Keith Urban - Biography

Last Editor: dfalu				Keith Urban Biography -   Name : Keith Urban Date of birth : 26 October 1967 Place of birth : Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand Birth name : Keith Lionel Urbahn Height : 5' 10

Keith Urban Trivia -

Before venturing forth as a solo country music artist, was a member of the mid-1990s country band called "The Ranch." Scored his first No. 1 hit on Billboard magazine's Country Singles and Tracks chart with "But for the Grace of God" in February 2001. Posed in the April 2001 edition of Playgirl. Favorite Ice Cream: Nutty Buddy's, Snickers and Hagan Daaz Favorite restaurant: Cheesecake Factory or Shintomi's in Nashville Pet Peeves: People who don't look you in the eye when they shake your hand and leave lint in the lint filter or a dryer. And people who show you a bunch of photographs and half of them are out of focus. He became the first Aussie to win the CMA Male vocalist of the Year in 2004. His favorite brand of sneakers is Sketchers. First paying non-music job: at a concert lighting company. Influences: Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb, Don Williams, Mark Knopfler, Freddie Mercury, Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Ronnie Milsap and Dolly Parton. Instruments he can play: Guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboard, ganjo (a 6 string banjo), sitar, & piano He was raised in Australia. He moved with his parents and brother to Brisbane, Queensland when he was 2. They later moved to Caboolture, about 1 hour north of Brisbane. 2005 Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. He got engaged to Nicole Kidman. He was accompanied by his girlfriend Nicole Kidman to the Grammy Awards in 2006. It was their first public appearance together. He got married Nicole Kidman in the St. Patrick's church in Manly, a suburb of Sydney on Sunday, June 25, 2006. He became the first artist to win Male Vocalist of the Year (2004, 2005), Entertainer of the Year (2005) and the Horizon Award (2001) at the Country Music Association Awards He is brother-in-law of Antonia Kidman. He and Nicole Kidman honeymooned in Taihiti He and Nicole Kidman asked their wedding guests not to buy any presents but to donate the money instead to some humanitarian organization. 230 guests attended his wedding to Nicole Kidman. Among them were Naomi Watts, Russell Crowe, Baz Luhrmann,Jane Campion, Hugh Jackman and Nicole's two children Isabella and Conor.Jim Carrey was also invited and greatly wanted to come, in fact he booked plane tickets to Australia, but last minute scheduling conflicts stopped him from going. He is stepfather of Nicole Kidman's children Isabella and Conor. His wedding ceremony lasted 35 minutes. Ammong the guests at his wedding to Nicole Kidman were Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Baz Luhrmann and Naomi Watts. At his bachelor party, when asked by the Australian press about his feelings on his upcoming nuptials to Nicole Kidman the next morning, he replied "I'm ready!". At his wedding to Nicole Kidman, his brother, Shane, was his best man. Marlon Holden was his groomsman. Reported to have gifted Nicole Kidman a first edition of Emily Brontë's novel, "Wuthering Heights", purchased from Sotherby's for $200,000 as a wedding present. Kidman is an avid reader of the classics. He sang his hit song "Making Memories of Us" to his wife at their wedding reception. He checked himself into a rehabilitation treatment center of alcohol abuse [October 19, 2006]. Antonia Kidman was one of the bridesmaids at his wedding to Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman sang "Tenterfield Saddler", a favorite of Urbans's and Neil Finn sang "Fall At Your Feet" and Baz Luhrmann read a love Psalm by New Zealand writer Joy Cowley at Keith's wedding to Nicole Kidman. He is uncle of Antonia Kidman's children Lucia, Hamish and James. Before he turned two years old, his parents changed his name to Keith Lionel Urban. He and wife Nicole Kidman, purchased a farm near Leipers Fork, Tennessee, which they are now renovating. (November 2007). He welcomed his first child with wife Nicole Kidman, a daughter named Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, on July 7, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Keith Urban Detailed Biography -

Keith Lionel Urban (born October 26, 1967 in Whangarei, New Zealand) is a country singer. Keith spent his early years in New Zealand, before moving to Australia and then relocating to Nashville. By age seven, Urban was already thinking about coming to America and making his mark in Nashville, Tennessee. Urban began to learn the guitar at age 6 and began winning talent contests at age 8. By twelve, he was booking his band in local clubs, and at fifteen, 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, Urban moved to Nashville to pursue the largest country music market in the world. Originally the front man for The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997 to critical acclaim, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career. Urban released his self-titled American debut in 2000, achieving three top 5 hits and securing the title of Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards. During this same developmental time period, Urban succumbed to addiction problems. After reaching a personal rock bottom, he checked into rehab and cleaned up. Keith, openly regarded as a modern day guitar virtuoso, has performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks' Double Live and Dixie Chicks' Fly. 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 #1 longer than any other country artist in 2002. Three other singles were released, two went to #1 and the third was #3. The album went platinum in every country where it has been released and is triple platinum in the U.S. In 2004 Be Here was released and nominated for best country album at the Grammy Awards and at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Out of the four singles released from "Be Here" three went to #1 and the fourth was #2. In 2006 the album went triple platinum in the U.S. Urban has also released Days Go By, a greatest hits collection, in Europe. His second single "It s A Love Thing" off his self-titled debut only went to #18 on the charts 2000. Since then 10 singles have been released and everyone of them has made it into the top 4. (career total of 12 singles released - Seven singles went to #1, one went to #18, one went to #4, two went to #3 and one went to #2). Touring as a supporting act for renowned country acts Brooks and Dunn and Kenny Chesney honed Urban's skills and stage-craft. Country video channel CMT signed on as the title sponsor of Keith Urban's first headlining arena tour titled Keith Urban Be Here '04. Urban continued his meteoric rise to fame in 2005 with the very successful Alive in '05 tour. He performed in the Live 8 Philadelphia concert on July 2nd 2005 and has been chosen by The Gap to appear alongside seven other bright musical stars in their "Favorites" campaign. He released a DVD in late September entitled Livin' Right Now, recorded in California. Keith Urban has recently performed "Better Life" on the CMA Awards and "You'll Think of Me" on the American Music Awards.