Keith Urban

Aussie Talent, Country Legend in the Making

Nearly a decade and a half after arriving in America, Keith Urban has established himself as a major player on the global music scene. With his popularity soaring, his latest album certified Platinum and a plethora of awards under his belt, Keith Urban’s career is ever on the rise. Don’t miss your chance to see this talented Aussie as he brings his “Love, Pain, & the whole crazy World Tour” to the Frank Erwin Center July 3!

Keith Urban was born October 26, 1967 in Whangarei, New Zealand and later moved with his parents to Queensland, Australia. Urban became interested in the music business at a very young age; he began learning the techniques at age six and began winning youth singing contests by age eight. By 12 he was booking his band in local clubs, and at 15 he quit school to hit the road.

In 1990, at the age of 23, Urban began his recording career when he signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first solo album. The self-titled album, Keith Urban, went on to chart four No. 1 country hits in Australia. In 1992, he moved to Nashville to pursue the largest country music market in the world. Urban played back up guitar for legendary country duo Brooks & Dunn for less than a year before forming The Ranch, a three-piece group for which Urban was the front man. After releasing one album, The Ranch, in 1997 to critical acclaim, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career in 1998.

Urban made his American solo debut in 2000 when he re-released Keith Urban in the United States, which produced three top 5 hits and secured for him the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2001 Country Music Association’s Horizon Award.

In addition to his burgeoning solo career, Urban began collaborating with other artists as well. Touring as a supporting artist for renowned country acts Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney developed Urban’s skills and stage-craft. Widely regarded for his guitar skills, he has also performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks’ Double Live, the Dixie Chicks’ Fly and Paul Brandt’s This Time Around.

His career finally kicked into high gear, however, with the 2002 release of his second album, Golden Road, and the success of his hit single “Somebody Like You.” The single spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the charts, remaining at No. 1 longer than any other country artist in 2002. With his popularity on the rise, he took his talent on the road and began touring in 2004. Country video channel CMT became the title sponsor of Urban’s first headlining arena tour titled “Keith Urban Be Here ‘04” with opening act Katrina Elam. He followed this 2004 success with “Alive in ‘05,” an equally acclaimed tour with Elam that furthered his meteoric rise to fame.

2005 proved a memorable year for Keith Urban. In addition to the success of “Alive in ’05,” he won the Country Music Association’s awards for International Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. He also began playing in front of European audiences for the first time when he accompanied Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour.

2006 proved yet another year of achievement for Urban; he made country music history when his new single “Once in a Lifetime” debuted at #17, setting a new record for the highest-debuting country single in the 62-year history of Billboard’s country charts. The record was formerly held by Garth Brooks’ “Good Ride Cowboy” and Eddie Rabbitt’s “Every Which Way But Loose”, both of which debuted at No. 18.

2006 was a memorable year in more ways than one. Urban reached the pinnacle of his professional career when he won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for “You’ll Think of Me.” He also reached a milestone in his personal life when he ended his bachelorhood and married Australian actress and Oscar winner Nicole Kidman on June 25, 2006 in Sydney, Australia.

Urban kicks off his “Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour” at a prolific time in his career. It is a time when Urban has been able not only to celebrate his success, but demonstrate how he has developed as an artist. “I don’t think back too much because I’m so focused on the now and on the future,” Urban explains. “I think of myself as a work in progress so I’m always moving forward by my nature. I’m just grateful that I have the freedom to go and make the record that I just made.”

Urban now prepares to bring that record to life onstage. “With the album completed, I can now see how there may have been something subconsciously at work with the creation of these songs,” he reflects. “I think in the arena environment that we’ve been fortunate enough to find ourselves in, these songs are going to feel very much at home.”