Latest news with #BlueAin'tYourColor
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Keith Urban's got a new tour, a new show and zero interest in acting
In the nearly 20 years I've been an entertainment reporter, I can count on one finger how many times a celebrity has called me themself — no publicist or agent on the line, no Zoom link setup. Keith Urban changed that one week ago when, as I poured my first cup of coffee, I had the pleasure of picking up the phone to one of country music's biggest stars on the line: "Hey Taryn, it's Keith!" "Mr. Urban! Hi!" I said, surprised. "Oh, definitely call me Keith!" he laughed. "Even my dad hated 'Mr. Urban.' I don't think anyone in the Urban lineage has ever liked 'Mr. Urban.' Sounds way too official!" Urban's breezy, fun and down-to-earth attitude was on display during our 20-minute chat, and he's taking it on the road this summer. Urban kicked off his High and Alive tour on Thursday night in Orange Beach, Ala., eight months after the release of his 11th U.S. studio album, High. And yes, the 57-year-old country music star wants you to feel high and alive — "literally" — when you come and see him. "It sums up the energy that I like to play with. The energy I want to bring, the energy I want everybody to feel. I'm not a sort of sit-down contemplative, pensive kind of artist. I love firing everybody up and bringing everybody together," he told Yahoo Entertainment. "We're high and alive in '25, it's just tailor-made." Urban's had 16 No. 1 Hot Country songs, with hits like "Blue Ain't Your Color," "Long Hot Summer" and "Somebody Like You." Although he's been busy building what he likes to call a "playlist," not a setlist, for his upcoming shows, Urban had a surprising response when asked about his approach to this tour. "It's crazy, I've always been wired to be very — I don't have any sense that I've done anything," Urban said. To be clear, the New Zealand-born Australian singer has accomplished more than most in his three-decade career. He's won four Grammys, 12 Country Music Association Awards (including Entertainer of the Year twice) and 15 Academy of Country Music Awards and has sold out arenas all over the world. The list goes on. Hasn't done anything? I let him explain what he means. "I'm highly aware that I've done a lot of tours and I've made a lot of albums," he laughed. "I get all of that, but I don't think about it. Everything is just very now." Urban said preparing for High and Alive made him realize he's as driven now as he was when he released his self-titled stateside debut album in 1999. "Even when we went down to rehearsals a couple of weeks ago and I had a massive whiteboard on the stage as I was chipping away at shaping a playlist, it felt like my first tour," he explained. It's been three years since Urban last hit the road with his band, and while his 2024 hit song "Messed Up as Me" made the playlist, there are several others he broke out for the first time, including covers of Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's "I Had Some Help," plus Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club." He also covered New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" during his encore. Embracing this "blank canvas" feeling means he has no preshow rituals or superstitions. "I got a lot of new band members. It's a new stage, it's a new production, so there's more things new about it than there isn't. I just feel a sense of freshness and excited energy to get out and play and see what works, what doesn't work, what we have to move and shape, and just be in the moment with the audience," he said. "It always feels brand-new to me." While Urban is embracing a "blank canvas" professionally, his personal life is happily colorful. In June, he and his wife, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, will celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary. Urban gave his family, including daughters Sunday, 16, and Faith, 14, a sweet shout-out earlier this month when he was honored with the Triple Crown Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Urban considers himself a family man, which is something his fans deeply connect with. Being away from home and on the road, though, is something he and Kidman are used to. When asked if they have any two-week rule, or they have a maximum amount of time they can go without seeing each other, Urban said no. "I've never believed in rules," he said. "It's gotta be a want, you know? And I don't want to be away from my family for too long, so I don't need a rule. I'm really lucky that I get to tour the way I do, which is kind of three shows in a row, and then three to four days off. Then three shows in a row. It's pretty rare to even be gone for two weeks. It's fortuitous where Nashville is [located] in that it's a fairly decent flying time to a lot of places." Urban thrives on connecting with his audiences to take them on an unforgettable ride. Part of the reason he has such a passionate fan base isn't just because of the songs themselves, but because of his songwriting, which touches on themes like love, loss and redemption. His self-reflective lyrics typically mirror where he's at in his phase of life. "I think I've gone from writing about things I'd like to experience to being able to write from experience," he explained when I asked how his songwriting has evolved. "A lot of my early songs were imagining what it would be like to have a particular feeling, to be a particular person because I wasn't that person but wanted to be," he continued. "These songs probably just have more depth to them. And there's just more things to write about. It doesn't have to be family, it's just experience. It's losing parents. It's friends who have been in your life for a long time. Moving. Things changing in life. New seasons. Chapters coming to a close, and new ones opening that are equally as exciting, if not more so." Urban categorizes his current chapter as "unfolding." Given all he has on his plate in 2025, that seems fitting. This fall, Urban will headline the new country music competition series The Road on CBS. Unlike other singing competition shows, this one puts aspiring singers straight on tour, as contestants will join Urban onstage this summer and trade off opening for him. The