Keith Urban

[Kim]

Keith Urban has ‘whole new respect for Blake Shelton’ after joining Australia’s ‘The Voice’


NBC’s singing competition The Voice, which features Blake Shelton as a mentor, is down to the final round this week with each judge having one competitor left. Shelton’s Jermaine Paul will compete against Adam Levine’s Tony Luca, Christina Aguilera’s Chris Mann and Cee Lo Green’s Juliet Simms for the win, which will be announced at 8 p.m. Tuesday night.

The Australian version of The Voice, which features Keith Urban as a mentor, isn’t as far along in the season, but Urban says the process has already been challenging.

“I have a whole new respect for Blake Shelton,” Urban says. “I told him that. It’s a very different thing sitting in that red chair than sitting at home watching people in that red chair. It’s much more difficult listening to someone without watching them then you think it is in the sense of trying to make a decision whether you want to go with this person or not.”

To prepare for the blind auditions in Australia, Urban says he watched the U.S. blind auditions at home with his eyes closed and tried to decide when he would turn around his chair if he were already on set.

“It’s remarkable when you close your eyes because everyone at home is watching the artists sing and they go, ‘Why don’t you turn around?’” he says.

With teams in place, The Voice Australia is in the battle round episodes, which require Urban to eliminate members of his team. It’s a process Urban calls “very rough,” but he explains it also gives the singers a sense of what “the industry is about.”

“It’s about someone not hearing what it is that you do or just not having a preference for what it is that you do,” Urban explains. “I also think it’s about knowing how to handle rejection and knowing how to handle someone who maybe just doesn’t like what you do and the affect that will have on you as an artist. Do you go, ‘Alright, well I’m going to change everything because that person didn’t like it,’ or do you take a little bit of it and say, ‘I disagree with the rest and I’m going to keep doing what I do,’ or, ‘You all are idiots.’ That’s part of it, too, just continuing to reaffirm one's belief in oneself is very, very important.”

As to whether or not Urban would sit in the spinning red seat again, given the opportunity – he’s not so sure.

“I don’t know about that,” he says, laughing. “What I have enjoyed is it’s just a different kind of creativity.”

[Kim]

Keith Urban’s Wife, Nicole Kidman, and Daughter Cover Harper’s Bazaar Australia



Harper's Bazaar Australia


Two of Keith Urban‘s most important ladies — wife Nicole Kidman and daughter Faith Margaret — grace the cover of this month’s Harper Bazaar Australia. Some may fault Kidman for including her children in the print publication, but editor Edwina McCann gives readers her reasons for the inclusion of Faith and older sister Sunday Rose in the magazine spread.

“I was shown the versions of her with the children, but with their faces obscured. I fell in love and I wanted our readers — in fact, everyone — to see the pictures because they say so much more about Kidman than I am attempting to do right now in words,” McCann confesses on the magazine’s official website. “They are magic, raw and full of intense love, and clearly show her devotion to her children. I went to work convincing her that they deserved to be published, so for those who would criticize, blame me.”

The road to motherhood has been anything but smooth for the Australian beauty and her country music star husband. Kidman openly confessed to painful fertility issues in the past, before giving birth to her first biological daughter in 2008. In an effort to give Sunday Rose a sister, Kidman and Urban opted to enlist the help of a gestational carrier, who gave birth to the couple’s second daughter in December 2010.

The bond between Kidman and her daughters is undeniable, but even with his hectic schedule as a touring country superstar, Urban strives to give his girls a reliable father-figure as well. “It’s a lot of travel back and forth, but if it means that I’m not gone for weeks at a time, that’s my choice,” Urban tells the Tennessean. ”My preference is to come home, even for a day.”

“When I get home if I go to bed at 2 in the morning, it’s pretty hard getting up at 6, but I don’t want to get up at 10 and miss all the morning with my wife and my daughters,” he tells the Nashville publication. “So, I just push through. If I get home at 2, I’ll get up at 6 and have breakfast with everybody and then I’ll sneak back to bed for an hour or so … my wife will work out, I’ll go back to bed.”

[Kim]

Keith Urban Hits No. 1 in Australia


Keith Urban has debuted at No. 1 on his native Australia’s ARIA Album Chart with his new album, The Story So Far. The project features 19 of his most popular songs from Get Closer, Defying Gravity, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, Be Here and Golden Road. It also includes “For You” as well as eight songs not previously released as part of a hits collection.

