Keith Urban's long road to stardom

Keith Urban

Like most little boys, Keith Urban had far-flung hopes and aspirations for his future. But for someone brought up in Caboolture, in Australia's Queensland region, Urban's youthful dream was more than a little unusual.

"Ever since I was a kid I wanted to live in Nashville, make records and tour," says Urban. "It was a pretty vague kind of goal, I guess. I didn't really give myself a timeline. I had no clue how I'd get to Nashville, or what I'd do when I got there. I just knew that it would happen somehow, someday."

Keith Urban will perform at FedExForum tonight with Sugarland. Mark J. Terrill/Associated press

Now 41, the New Zealand-born, Australian-bred Urban's childhood fantasies have been realized tenfold. As one of contemporary country music's biggest stars he's earned platinum sales and a mantle full of industry awards for a string of hit albums, including his latest, Defying Gravity. Urban will be in Memphis tonight performing at FedExForum as part of his "Escape Together World Tour."

For Urban, the songs that came out of the studios of Music City, U.S.A were a familiar sound growing up. "Our house was dominated by country music. My dad was -- still is -- a huge country fan. When I look back at the records that I heard, they were country but they were by guys like Ronnie Millsap, Glen Campbell, and Kenny Rogers, who all had strong pop leanings as well. It makes sense that my music went more in that direction. But, because all those records were recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, that became my dream destination."

Urban's road to stardom was not a direct route, however. He kicked around for years in his homeland and struggled to find his place in Nashville after arriving there in 1992. "But I look back and see the huge benefits in all of the seemingly scattered detours that I took to get to where I am; they were all really important," says Urban. "When I was in Australia at 16, I was a musical director for a guy who did cabaret Vegas stuff, and then I played in different bands, duos. It's been a real eclectic musical road."

He says that his early period in Nashville -- which found him writing and playing for others before developing a solo career -- came with a degree of culture shock. "But I think the culture shock was more from the town's perspective. Like, 'What the hell is he doing here?' And I get it. I look back now and think 'What the hell was I doing there?'" says Urban, laughing. "But because it was so deeply ingrained in the life, because I had tunnel vision focused on it, it made every sense in the world to me."

"I'm grateful for that, because nothing else would've carried me through all the years of hitting brick walls and struggling. I really had no idea it was going to be as hard as it was. That kind of blind faith and sense of destiny, if you will, those were the things that kept me going for all the years until it started to come together."

Now, with nearly a decade of stardom under his belt, Urban is leading a committed life. He's overcome battles with addiction, and is happily married to actress and fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman, and the couple has an 11-month-old daughter.

For Urban, the vastly changed circumstances of his life have only served to feed his creative muse. "All of it factors in, all of the experiences I've had. Being in a marriage and being a father. But it's just life," he says. "Life, if you're willing to live it, and really live it, has to come into your work. And my life is certainly not short on things to draw on and write about."

Urban says he hasn't let his growing fame or the demands it places on his time overwhelm his dedication to the craft of songwriting. "The great thing about the creative process is that it just comes," he says. "If anything, it can come at a completely inopportune time. But I would much rather be an hour late for an engagement if I'm in the midst of song coming to me. In the past I've had a tendency to think, 'Oh, I'll work on that later,' and unfortunately the inspiration or the idea often goes away. These days, I just stop and honor it."

With his tour wrapping up in the fall, Urban says his next goal is a philanthropic one. "I want to continue to get engaged in music education for kids," says Urban. "There are kids that have the musical aptitude, who don't have access to tuition or the tools necessary to pursue that passion. It's been a beautiful gift for me being able to play guitar and it's given me an extraordinary life and a chance to realize all my wild, boyhood dreams. I'd like to be able to do what I can to give someone else that same opportunity."

Keith Urban, Sugarland

Tonight, 7:30 at FedExForum, 191 Beale Street. Tickets range from $20 to $75. They're available at the FedExForum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

-- Bob Mehr: 529-2517

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