series, which doesn't have a premiere date as of yet, is executive produced by Blake Shelton and Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan. This isn't Urban's first stint on reality television: He was a judge on American Idol from 2013 to 2016 and on the inaugural season of Australia's The Voice in 2011. When asked if he's taking any learnings, good or bad, from those experiences to The Road, he said it's wildly different. "I don't know if I took any specific things from those other shows other than — because this show is not really, not like those in so many ways," he explained. "It's quite extraordinary what Blake and Taylor envisioned for this thing. To put it back into this real-world environment — being in clubs where you don't have hair, glam, a stylist and all this noise and nonsense. You've got your talent, your drive, your ambition and you've got a stage and a house band. You've got two songs, one original and one cover, and you've gotta grab this audience that hasn't come to see you. This audience has come to see me play at the end of the night, and you gotta grab 'em." Urban said the "do or die" feeling is really what it's like when you start out in the music industry. "I came from another country. Having the odds stacked against you is something I've spent my life having to continue working through," he added. "I'm not comparing my journey to anybody else's. It's just aspiring to be the best you can always be, staying curious, passionate, hungry and never giving up. Staying the course is always key, and in the end, I think it works." Urban also had a blast working with Shelton, who he called a "unique guy." "I love being around his energy. He's just funny," he said. As for Sheridan, who is known for creating the Yellowstone universe, Urban admires his talent — but has no interest in throwing on a pair of ranching boots. "Absolutely not," Urban said. "I've never had any interest in acting. I just bought a studio here in Nashville because that's my passion. I don't have any hobbies. I just love playing music. I love being in the studio. I love creating, I love recording." For what it's worth, there's zero pressure from his wife to get on set. Kidman recently said in an interview that she and Urban have no desire to work together. ("We're together in life, so we don't need to do our show together," she told People. "Our life is a show.") "I've been on enough sets now to know that that's absolutely not anything I ever want to do," Urban laughed. "It's not for me!" Right now, it's curiosity in the studio that's fueling the artist. "That's literally what powers me forward and drives me and has always driven me, is curiosity about writing songs, playing, putting on a show, connecting with an audience," he said. "I don't know if you can cook, but I can't cook," Urban continued, "but I realize that's what I do in my head. I hear ingredients, and I imagine what those things together might taste like to my ears. Having a studio now gives me the chance to really explore those kinds of opportunities to blend things that I hear and see what goes together. ... I'm constantly curious to explore musical art, which [is what] my life is."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Keith Urban's got a new tour, a new show and zero interest in acting
In the nearly 20 years I've been an entertainment reporter, I can count on one finger how many times a celebrity has called me themself — no publicist or agent on the line, no Zoom link setup. Keith Urban changed that one week ago when, as I poured my first cup of coffee, I had the pleasure of picking up the phone to one of country music's biggest stars on the other line: "Hey Taryn, it's Keith!" "Mr. Urban! Hi!" I said, surprised. "Oh, definitely call me Keith!" he laughed. "Even my dad hated 'Mr. Urban.' I don't think anyone in the Urban lineage has ever liked 'Mr. Urban.' Sounds way too official!" Urban's breezy, fun and down-to-earth attitude was on display during our 20-minute chat, and he's taking it on the road this summer. Urban kicked off his High and Alive tour on Thursday night in Orange Beach, Ala., eight months after the release of his 11th studio album, High. And yes, the 57-year-old country music star wants you to feel high and alive — "literally" — when you come and see him. "It sums up the energy that I like to play with. The energy I want to bring, the energy I want everybody to feel. I'm not a sort of sit-down contemplative, pensive kind of artist. I love firing everybody up and bringing everybody together," he told Yahoo Entertainment. "We're high and alive in '25, it's just tailor-made." Urban's had 16 No. 1 Hot Country songs, with hits like "Blue Ain't Your Color," "Long Hot Summer" and "Somebody Like You." Although he's been busy building what he likes to call a "playlist," not a setlist, for his upcoming shows, Urban had a surprising response when asked about his approach to this tour. "It's crazy, I've always been wired to be very — I don't have any sense that I've done anything," Urban said. To be clear, the New Zealand-born Australian singer has accomplished more than most in his three-decade career. He's won four Grammys, 12 Country Music Awards (including Entertainer of the Year twice) and 15 Academy of Country Music Awards and has sold out arenas all over the world. The list goes on. Hasn't done anything? I let him explain what he means. "I'm highly aware that I've done a lot of tours and I've made a lot of albums," he laughed. "I get all of that, but I don't think about it. Everything is just very now." Urban said preparing for High and Alive made him realize he's as driven now as he was when he released his self-titled stateside debut album in 1999. "Even when we went down to rehearsals a couple of weeks ago and I had a massive whiteboard on the stage as I was chipping away at shaping a playlist, it felt like my first tour," he explained. It's been three years since Urban last hit the road with his band, and while his 2024 hit song "Messed Up as Me" made the playlist, there are several others he broke out for the first time, including covers of Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's "I Had Some Help," plus Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club." He also covered New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" during