Keith Urban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keith Urban
Keith Urban, as pictured on the cover of his current album Love, Pain, & the whole crazy thing.
Keith Urban, as pictured on the cover of his current album Love, Pain, & the whole crazy thing.
Background information
Birth name Keith Lionel Urbahn (per New Zealand public birth certificate)
Born October 26, 1967 (age 39)
Origin Flag of New Zealand Whangarei, New Zealand
Genre(s) Country pop
Instrument(s) acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, piano, percussion, ganjo, papoose, mandolin, bouzouki
Years active 1991 - Present
Label(s) Capitol Records
EMI
Associated
acts		 The Ranch (band)
Website KeithUrban.net

Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967, New Zealand), better known simply as Keith Urban, is an Australian country music singer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Keith was born in Whangarei, New Zealand, though later moved with his parents to the state of Queensland, Australia. By age seven, Urban was already thinking about getting into the music business and making his mark in Nashville. He began learning the techniques at age six and began winning young singing contests by age eight. By twelve he was booking his band in local clubs, and at 15 he quit school to hit the road. In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first solo album, which charted 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 country duo Brooks & Dunn for less than a year before forming The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997 to critical acclaim. Originally the front man for The Ranch, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career in 1998.

In Nashville, Keith became a frequent user of cocaine.[1] After reaching a personal nadir in 1998, he became determined to give up the habit and checked into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville. After cleaning up, Urban released his self-titled American debut in 2000, 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. Widely regarded for his guitar skills, he has performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks' Double Live, the Dixie Chicks' Fly, and Paul Brandt's This Time Around. He appeared semi-nude in photos accompanying an interview for Playgirl magazine and on the cover of the April 2001 issue.

Urban released Golden Road in 2002, and the success of the single "Somebody Like You" sent his career into high gear. The single spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the charts, remaining at No. 1 longer than any other country artist in 2002. Touring as a supporting act for renowned country acts Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney honed Urban's skills and stage-craft. Country video channel CMT signed on as the title sponsor of Urban's first headlining arena tour titled Keith Urban Be Here '04 with opening act Katrina Elam. Urban continued his meteoric rise to fame in 2005 with a very successful tour with Elam called Alive in '05. He performed in the Live 8 Philadelphia concert on July 2, 2005 and had been chosen by The Gap to appear alongside seven other musical stars in their "Favorites" campaign. He was named the 2005 CMA's Entertainer of the Year. He released a DVD in late September 2005 entitled Livin' Right Now, recorded in at the Wiltern Theater in California in December 2004.

In 2005 Urban played in front of European audiences for the first time. In May Urban supported Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour, which included dates in Earls Court, London, SECC, Glasgow and The Point, Dublin. On June 6th a UK only album Days Go By was released, this album contained songs from both Be Here and Golden Road .

In October Urban returned for a headlining tour with Nerina Pallot as support act.

Urban has recently performed "Better Life" on the CMA Awards and "You'll Think of Me" on the American Music Awards. He also performed at the Grammys playing "You'll Think of Me" and "The Lucky One" with Faith Hill. At the 2006 ACM Awards Urban performed "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and played guitar for Brooks & Dunn's song "Believe."

On Monday August 21, 2006, Urban made 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 #18. "Good Ride Cowboy" was the highest in the BDS era (1990-present).

Urban is also a winner of numerous "Golden Guitars", which are presented annually during the "Tamworth Country Music Festival" at "The Country Music Association of Australia's Annual Awards" in Tamworth, Australia. He is also a former winner of the Toyota Starmaker Contest, which is held each year in conjunction with the CMAA Awards and the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

[edit] Personal life

In 1992, Urban dated veterinary technician Laura Sigler. Sigler shared an on and off relationship with Urban for eight years. Urban proposed to Sigler in 2001 but the pair eventually split up permanently in 2002.

Urban then dated former supermodel Niki Taylor on and off for three years until they broke up in 2005.

Urban met Australian actress Nicole Kidman at G'Day LA, a Hollywood event honouring Australians in January 2005. Kidman and Urban were married on Sunday June 25, 2006, at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney.