“Just got the news that our album is #1 here in Australia!,” Keith said. “I’m totally blown away Australia. Thank you all SO much for the love and support…Can’t wait to launch the tour.”

All the albums from which the songs on The Story So Far have been taken are popular releases in Australia. Keith is currently appearing as a coach on the Australian version of The Voice, which has been at the top of the TV ratings. Keith has been seen not only performing alongside fellow coaches and his team members, but also singing along to nearly every song performed on the show.

Tracklisting for ‘The Story So Far’:

Kiss A Girl – from ‘Defying Gravity’
Long Hot Summer – from ‘Get Closer’
Somebody Like You (Radio remix) – from ‘Golden Road’
Making Memories Of Us (Radio single edit) –from ‘Be Here’
Days Go By – from ‘Be Here'
Put You In A Song - from 'Get Closer'
Without You - from 'Get Closer"
You Look Good In My Shirt - from 'Get Closer'
Stupid Boy - from 'Love Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing'
Once In A Lifetime (Radio edit) – from ‘Love Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing’
Sweet Thing – from ‘Defying Gravity’
You’ll Think Of Me (Single edit) – from ‘Golden Road’
I Told You So (Single edit) – from ‘Love Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing’
Only You Can Love Me This Way – from ‘Defying Gravity’
You’re My Better Half (Single Edit) – from ‘Be Here’
Tonight I Wanna Cry – from ‘Be Here’
For You – from the Act of Valour soundtrack
Raining On Sunday (Single edit) – from ‘Golden Road’
Better Life – from ‘Be Here’

[Kim]

Keith Urban Not Returning to ‘The Voice’ Until His Album Is Done


Although Keith Urban has fully enjoyed coaching talented singers on ‘The Voice’ in Australia, there’s no chance that the ‘You Gonna Fly’ hitmaker will trade in his guitar for a permanent reality TV contract anytime soon. While Urban would be thrilled to do another season of ‘The Voice,’ he told Australian radio’s Kyle & Jackie O Show that making music is still priority No. 1.

“My thing is making sure I have an album done,” Urban said. “Mostly I’m just going to be in the studio for the next [few] months. If the record comes together the way I hope it does, I’ll definitely be there [on 'The Voice] next year, and if it takes longer, then I’ll have to figure out how I can make it work.”

Urban hasn’t said for certain when his next disc will hit shelved, but he did say earlier this year that he’s working ‘feverishly’ to explore new stories in his life and work with talented songwriters for the album.

“My intention for the record is to start exploring the stories in my own life,” the hitmaker 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.”

If all goes according to plan, Urban will commit to another season of ‘The Voice.’ But even if the 44-year-old country star has to ditch his reality television gig, he promises that he’ll still support ‘The Voice.’ and those who try to achieve success via TV competitions. For now, Urban says he’s “jonesing to get back on stage anywhere … anywhere sometime soon.”

Luckily, he has a 2013 tour in the making.

[Kim]

Keith Urban Admits Life With Three Girls Has Made Him More of a Crier


You wouldn’t be able to tell from watching his rocking stage performances, but as it turns out, having a wife and two daughters has made Keith Urban a bit of a softie. In a recent interview with the Belfast Telegraph, the ‘For You’ singer admitted that sometimes even the most random things make him cry.

Urban and his wife, gorgeous, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, have two daughters, Sunday, 3, and Faith, 1. The country star admits that his entire family can be pretty emotional. But apparently that doesn’t apply to angry feelings–only sappy ones. Even when Urban encounters temper tantrums from one of his kids, he tries to control his frustration.

“I don’t swear much, I’ve taken those words out of my vocabulary and having kids you have to have two sets of language!” he said an in an interview with Australian radio show Kyle and Jackie O. “I’d like to say they’re all very passionate, as am I. Sometimes I just cry at random stuff!”

Perhaps Urban is feeling emotional because his busy schedule keeps him spread thin. The award-winning country star has put plenty of hours into filming the Aussie version of ‘The Voice,’ and in a few months he’ll kick off his world tour Down Under. But a busy schedule won’t keep Urban away from the next season of ‘The Voice,’ if he has the chance, that is.

“I’d love to do it. My thing is making sure I have an album done which is really what I’m doing next week,” he says. “I’m going to be in the studio for the next few months and if the record comes together like I hope it does then I’ll definitely be back on.”

Sounds like country music fans will be seeing a lot of Keith Urban in the next few months.