his encore. Embracing this "blank canvas" feeling means he has no preshow rituals or superstitions. "I got a lot of new band members. It's a new stage, it's a new production, so there's more things new about it than there isn't. I just feel a sense of freshness and excited energy to get out and play and see what works, what doesn't work, what we have to move and shape, and just be in the moment with the audience," he said. "It always feels brand-new to me." While Urban is embracing a "blank canvas" professionally, his personal life is happily colorful. In June, he and his wife, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, will celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary. Urban gave his family, including daughters Sunday, 16, and Faith, 14, a sweet shout-out earlier this month when he was honored with the Triple Crown Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Urban considers himself a family man, which is something his fans deeply connect with. Being away from home and on the road, though, is something he and Kidman are used to. When asked if they have any two-week rule, or they have a maximum amount of time they can go without seeing each other, Urban said no. "I've never believed in rules," he said. "It's gotta be a want, you know? And I don't want to be away from my family for too long, so I don't need a rule. I'm really lucky that I get to tour the way I do, which is kind of three shows in a row, and then three to four days off. Then three shows in a row. It's pretty rare to even be gone for two weeks. It's fortuitous where Nashville is [located] in that it's a fairly decent flying time to a lot of places." Urban thrives on connecting with his audiences to take them on an unforgettable ride. Part of the reason he has such a passionate fan base isn't just because of the songs themselves, but because of his songwriting, which touches on themes like love, loss and redemption. His self-reflective lyrics typically mirror where he's at in his phase of life. "I think I've gone from writing about things I'd like to experience to being able to write from experience," he explained when I asked how his songwriting has evolved. "A lot of my early songs were imagining what it would be like to have a particular feeling, to be a particular person because I wasn't that person but wanted to be," he continued. "These songs probably just have more depth to them. And there's just more things to write about. It doesn't have to be family, it's just experience. It's losing parents. It's friends who have been in your life for a long time. Moving. Things changing in life. New seasons. Chapters coming to a close, and new ones opening that are equally as exciting, if not more so." Urban categorizes his current chapter as "unfolding." Given all he has on his plate in 2025, that seems fitting. This fall, Urban will headline the new country music competition series The Road on CBS. Unlike other singing competition shows, this one puts aspiring singers straight on tour, as contestants will join Urban onstage this summer and trade off opening for him. The series, which doesn't have a premiere date as of yet, is executive produced by Blake Shelton and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. This isn't Urban's first stint on reality television: He was a judge on American Idol from 2013 to 2016 and on the inaugural season of Australia's The Voice in 2011. When asked if he's taking any learnings, good or bad, from those experiences to The Road, he said it's wildly different. "I don't know if I took any specific things from those other shows other than — because this show is not really not like those in so many ways," he explained. "It's quite extraordinary what Blake and Taylor envisioned for this thing. To put it back into this real-world environment — being in clubs where you don't have hair, glam, a stylist and all this noise and nonsense. You've got your talent, your drive, your ambition and you've got a stage and a house band. You've got two songs, one original and one cover, and you've gotta grab this audience that hasn't come to see you. This audience has come to see me play at the end of the night, and you gotta grab 'em." Urban said the "do or die" feeling is really what it's like when you start out in the music industry. "I came from another country. Having the odds stacked against you is something I've spent my life having to continue working through," he added. "I'm not comparing my journey to anybody else's. It's just aspiring to be the best you can always be, staying curious, passionate, hungry and never giving up. Staying the course is always key, and in the end, I think it works." Urban also had a blast working with Shelton, who he called a "unique guy." "I love being around his energy. He's just funny," he said. As for Sheridan, who is known for creating the Yellowstone universe, Urban admires his talent — but has no interest in throwing on a pair of ranching boots. "Absolutely not," Urban said. "I've never had any interest in acting. I just bought a studio here in Nashville because that's my passion. I don't have any hobbies. I just love playing music. I love being in the studio. I love creating, I love recording." For what it's worth, there's zero pressure from his wife to get on set. Kidman recently said in an interview that she and Urban have no desire to work together. ("We're together in life, so we don't need to do our show together," she told People. "Our life is a show.") "I've been on enough sets now to know that that's absolutely not anything I ever want to do," Urban laughed. "It's not for me!" Right now, it's curiosity in the studio that's fueling the artist. "That's literally what powers me forward and drives me and has always driven me, is curiosity about writing songs, playing, putting on a show, connecting with an audience," he said. "I don't know if you can cook, but I can't cook," Urban continued, 'but I realize that's what I do in my head. I hear ingredients, and I imagine what those things together might taste like to my ears. Having a studio now gives me the chance to really explore those kinds of opportunities to blend things that I hear and see what goes together. ... I'm constantly curious to explore musical art, which [is what] my life is."
