Sunday, September 16, 2012

Keith's Officially on American Idol



It's been rumored for a long time, but it's finally official. Ryan Seacrest tweeted the top photo, and Keith "announced" on twitter that he's part of the American Idol team.

The second photo is the "seating" of the judges...

Will this be a boost to his career in the US? What about his tour, new CD, and quitting "The Voice" in Oz? Let's discuss.

23 comments:

123xyz said...

I don't think it will hurt his career one bit. It will either help by gaining more fans. Becoming known in his own right to the non-country music fan. Or his career will stay the same. He wasn't going to tour until next Summer anyway, so that's not going to change by doing the show. It gives him more time to work on the new cd. Which I see as a good thing. If he works it on the show he can get a lot of free PR for single, cd, video and tour out of it. His career is not where it should be, hasn't been for a while. He needed to take this chance at exposure. I see it as a way to get a leg up on the Luke Bryan's, Jason Aldean's, etc. His music alone isn't doing that anymore. It's a chance. What he does with that chance, is the question.

Tara said...

When it comes to making the big decisions and taking the chances that are needed Keith Urban seems to always take the easy way out. Want world wide fame? Hook up with a Hollywood actress and pretend to be happy. Want success on the Country Charts, copy the cloying immature music of Taylor Swift and write sappy kool-aid songs. Want to get noticed wander a Florida beach in a speedo and look like the poster boy for a Euro trash beach bum.
And now Idol. What can be said? Idol is not about music its about a television show that is fake and boring and on the escalator into television history.
Keith wants to be authentic? Authentic and Idol don't mix. If you want authentic Mr. Urban scoot your ass back to Nashville write one hell of a record and get on a stage and play. You can do it. Why are you afraid to do that?
This is one major mistake that he is not going to recover from. If you play with the devil too many times the devil will take your soul seems that Keith Urban has given up his.

123xyz said...

You've given up your soul for the last seven years of hating his decisions. Move on, if he's such a horrible person to you.

Tara said...

Who said he is horrible? He just takes the easy way out and I think he is better than that. Apparently that is not an opinion shared.

123xyz said...

Well, according to your post above, Keith is a Famewhore, pretending about his marriage, immature, eurotrash, and fake. Those are great traits. I can see how that would make someone what to stick around and follow their career all these years.

Tara said...

You misread my post.

123xyz said...

I don't think I missed anything.

Tara said...

123 don't you think Keith is better than Idol? Don't you think it could have been a lot different with a harder choice made? I actually believe he has it in him to do something more but this is easy.
But if that is all some think him capable of then there is nothing that can be said that will persuade them otherwise.

123xyz said...

Personally, I think Keith is the best at what he does but I don't see a problem with him doing Idol as well. I don't have a problem with him being more then just a touring country music star. I'm all for branching out. Do it all, if he wants to. I think Keith has reached a plateau with his music career. He needs to do something to try and jump start it again. It happens to most careers. No one stays at the top forever. Good careers have lots of valleys. New people come in and it becomes their time. He lost momentum when he got married/ went to rehab. That's a part of his life that can't be changed. No matter how many ways it's dissected. He can't go back and change the path he decided to walk. After that he didn't continue to grow as an artist. As in, he put out the Solo cd and then he grew from that to GR. He then continued growing with BH. After that, not so much. Who knows how the new cd will turn out. I think, he thinks, he did really well with The Voice in OZ (and he did) and he's hoping to capitalize on that here with Idol. Nothing wrong with that. Bigger fan base, hopefully turns into more people buying the new cd. Then buying concert tickets. That's what he's in the business to do. Sell records and put butts in seats. Is doing Idol taking the easy way? Some will see it that way. Others like me, see it as a way to maybe get a leg up on the Jason Aldean's/Luke Bryan's of the world. Get in front of as many people as possible, put out the next cd (hopefully it's better then the last 3)and hope for the best. Because just putting out cd after cd since 2006 and touring hasn't done it for him. He's got to take that chance. He really doesn't have a lot of choices at this point. I know, you think leaving Kidman and concentrating only on the music is what he's got to do to turn this around (and it might be) but right now, that doesn't seem to be happening. So he's got to work with what he has. With her, either by his own choice or those around him influencing him, he chooses music that is sometimes immature and not always relatable. Why I don't know but I do know that a good portion of the music buying world are like sheep. If it's in front of their faces and ears enough times, they will begin to believe they like something and that's what he's hoping for. I can't blame him for that. Sorry.

Tara said...

So I see threads of agreement here. My point its easy to do Idol and in my opinion, and that's all any of have, this is a waste of time for Keith to be doing this. Yes it will get him seen, yes people who aren't aware of him will take notice. That was the point of the Voice in Oz wasn't it? That over there he was Mr Nicole Kidman and he is so much more on these shores. Idol is dying and is not much more than a freak show as actual television. I think better of Keith Urban and his talent than that. He is going to be overpowered by the two divas.
Shelton was a different point in his career when he took over the Voice in this country- it boosted him. Keith is up there at a different place and this looks like its simply for attention because Country Music has a new bunch of sound the same male vocalists that will be next decades Ricky Van Tracy Black. I have always thought Keith Urban was superior to the talent he came in with. But he derails himself with the cop out choices.

123xyz said...