[Kim]

Keith Urban shakes things up



Keith Urban (photo: Dipti Vaidya / The Tennessean)


Keith Urban is dismantling the way he makes records — and he likes it.

Urban is working with new producers, writing with different songwriters and recording in different studios hoping to make an album unlike anything he’s recorded to date.

So far, it’s working.

“I wanted to have everything around me be totally unfamiliar to me and I think it’s great in a sense that all sorts of stuff is coming out that I normally haven’t done before,” he says.

In particular, Urban is excited about a song he wrote recently with producer Jay Joyce and Jeremy Spillman, both of whom are new co-writers for the singer. He called the writing session “exhilarating” and says it “gave birth to a song that I never would have written with anybody else melodically and in a lot of other ways, too.”

Urban says he has accrued six or seven songs in the past several months, and that so far the music is hopeful but offers fans something new and with insight into his past.

“The song (I wrote with Joyce and Spillman) is a bit of my journey over the last six years, my transition,” he says. “I have it represented in there and I like it because it got represented in a song that’s otherwise pretty upbeat, and I didn’t think that would be the place for that kind of lyric, but it works.”

As for when the new music will be on store shelves, Urban says it will likely be sometime next year, and that carving out a handsome chunk of time to make an album is something he’s always wanted to do. This time, however, it was more than just a want.

“It just isn’t easy to do,” he says. “But it just feels very, very strong in me to do it. I am putting a tour on next year, but it won’t be early in the year, so there is somewhat of a need for an album sooner than later. But I just would like for the album to be right.

“We can’t keep remaking the same record.”

[Kim]

Keith Urban to Play Music Teacher for a Day


Keith Urban is going back to school Sept. 6 as part of a special educational program at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Nearly 200 Middle Tennessee high school juniors and seniors will attend the private "All Access: Keith Urban" program in the Hall of Fame's Ford Theater. The country superstar will give a 75-minute lecture that will include a question-and-answer session, as well as lots of invaluable info on making it in the music business.

Even though arts and music students from only four schools were chosen to participate in this rare event, a live stream of the program will be available on Keith's website here and the Hall of Fame's site here.

The program is funded in part by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission, through an agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition, Keith has tirelessly campaigned to raise money for the Hall of Fame with his annual "We're All for the Hall" concerts he began in 2009. Not only has the generous Aussie has donated his time each year to host the benefits, they concerts have raised a million and a half dollars to help aid music education in the schools and the Hall's many other endeavors.

As part of the program, the high schoolers may even get a sample or two of Keith's new material. The singer-songwriter is reportedly shaking things up on the new album, for which he's using new producers, songwriters and even studios, hoping to change things up a bit for his next CD, due out in 2013.

[Kim]

Keith Urban 'Would Love' to Judge 'American Idol'


High school kids know how to make an impression. That's the lesson Keith Urban learned during a Q&A session with more than 200 Nashville high school students at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum this week. The first to blow him away was a student he deemed "Barbara Walters" because she used her time in the spotlight to focus on a hot topic: whether or not he'll be a judge on the next season of "American Idol."

"I would love to do it and hopefully that happens," Keith told the students at the event dubbed "All Access: Keith Urban" (quote via The Tennessean newspaper). "I did get to do a similar role in Australia for 'The Voice,' and I really enjoyed it. The thing about those shows is that mentoring aspect; it's all about passing it on."

Another ambitious student, who introduced herself as "Tyler from the Nashville School of the Arts," asked how often he works with dancers. "Including live shows and videos?" he asked facetiously, before revealing, "The answer is never." But Tyler didn't back down, responding with, "Well, I think it would bring a lot of attention to your music."

The father of two was obviously taken by the student's gumption, and noticing she had her resume with her, he asked the dancer to bring it to him on stage. After the exchange and a quick hug, Keith said, "If there are dancers in my next video, you'll know Tyler has been very effective."

The singer-songwriter also answered queries about how one learns to write a hit tune. "It's best to forget about rules when it comes to songwriting," he professed. "As soon as someone says, 'Well this is the way you do it,' someone will write a song that defies everything, and breaks every rule, and has pure expression in it. If you have a burst of inspiration, that's the best thing."

Keith also offered hope to those who are struggling to express themselves, but encouraged them to surround themselves with people who give them constructive feedback. "If you're an artist, you're a visionary," he explained. "You have a vision of what your art may be. No one may understand it yet, so you have to believe in yourself. But you also need people around you that you can trust and who will tell you the truth about what is good and what isn't."