On Oct. 19, 2006, Urban checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic in California. On Oct. 20, Urban issued 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." Kidman visited Urban at the clinic on November 12, and in early December the couple were together for lunch at the Polo Lounge in Los Angeles, while Urban got a short release from rehab. On Dec. 16, Kidman and her children flew to Sydney to spend Christmas with her family, while Urban remained in the United States for rehab[2]. Urban flew to Sydney and met up with Kidman on December 26[3], but returned to the Betty Ford Clinic shortly thereafter. On Jan. 18, 2007, Urban announced his completion of rehab and his plans to go on tour to promote his new album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing. [4].

On January 21, 2007, after 3 months at the Betty Ford Center for rehab Keith announced his return tour to promote his album Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing. The Wreckers will serve as an opening act for the U.S./Canada leg of the tour.

On Feb. 2, 2007, Urban filed a lawsuit on a New Jersey painter by the same name, who has a web site http://www.keithurban.com. The singer wants to acquire the rights to the URL.[5]. Keith Urban the singer's URL is http://www.keithurban.net. The painter has countersued. [6]

[edit] Trivia

  • Keith's last name was originally spelled "Urbahn".
  • At the time of his solo debut album, Keith's name was spelled in lowercase. With the release of "Golden Road", his name returned to uppercase

[edit] Discography

Main article: Keith Urban discography

[edit] Albums

  • 1991 Keith Urban (1991)
  • 1997 The Ranch (with The Ranch)
  • 1999 keith urban #145 U.S., #17 U.S. Country
  • 2002 Golden Road #11 U.S., #2 U.S. Country (108 wks on chart), #29 AUS
  • 2004 In the Ranch (reissue) #34 U.S. Country
  • 2004 Be Here #3 U.S., #1 U.S. Country (111 wks on chart), #11 AUS, #3 AUS Country
  • 2005 Days Go By (UK only release) #40 UK
  • 2006 Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing #3 U.S., #1 (3 wks) U.S. Country, #1 U.S. Digital, #73 UK, #5 AUS, #1 AUS Country

[edit] Singles

Year Song US Hot 100 US Country US Adult Contemp. Pop 100 Hot Digital Album
1999 "It's a Love Thing" - 18 - - - keith urban
2000 "Your Everything" 51 4 - - - keith urban
2001 "But For The Grace Of God" 37 1 - - - keith urban
2001 "Where The Blacktop Ends" 35 3 - - - keith urban
2002 "Somebody Like You" 23 1 - - - Golden Road
2003 "Raining On Sunday" 38 3 - - - Golden Road
2003 "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" 30 1 - - - Golden Road
2004 "You'll Think of Me" 24 1 2 41B 48B Golden Road
2004 "You Look Good In My Shirt"A - 60 - - - Golden Road
2004 "Days Go By" 31 1 - - - Be Here
2005 "You're My Better Half" 33 2 - - - Be Here
2005 "Making Memories Of Us" 34 1 5C 60 47 Be Here
2005 "Better Life" 44 1 - 92 - Be Here
2005 "Tonight I Wanna Cry" 36 2 - 49 36 Be Here
2005 "Live To Love Another Day"A - 48 - - - Be Here
2006 "Once In a Lifetime" 31 6 - 48 33 Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing
2007 "Stupid Boy" 43 3 - 60 55 Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing
2007 "I Told You So" - - - - - Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing

Notes

  • AAlbum cut; was not released but entered country charts.
  • B"You'll Think Of Me" charted on the Pop 100 and Hot Digital Songs charts in 2005.
  • C"Making Memories Of Us" charted on the Adult Contemporary charts in 2006.

