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Keith Urban information and short bio
Keith Lionel Urban was born in Whangerei, New Zealand, 1977, and lived most of
his early life in Brisbane, Australia.
And right from the beginning the Keith practiced and played guitar mimicking
such country greats as Don Williams. and others like Glen Campbell and Merle
Haggard. Even at the early age of 15-16 Keith left school to play rock and roll
music such as Dire Straits professionaly at local clubs. He was later tutored by
Rusty Ayers' Rockets playing guitar and won local contests performing the song,
"I Never Work On A Sunday" which was later released on Keith's first album,
"1991". The award came with a big time perk: a record deal with EMI Records. In
1989, Keith made his first trip to the U.S. with Greg Shaw to record the record
1991 in Nashville, then until he could get a VISA came back to Australia to
promote the new record.
Keith first album claimed 4 number 1 hits in Australia & earned Keith 3 CMAA
Golden Guitars (1991 Best New Talent, 1992 Male Vocalist, & 1992
Instrumentalist). Later Keith performed on albums with
The Dixie Chicks
and
Garth Brooks.
After his hit album Keith did experience problems with cocaine addiction, but
has since rehabilitated himself and gone totally clean. And when Keith
came back, this time, country radio & the fans who listen to it have paid
attention. Every single released off Keith's American debut album has charted.
In February 2001, "But For The Grace Of God" reached #1on four charts
simultaneously, making Keith the first Australian male to reach the top position
on the Country Singles charts.
April 2001 brought certification from RIAA (Recording Industry Association of
America) that the album is gold, signifying sale of over 500,000 units. In May
2001, the Academy of Country Music named Keith as their New Male Vocalist of the
Year. "Winning the ACM felt like going back to a time before I started going off
the rails. It felt like winning my first award in Australia, kind of like the
Star Maker award. I felt like I'd finally gotten back on track and picked up
where I'd left off. That's how great it felt." But, the year 2001 had one more
surprise in store for Keith. On November 7, Keith took home the CMA Horizon
Award for career development, the first won by an Aussie in 27 years. "It's
beyond anything I can explain. I've been watching the CMAs since I was a kid,
growing up in Australia. And, to be on the other side of the camera is as
amazing as you imagine it is."
Keith's success here in the states hasn't gone unnoticed back home. ARIA
(Australian Recording Industry Association recognized Keith's groundbreaking
career wit the Career Achievement Award, which is equivalent to similar to the
American Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award. Keith spent the first half of 2002
putting the finishing touches on his latest album, Golden Road, released October
8, 2002. The first single from the album, Somebody Like You, was the most added
new song on country radio, even before it's official add date. So far, the
single is the biggest of his career. SLY, as his diehard fans call it, became
the biggest single of 2002, spending eight weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot
Country Singles Chart, as well as seven weeks at the top of the Radio and
Records Country Chart. Along with the success of the song, came a legion of new
fans. In just 2 short years, the Keith Urban International Fan Club has grown
from 400 members to 3,500.
But for Keith, it's all gravy. "The fact that I can play and sing and I love it
is enough for me. My take on it was that God was kind of prepping me for all
that sort of stuff. There's no way I could've handled this kind of success 2
years ago, 3 years ago. No way. I would've blown it. I would've been, "Yee-Haw!"
Just would have completely blown the whole thing."
That he is grateful is apparent in everything he does. Jewel Coburn, Keith's
friend and publisher, sees the difference in him, too. "The main thing that
comes across now is that he's grateful, really grateful, that he's in good shape
and he feels good and he doesn't want to mess it up." And, no one more than
Keith knows how lucky he is to be doing what he loves. "You only gotta drive
down the road and see what some other people do for a living to count your
blessings, man. I do every day." Keith Urban tickets are available now and you
should definitely get tickets for your favorite Keith Urban concert venue before
all the excellent seating is gone. ABC tickets stocks Keith Urban tickets in the
first 10 rows as well as reasonable upper level seating and lower level seating
for Keith Urban shows in arenas and concert halls across North America.
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