Before leaving the stage, the Aussie obliged a fan request with an acoustic performance of his No. 1. hit, "Stupid Boy." Oh, and as he exited, he made sure to take Tyler's resume.

[Kim]

Keith Urban Officially Signs Off From ‘The Voice’ Australia


It’s been widely speculated that Keith Urban will join a completely overhauled version of ‘American Idol’ next season — and with official word that the Australian superstar has left the his home country’s version of ‘The Voice,’ there is more fuel to the fire that the ‘For You’ singer could likely become a reality television star stateside.

“I’ve been so fortunate to have been a part of ‘The Voice,’” Urban says in a statement (quote via mjsbigblog). “And as much as I’d love to do it again, it’s clear that the recording and promoting of a new album, a tour and other commitments, will keep me from being a part of the second season.”

“To everyone who sang on the show I thank you, you’ve inspired not just me, but countless others,” the gracious singer adds. “To everyone behind the scenes and to my on camera family Darren, Delta, Joel and Seal, thank you for making it so much fun. Keep watching Australia!”

As far as his new album is concerned, Urban hopes the new project will be unlike anything he has ever released before. “I wanted to have everything around me be totally unfamiliar to me and I think it’s great in a sense that all sorts of stuff is coming out that I normally haven’t done before,” he reveals.

Urban did not elude to what “other commitments” that might be on his immediate agenda, but he did recently admit that ‘American Idol’ producers have indeed approached him to fill the vacant judge spot on the wildly popular reality show.

If all goes as planned, the singer will receive a hefty paycheck of $4 million to join pop singers Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj in Season 12 of ‘American Idol,’ which is expected to air in January 2013. His new album is also expected to drop sometime next year.

[Kim]

Keith Urban Hosts New Grand Ole Opry Radio Campaign



Opry member Keith Urban on the Grand Ole Opry stage September 4, 2012.
Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.


Keith Urban is no stranger to country radio but now fans will hear him as the voice of a new Grand Ole Opry radio campaign that began airing this week in regional drive markets as well as the Opry’s nationally syndicated radio program ‘America’s Opry Weekend.’ In the radio spots, Keith reflects on becoming an Opry member and invites fans to visit Nashville and download the Opry’s mobile app.

“I’ll never forget that night,” Keith says in the spot. “Standing on the Grand Ole Opry stage and becoming an official Opry member. It was beyond my wildest dreams. I can feel the history and the excitement about country’s future every time I step on the Opry stage.”

Fans can hear the spots here. Opry performances are held every weekend of the year and on Tuesdays through December 13. To plan an Opry visit, call (800) SEE-OPRY or visit opry.com.

[Kim]

Nicole Kidman Will Join Keith Urban During ‘American Idol’ Live Shows


It’s not often you see country star Keith Urban and his wife Nicole Kidman, apart from one another. Of course, there are times — like when Urban is on stage or Kidman is in front of a camera — that they can’t stand side by side. But that won’t stop the actress from being in the wings when her hubby judges the upcoming season of ‘American Idol.’ She confirmed in a recent interview that she plans to watch the show from backstage.

At the Emmy Awards on Sunday night, E! News host Ryan Seacrest caught up with Kidman. According to Us Weekly, the actress told him that she will be waiting off stage to cheer on her husband during ‘Idol’ tapings.

“Yeah! Next year I’ll be there,” the actress said. Although, Urban will have to wait until 2013 to have his beautiful wife on his arm.

“This year I’m in France. I’m playing Grace Kelly, actually,” she explained. The Oscar winner will star as Princess Grace in ‘Princess Grace of Monaco.’ Hoping to keep her ivory skin tone in tact to do Grace Kelly justice, Kidman is worried about how she’ll react to the hot sun in Los Angeles, where ‘Idol’ will be filmed.

“I’m gonna get sunburned. I should be pale!” she joked.

Of course, that wouldn’t stop her from standing by her man.

Urban, 44, just recently confirmed that he’ll be sitting on the ‘American Idol’ judges panel with Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey when the upcoming season airs in the new year. On the red carpet, he was sure to tell Seacrest that he’s excited to work with him soon.

“I’m very glad you’re there. I’m glad Randy’s there. It’s a good comfort level!” he said.