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton & Brothers Osborne Salute Keith Urban at ACM Awards
With 16 Hot Country Songs No. 1s and 21 Country Airplay No. 1s, Keith Urban has been a force in country music in the 21st century. On Thursday (May 8) night's ACM Awards broadcast, the Aussie legend was saluted with the Triple Crown Award. That award goes to an artist who has been named new artist of the year, artist of the year and entertainer of the year, which Urban has – making him just the 12th person to do so. Before Urban took the stage to accept the award, Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne hit the stage of the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, to perform three of Urban's many hits. Moroney sang an affecting, lovely version of 'Stupid Boy,' with her voice in fine form as she delivered the bittersweet song. Chris Stapleton crooned 'Blue Ain't Your Color' as Urban and his wife, Nicole Kidman, held each other and swayed; Stapleton's signature rasp suited the song beautifully, and Urban himself couldn't help but sing along whenever the camera was on him. 'We love you, Keith,' Stapleton said after he wrapped. Concluding the Triple Crown musical salute, Brothers Osborne rocked through 'Where the Blacktop Ends,' bringing Urban onstage to help them rip up the 2001 hit, ending the tribute on an energetic note. More from Billboard 2025 ACM Awards: Exclusive Photos From the Boot Barn Portrait Studio Kendrick Lamar Leads 2025 BET Awards Nominees With 10 Nods Prince Royce to Sing at TelevisaUnivision's Upfront in New York Accepting the award, Urban thanked the Academy of Country Music and, of course, his wife. 'I love you, babygirl,' he told the Oscar winner (and Babygirl star) as she looked on and smiled. 'Our girls watching at home, Sunday and Faith, I love you both. I have a massive team I couldn't possibly thank by name,' Urban said. Still, he made a point to shout out his behind-the-scenes players, noting that 'there's no such thing as a self-made man.' Additionally, ever the gentleman, he thanked Moroney, Stapleton and Brothers Osborne, as well as the other musicians on stage. 'We're gonna be out on tour by the end of the month!' he said before leaving. As Billboard's Paul Grein noted in his exclusive on this year's Triple Crown Award, Urban qualified by winning top new male vocalist in 2001, male vocalist of the year in 2005 and 2006. and entertainer of the year in 2019. Additionally, he's the first singer to get the Triple Crown Award on the ACM Awards telecast since 2010. The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Keith Urban to bring 'High And Alive World Tour' to St. Paul
Keith Urban is bringing his "High And Alive World Tour" to St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center later this year. The country superstar will perform in downtown St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 26 with the show scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting on Friday, March 14 at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster. VIP ticket packages will be available through a presale beginning on Thursday, March 13 at 10 a.m. Urban was last in the Twin Cities last summer, when he performed a rare intimate set at the Fine Line Cafe in Minneapolis. He also was one of the Minnesota State Fair's Grandstand concert series acts in four-time Grammy Award winner has numerous hits such as "Blue Ain't Your Color," "Wasted Time," "Somebody Like You," "Long Hot Summer," and "One Too Many." He's won 13 Country Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, two People's Choice Awards and nine consecutive gold, platinum or multi-platinum albums.
CBS News
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Keith Urban to make tour stop at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul
Country music star Keith Urban announced Monday that his "High and Alive" world tour will make a stop in St. Paul in September. The tour comes after the release of his 11th album, "High." He'll kick off the tour on May 22 in Alabama and will come to Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 26. Tickets will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., though tickets for his other shows are already available. Urban is a four-time Grammy Award-winning artist with hits such as "Blue Ain't Your Color," "Somebody Like You" and "Long Hot Summer." "Playing live is what I live to do," said Urban. "Looking out from a stage and seeing people singing, forgetting about all the stress in their lives." He'll be joined on the tour by Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins.
