I thank God for grace and mercy, and that you became my wife".

His favourite food is sushi.


Source

[Kim]

Keith Urban, Grand Ole Opry Induction: How Wife Nicole Kept Invite a Secret


As Keith Urban prepares to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry tomorrow night (April 21), it's odd to think that just two weeks ago he had no idea this would be happening. The Aussie received the "shocking" invitation during the April 10 All for the Hall benefit concert in Nashville.

Keeping the secret of the Opry invitation from Keith was a tough one, especially when it came to making sure he didn't schedule anything on his intended induction day. His wife, Nicole Kidman, had a plan, though. She penciled in a friend's birthday party on their calendar.

"That's all I knew, that it was a friend of my wife's birthday written on the schedule," Keith says, "which apparently is totally fictitious, but I didn't question it. I was just gonna go."

To put things into perspective, Keith recalls the first time he stepped on that legendary stage, and how he got to meet one of his musical heroes backstage. "I was such a Ricky Skaggs fan," Keith recalls. "I remember that he was so approachable, and I was like 'I can't believe I'm talking to Ricky Skaggs.' But that's what it was like behind the scenes at the Opry -- everyone was approachable and so laid back."

When Opry member Vince Gill, along with Rascal Flatts and Diamond Rio, presented the "For You" singer with the honor, he was overcome with emotion. "I was thinking what it means to me to be inducted into the Opry is probably no more than a feeling of they know where my heart is," he explains. "My whole childhood was predominantly immersed in traveling around to country festivals and performing and competing in these talent quests."

Even though Keith's heart has always been focused on country music, he does recall a time -- around the age of 15 -- when he had to step outside of his comfort zone. "I was in this heavy metal band for like two weeks, and I got fired for playing these chicken-picking guitar solos, because it was a band that played all this Judas Priest and Whitesnake songs," he remembers. "I was totally immersed in Ricky Skaggs at the time. I had bought Highways and Heartaches, and I just discovered [guitarist] Ray Flack and I'm like, 'This is fantastic.' That, to me, sums up what my conundrum was at the time; the question of, 'Well, what do I do? What sort of music should I be making?' The foundation was always country, so to get this induction ... this is exactly where my heart is, where it always has been."

Fans who won't make it to Nashville tomorrow can watch Keith's induction on GAC's "Noteworthy at the Opry," which airs live April 21 at 9PM ET.

[Kim]

Keith Urban On His Second Job



Keith with fellow Voice judges, Seal, Joel Madden, and Delta Goodrem.


Keith Urban has been spending a little time Down Under to film episodes of Australia’s version of The Voice. He says it’s not quite as much time as everyone thinks, though. “The filming time of The Voice is quite short. The blind auditions were like 12 days, not even the whole shooting time,” says Keith. “The whole shooting time was four days, but the preparation and all that other stuff [takes more time]. We were down there for 12 days and then we flew back.” However, traveling with two little girls is a bit more complicated, especially if there are multiple flights. “When we looked at the schedule, we went ‘Well, we’ll go down for two weeks, and then we’ll come back to Nashville for two weeks. And then we’ll go back down for another two weeks.’ And then we suddenly went, ‘Well, this is crazy. We’re never going to make it all the way to Nashville with our kids and then all the way back down to Sydney with our kids.’ So, we thought, ‘Well, what should we do? Should we just stay down there? Or what should we do?’,” recalls Keith. “And we’ve got a place in L.A. that we occasionally go to, and we just decided we’ll go back to there, ‘cause that’s one flight – Sydney-L.A. direct.”

[Kim]

Keith Urban Working ‘Feverishly’ on Next Record


We’ve seen a good bit of Keith Urban lately, what with his recent No. 1 single ‘You Gonna Fly,’ his surprise induction into the Grand Ole Opry and his role as a celebrity coach on the Australian version of ‘The Voice.’ But one thing most of Urban’s fans might not know is that between all of the appearances, the singer is also hard at work on his next record.

“I’m writing at a feverish pace and listening to songs,” Urban told the Tennessean. “It’s crazy. I get emailed songs all the time. When I’m not on the set on ‘The Voice,’ I’m in my trailer listening to songs and working feverishly on my record.”

After spending several weeks on vocal rest over the holidays, it seems Urban had a chance to reflect some on life and delve into the stories that make him who he is. For his album, he says he’s going to explore those stories more and take on a new freedom in his songwriting.

“My intention for the record is to start exploring the stories in my own life,” he said. “There’s plenty of them, and I’ve been through a lot of things and there’s a lot more of that exploration that’s happening already. I think it is taking shape a little bit. It feels like it’s the first one. I’m really excited about it in a sense that this creative pull and voice and calling is the strongest I’ve ever felt it. I’m just going where it’s going.”

Though the album is taking shape, Urban’s not dishing any details on the expected timeline of its release. In fact, he seems to be thoroughly enjoying taking his time on this one.

“I feel very blessed to not feel incredibly under a huge deadline to have a record out by a certain time,” he said. “It just needs to be the right record.”