[Kim]

CMT News

OFFSTAGE: Keith Urban: American Idol Is American Dream

September 27, 2012
Written by Alison Bonaguro

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

Keith Urban took a break from judging the American Idol auditions Wednesday (Sept. 26) in Chicago to answer a few questions about his new gig. And one of the first things I asked him was how his journey (which he's said before is so well captured by Waylon Jennings' "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way") into the music world was different from what a potential Idol's journey would be. He said that really, it wasn't all that different. "It's similar in some ways. I mean, what I like about Idol is that it's not just American Idol. It's American Dream," Urban told me. "You know, you can come from absolutely nothing, from the tiniest town, and have this happen to you." And he's no stranger to the world of talent shows, albeit a different generation of talent shows. "For me, I went on a few shows like this when I was really young, and they helped me a lot. In the end, I had to still get out there and really hone my craft and learn to do what I do," he said. "But what's the chance of a kid from Australia making it here?" So I think what Urban is saying is that if it could happen to him, it could happen to any of the thousands of hopefuls that filled Chicago's Adler Planetarium.

And as for those hopefuls, I had to know if any of the contestants Urban had seen so far had done his own songs. He said that, yes, one man had done "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and that it was very good. I don't know that man's name, but already I have high hopes for him.

www.cmt.com/news/cmt-offstage/1694525/offstage-keith-urban-american-idol-is-american-dream.jhtml

[Kim]

Keith Urban Shares How He Used to Spend Christmas as a Kid


For most young children, there is nothing more euphoric than Christmas morning. Waking up early is a requirement. Flying down the steps to tear open presents is also a given. Country superstar Keith Urban was no different than your average, Christmas-loving kid while growing up in Australia. The singer revealed how he spent Christmas mornings and how he was the personal alarm clock of Mom and Dad Urban!

The singer/guitarist told CMT Radio that “I have a great image of getting up early and jumping on my parents’ bed and getting them up. Of course, you go and tear into your presents and then it’s done – and it’s like 8 in the morning.”

Urban effectively captured the high (and low) of Christmas morning. You wait 364 days for Christmas and it’s over in seconds. Talk about extremes!

Urban placed the holiday loved by children the world in over in a more current perspective, saying, “You’ve got all morning now to wish you had more presents to open.”

At least Urban and his Oscar-winning wife Nicole Kidman can enjoy and revel in watching their young daughters Sunday and Faith open their gifts on Christmas morning. They probably don’t mind the girls jumping on their bed at the crack of dawn to wake them up, either.

Can’t you just picture mini-Urban, leaping on his parents bed? Too cute.

[Kim]

Keith Urban Shares Why ‘American Idol’ Is Especially Important to Him


Keith Urban may be Australian, but the singer’s reason for joining ‘American Idol‘ as a judge proves that the American Dream is a concept that transcends cultures and geographic divides.

The idea that someone with God-given vocal talent deserves a chance to have their voice heard is one that is universal, and that’s why the show — which will launch its 12th season on Jan. 16 — is an important asset to Urban. After all, it’s that very idea that helped him build a successful career as a country star.

“’American Idol’ really personifies the American Dream,” Urban, who will make his debut as a judge on the new-look panel this season, said (quote via GAC.) “It is what brought me all the way to America. It completely provides that for someone who’s come from nothing. They just have raw talent and a hunger and a desire to become a real artist and the show completely gives them that chance.”

When stripped down to the basics, Urban’s success story is not that much different from the contestants who compete on ‘Idol’ each season. That’s why his role as a judge will be a invaluable to the hopefuls that take the stage in 2013.

We’re glad that the drama between fellow new judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj hasn’t spoiled Urban’s positive feelings towards the show. He could end up being the “rock” who anchors this year’s panel.

[Kim]

Keith Urban Shares His Love of Music with Daughters



On Friday, Keith Urban‘s lovely wife, Nicole Kidman visted The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Together, the country singer and the Oscar winner have created a lovely family with a mix of Aussie charm in their southern roots. But a southern accent isn’t all their beautiful daughters have “caught.” It turns out that two year old Faith Margaret and four year old Sunday Rose may have their daddy’s musical abilities.

“She[Sunday] has really good pitch. I’d love it [if she sings],” Kidman, 45, says. ”The great thing about being married to a musician is you have music in the house all the time. [Keith will] play the piano at 7 a.m. … we have breakfast around the piano.”

Tune into ‘Ellen’ on Monday to see Nicole’s hubby, Mr. Keith Urban stop by for a chat.