Keith Urban
Keith Urban has spent the better part of his life harnessing a deep-seated passion for music. With his authenticity, talent, and driving musical inquisitiveness, he has become one of the most successful and respected artists in the world. He has recorded nine consecutive gold, platinum, or multi-platinum albums, winning four Grammy Awards, 13 CMA Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and two People’s Choice Awards.
Urban’s latest studio album, The Speed of Now Part 1, marks the fourth in a historic streak of simultaneous No. 1 album debuts in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It features the top-five hit “God Whispered Your Name,” as well as a series of international hits that include “Polaroid,” “Superman,” and “One Too Many”—a duet with P!nk that has placed Urban on sales and radio charts around the globe. The Speed of Now Part 1 follows 2018’s Graffiti U and 2016’s Ripcord, featuring five No. 1 hits—including “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which was named Best Single at the 2017 CMA Awards and Favorite Country Song at the American Music Awards.
While plans for a tour in 2020 were placed on hold and many people faced stay-at-home orders, Urban did what he does best: find ways to stay connected with his fans and use music as a balm. He was among the first artists to make use of social media, performing a series of concerts from his home. He stole the attention of the world with his performance of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” for Lady Gaga’s benefit broadcast One World: Together at Home, and his concert honoring COVID-19 first responders was the first in the US to be held at a drive-in movie theater. He also hosted the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards and supported numerous efforts to assist with pandemic relief.
In 2021, Urban returns to his swiveling chair as a coach on The Voice in Australia and takes the stage for The Speed of Now World Tour, which starts in December. Urban’s live shows have become legendary—as unpredictable as they are explosive. His critically acclaimed Graffiti U World Tour—one of his most successful—played to more than 1.5 million fans in seven countries on three continents. Featuring explosive experiences of emotion, musical texture, energy, and showmanship, Urban’s concerts connect with and touch every soul in arenas of 15,000 people or outdoors in front of 50,000.
Urban has enjoyed collaborations with a diverse group of artists who include Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, John Mayer, Julia Michaels, Justin Timberlake, Dzeko, Miranda Lambert, Nile Rodgers, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, and Vince Gill, among others.
Urban has long supported numerous charities. His All for the Hall series of benefit concerts for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum raised more than $4.2 million. He is a national ambassador for the CMA Foundation, an advisory board member at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and a longtime supporter of The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.