Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban[3][4] AO (born Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Recognised with four Grammy Awards,[5] he also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves International Award,[6] thirteen CMA Awards, and six ARIA Music Awards. Urban wrote and performed the song "For You" from the film Act of Valor, which earned him nominations at both the 70th Golden Globe Awards and at the 18th Critics' Choice Awards in the respective Best Original Song categories.[7]
For other uses, see Keith Urban (disambiguation).
Keith Urban
- Australian
- American
- Singer
- guitarist
- songwriter
1990–present
2
Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass guitar
- banjo guitar
- Capitol Nashville
- Hit Red
Urban has released 11 studio albums (one of which was released only in Australia), as well as one album with the Ranch. He has charted 37 singles on the US Hot Country Songs chart, 18 of which went to number one, counting a duet with Brad Paisley ("Start a Band") and the 2008 single "You Look Good in My Shirt". Urban also worked with numerous artists from different music genres, such as Pink, Nelly Furtado, Jason Derulo, Julia Michaels as well as country artists like Dolly Parton, The Chicks, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Eric Church, and Reba McEntire.
In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, charting four singles in Australia before moving to the United States the next year. He began a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Nashville and charted two singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Still signed to Capitol, Urban made his solo American debut in 1999 with a second eponymous album. Certified platinum in the US by the RIAA, it produced his first number one on the Hot Country Songs chart with "But for the Grace of God". "Somebody Like You", the first single from his second Capitol album Golden Road (2002), was named by Billboard as the biggest country hit of the 2000s decade. The album's fourth single, "You'll Think of Me" featuring his nephew and fellow country artist Rory Gilliatte, earned him his first Grammy Award. 2004's Be Here, his third American album became his highest-selling album, being certified 4× Platinum. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released in 2006, containing "Once in a Lifetime" as well as his second Grammy Award-winning song, "Stupid Boy". A greatest hits package titled Greatest Hits: 18 Kids followed in late 2007. Defying Gravity and Get Closer were released on 31 March 2009 and 16 November 2010, respectively. In September 2013, he released the album Fuse, which produced four more number ones on the Country Airplay chart. "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" was released in June 2015[8] as the lead single of his eighth American studio album, Ripcord. Later the album produced the Country Airplay chart number-one hits "Break on Me", "Wasted Time", and "Blue Ain't Your Color", with the latter also becoming Urban's longest-reigning number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, spending 12 weeks atop the chart. His tenth album, Graffiti U, was released in 2018 and includes the Top 10 hit "Coming Home". His eleventh album The Speed of Now Part 1 was released in 2020 and includes the global hit "One Too Many" with Pink, in addition to Country Airplay top ten hits "We Were" and "God Whispered Your Name".
Urban was a coach on the Australian version of the singing competition The Voice and a judge on American Idol. In October 2013, he introduced his own signature line of guitars and accessories.
Early life[edit]
Urban was born on 26 October 1967 in Whangārei, New Zealand.[1] He is the youngest son of Marienne and Robert "Bob" Urbahn (Urbański).[3] At two years of age, Urban moved with his parents to Caboolture, Queensland in Australia.[9] Expressing an early interest in music, at four he was given a ukulele, and at six he took up the guitar. From an early age Urban's influences reflected the tastes of his parents, who enjoyed country music.[10] His father owned a convenience store and put an ad for a guitar teacher in his shop window.[11] He began taking lessons from Sue McCarthy, a guitar teacher.[12] He entered local competitions and acted in a local theatre company.[1] Urban has said that his guitar playing was influenced by two rock guitarists, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac).
In 1983, Urban was a contestant on the Australian TV talent show New Faces.[13] A few years later, he began making inroads into the Australian country music scene, with regular appearances on the Reg Lindsay Country Homestead TV Program, Mike McClellan's Music Program, and various other TV programmes performing duets with Jenny Wilson, a girl from Brisbane. They won a Golden Guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Urban also performed regularly on stage at the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club in Bald Hills, where he was a member. He was in a band called 'Kids Country', which performed during school holidays at various venues and made appearances on the Reg Lindsey show and Conway Country.