[edit] Awards and achievements

[edit] Awards

  • 1978 - CCMA Special Encouragement Award (10 Years & under)
  • 1983 - CCMA Junior Male Vocalist
  • 1990 - CMAA Star Maker Award
  • 1991 - CMAA Golden Guitar
  • 1991 - CMAA Best New Talent
  • 1992 - CMAA Golden Guitar
  • 1992 - CMAA Male Vocalist
  • 1992 - CMAA Golden Guitar Instrumentalist
  • 1997 - CMAA Golden Guitar Instrumentalist
  • 1998 - CMAA Golden Guitar Instrumentalist
  • 2001 - CMAA Golden Guitar Instrumentalist
  • 2001 - ACM Top New Male Vocalist
  • 2001 - CMA Horizon Award (first non-American)
  • 2001 - ARIA Outstanding Achievement Award
  • 2001 - VMA Male Vocalist Award
  • 2001 - Mo Australian Show Business Ambassador of the Year
  • 2003 - ARIA Country Album of the Year (Golden Road)
  • 2003 - Country Weekly Fan Favorite Award for Favorite New Artist
  • 2003 - BMI Song of the Year Category for "Somebody Like You"
  • 2003 - TCMA Video Clip of the Year - "Somebody Like You"
  • 2004 - CMA Male Vocalist of the Year (first non-American)
  • 2004 - FCMA Best Foreign Music
  • 2005 - Voted Country Music's Hottest Bachelor by Country Weekly
  • 2005 - #6 on OK! Magazine's Hollywood's Hottest Bachelor list
  • 2005 - CMT Music Awards Video of the Year - "Days Go By"
  • 2005 - ACM Album of the Year - "Be Here"
  • 2005 - ACM Top Male Vocalist
  • 2005 - French Association of County Music Artist of the Year
  • 2005 - ARIA Country Album of the Year (Be Here)
  • 2005 - CMA International Artist of the Year!
  • 2005 - CMA Male Vocalist of the Year (Second year in a row)
  • 2005 - CMA Entertainer of the Year (first non-American male. First non-American was Shania Twain in 1999)
  • 2005 - XM Country Artist of the Year
  • 2005 - XM "So You Wanna Be a Movie Star?" Artists We'd Like to See Crossover to Films
  • 2005 - Radio Music Awards Artist of the Year
  • 2005 - Billboard Music Award: Top-selling Pop Catalog Album of the Year "Golden Road"
  • 2006 - Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "You'll Think Of Me"
  • 2006 - CMT Music Awards Video of The Year - "Better Life"
  • 2006 - ACM Top Male Vocalist of the Year (Second year in a row)
  • 2006 - Voted Country Music's Sexiest Man by Country Weekly.
  • 2006 - ASCAP'S Most-Performed Country Songs of 2006 "Better Life" written by Richard Marx and Keith Urban, "Tonight I Wanna Cry" written by Monty Powell and Keith Urban and "Making Memories of Us" written by Rodney Crowell (3 out of 56)
  • 2006 - CMA Male Vocalist of the Year (Third year in a row - matching George Strait who won in 1996 through 1998)
  • 2006 - French Association of Country Music Award for Best Live Performance (this is his 4th FACM award)
  • 2006 - Voted #1 on CMT's 20 Sexiest Men
  • 2006 - Country Music Association of Australia award for Outstanding Achievement

[edit] Gold/Platinum singles, videos and albums

  • 1999 - Self-Titled Keith Urban 1999 certified Platinum in 2003
  • 2002 - Golden Road certified Triple Platinum in 2005, Double Platinum in Canada
  • 2002 - Somebody Like You (single) certified Gold in 2005.
  • 2004 - Be Here certified Quadruple Platinum in U.S., Double Platinum in Canada & Australia in 2006.
  • 2004 - You'll Think of Me certified Platinum in 2005.
  • 2005 - Days Go By : Anthology (Import) certified Gold (Ireland)
  • 2005 - Video Hits DVD certified Platinum
  • 2005 - Livin' Right Now DVD certified Platinum in U.S. and Australia, Double Platinum in Canada
  • 2005 - Making Memories of Us (single) certified Gold in 2005.
  • 2005 - Days Go By (single) certified Gold in 2005.
  • 2006 - Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing certified Platinum in the U.S., Canada and Australia

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Up from Down Under" by Stephanie Mansfield, USA WEEKEND, November 4, 2001
  2. ^ Suzanne Kerins (December 17th, 2006). FEARS FOR NIC'S LOVE. Sunday Mirror.
  3. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/urban-mayhem/2006/12/27/1166895361492.html
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6270247.stm
  5. ^ Keith Urban sues Keith Urban over web site [1]
  6. ^ Keel, Beverly, "Keith Urban countersues Keith Urban", The Tennesseean [2]

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../k/e/i/Keith_Urban_6cc4.html"