Musical career[edit]
1990–1998: early years[edit]
In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and released his self-titled debut album.[1] He appeared on the 1990 compilation album Breaking Ground – New Directions in Country Music, which was nominated for the 1991 ARIA Award for Best Country Album.[14] He toured as a backup act to Slim Dusty between 1993 and 1994. In the mid-1990s, both people recorded a re-worked duet of Dusty's classic "Lights on the Hill". Urban appeared for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry backing Dusty.[15] He also sang backing vocals on INXS's 1991 single "Shining Star".[16]
Urban moved to Nashville in 1992. The next year, he appeared in the music video for Alan Jackson's rendition of "Mercury Blues".[17] He and Vernon Rust co-wrote "Jesus Gets Jealous of Santa Claus" on Toby Keith's 1995 album Christmas to Christmas,[18] 4 Runner's 1996 single "That Was Him (This Is Now)",[19] he played guitar on Garth Brooks' album Double Live (Garth Brooks album) and "Tangled Up in Love" on the Raybon Brothers' 1997 self-titled album.[20] In 1997, he formed a band known as The Ranch, which included drummer Peter Clarke and bassist Jerry Flowers. The Ranch released a self-titled album for Capitol Records Nashville and charted two singles on the Hot Country Songs charts that year: "Walkin' the Country" and "Just Some Love".[21] Throughout the late 1990s, Urban also played guitar on several other artists' albums, such as Paul Jefferson,[22] Tim Wilson, and Charlie Daniels.
1999–2006: Keith Urban, Golden Road and Be Here[edit]
Urban released his self-titled American debut album in 1999 under the production of session pianist Matt Rollings. It was led by the number 18 single "It's a Love Thing", followed by the number four single "Your Everything", which made him the first male New Zealand performer to reach the Top 10 on the US country charts.[23] Its follow-up, "But for the Grace of God", written by Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Gos, became his first number 1 hit on the charts. The last single, "Where the Blacktop Ends", written by Steve Wariner and Allen Shamblin, went to number three. He won the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2001 Country Music Association's Horizon Award. Allmusic's Thom Jurek described the first and third singles favorably, and praised the instrumental track "Rollercoaster", saying that Urban was "flat picking his Stratocaster like it was another extremity he was born with." He thought that those songs "balance the slick and sometimes too-soft production on the record".[24]
Television and film appearances[edit]
The Voice[edit]
On 23 November 2011, Urban was confirmed as one of the four vocal coaches in the Australian version of the reality singing competition The Voice,[86] alongside Seal, Joel Madden, and Delta Goodrem. On 14 September 2012, Urban released a statement that he would not be signing back on for season two and was replaced by Ricky Martin.[87] On 15 December 2020, it was announced that Urban would return to The Voice Australia season 10 for his second season replacing Boy George, alongside Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian, and Rita Ora.[88][89][90] All judges returned for the eleventh season in 2022.[91] However, in October 2022, it was announced that Urban would not be returning to the big red chair for the twelfth season in 2023 due to his upcoming tour.[92]
American Idol[edit]
The Fox Broadcasting Company officially announced on 16 September 2012 that Urban would replace Steven Tyler as a judge in season 12 of American Idol alongside Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Nicki Minaj.[93] On 1 August 2013, it was officially confirmed that Urban would return as a judge for season 13.[94][95][96] He was joined by former judge Jennifer Lopez and newest judge Harry Connick Jr. On 23 June 2014, Fox announced that Urban would return to the judging panel for season 14.[97] Urban returned to judge the 15th season of American Idol in 2016.[98]
Slim and I[edit]
Urban features in the 2020 Australian documentary film Slim and I, directed by Kriv Stenders, talking about the influence on his life of acclaimed Australian country music husband-and-wife duo Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. The film features interviews and covers of McKean songs by acclaimed contemporary artists including Urban (Lights on the Hill), Missy Higgins, Paul Kelly, and Troy Cassar-Daley.[99][100]
Signature guitar line[edit]
In October 2013, during a concert in Tampa, Florida, Urban announced that he would sell 'signature' guitars and accessories through Home Shopping Network (HSN).[101] HSN offered the guitar packages twice in six months, resulting in 42,000 sales.[102][103]
A portion of the proceeds benefit The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.[101]
Headlining tours
Co-headlining
Supporting tours