I'm not sure that Keith is up there in a different place from the others you mentioned. Not anymore anyway. Maybe he was in 2004/2005. Is he a household name here in the states? Maybe. In his own right? In the country music world, yes but talk to anyone who doesn't follow country music, even in this country, he's the guy who married Kidman. In talent, he's levels above most but they don't just give out awards for talent alone. You've got to do everything you can do to get ahead in this business. Country music stars are not above doing reality tv to get attention. So why should Keith be held to a higher level?

Whether Idol is on it's way out or not, it's still seen by 20+million a week, in 110 countries. You can't buy that kind of PR. As talented as Keith is, a #1 CD, single, video, etc. isn't going to do that for him. Idol will.

You keep mentioning this being the easy route. Well, why does it have to be hard? His fans aren't going to appreciate him anymore for not doing the show. Struggling only works if you are singing about it like Mylie Cyrus. Most people don't care how he gets there. A check on his fan board. Shows most fans are really excited for him and to get to see him every week on TV. A few aren't thrilled. Not because they don't think it's a good idea to do the show but because they are worried he will get so big that they won't be able to get good tickets to shows anymore. They are worried about being inundated by an influx of new fans to the board. That their years of being a fans will get lost in the shuffle. As well as having an even less chance at M&G's.

Keith has been in this business for a long time. He's not a lamb being brought to the Mariah/Minaj slaughter. He didn't get to where he is without cutting a few throats on his own. He may hold back a show or two. Then he'll find his place. He was able to shine, while being on the same panel as Seal and Joel. Both with very big personalities. Keith will be fine.

What else do you think he should be doing? Working on a new CD? He is. Doing only that? To what advantage? It hasn't worked in the past. Doing only that isn't going to work now either. Will only working on a new cd, garner him new fans? No. It's not holding him up from touring. Keith likes to tour in the Summer time and he will still get to do that next Summer. I just don't see the downside of doing Idol. Even if this is the last season. He's not going to be the reason for the failure. Mariah will get to carry that title. Six months after the finale, if the show ends, people won't even care that Keith was on the show. He'll be right where he is now. So why not do the show? He doesn't lose anything by doing it and has the chance to gain from doing it. Think of all the press he's going to get to do and I'm sure he will mention the new Cd, upcoming tour, etc. Do you think he'd get to go on Leno (for example) just to talk about an upcoming CD/tour?? No he wouldn't.

music said...

"Do you think he'd get to go on Leno (for example) just to talk about an upcoming CD/tour?? No he wouldn't."

Umm, actually, yes he has. He's been invited to perform on Leno, Letterman and all the other talk shows many times solely to promote the release of single off of a current CD.

123xyz said...

Yes, Music he has, once the music was already released. He wouldn't be asked on in advance of the music being released though. Keith's not been on any show to get a chance to promote a cd/single 6 months in advance of it coming out. He could get the chance by doing Idol.

Tara said...

He had entire programs dedicated to records before they came out
CMT did a whole program for Love pain and Keith was so out of it and what about the Road to Be Here?- he was on Leno once just because he was
he wasn't promoting anything- he has done a load of presale performance and promotion

I guess I just think of him as an artist and not a sideshow clown-

123xyz said...

Leno was just an example. Doing shows on a Country Music channel in advance isn't the same as going on a National Talk show.

Keith's main job is to promote himself.

Again, I asked you want you think he should be doing? Cause nothing else is working. Should he just settle for playing in small theaters and clubs cause that's where his career is going if he doesn't do something to bring more people in.

Tara said...

you know what he has to do as well as I do

123xyz said...

Well, then I think you are going to be disappointed for a long time to come. Haven't the last 7 years been long enough for you? I choose to except him for who he is now, enjoy what he does professionally and not to dwell on the past. You can't unring that bell. Nothing we we say or do is going to change how he got to where he is today. I choose to support him and hope for the best.

Tara said...

and I can expect better because I know he can do it

123xyz said...

How's that been working out for you for the last 7 years?? You know, I hope you are right. I hope the next CD is better and the next tour. I just don't see where doing Idol hurts him.

Tara said...

For a fan you sure seem not to believe in the possible and dwell in the this is as good as its gets and will ever be.

123xyz said...

Nope!! As a fan, I have reasonable expectations of him. I don't expect him to be the person he was 7 years ago. Or to ever be in that same headspace he was to be able to write the songs he did then. I think he has chosen a path. I can either choose to ride that with him or be left waiting around for what may never be again. 2005 isn't coming back. He's moved on. He may be losing in the cd sale/ticket sales area now but while you are waiting around, hoping for the barefoot poet who lives and breathes music to come back (I doubt he was never really that person), he's living his life. Pretty well, I might add. He's still playing shows to people who are having the time of their lives. I believe that he is doing the best he can. Maybe he needs to be unhappy to write songs like he did on GR & BH? I don't know. What I do know is, no one goes out to sabotage their careers by intentional putting out immature/non relatable music. He believes it. He thinks there is a market for that obviously. Do I want better for him, of course I do but he's got to want it for himself and right now, I think, he thinks he's doing just fine. He may think that for the rest of his career. So "dwelling in the this is as good as it gets and will ever be", seems a lot more realistic to me, than waiting around for 7 years for him to go back to a person he may never have really been in the first place.

Tara said...

As someone who has been around for these last seven years I know what he is capable of. I know he has a good musical intelligence but he has either put doubts in himself or he listened to the wrong people. Eventually he will find that again. It won't be about going back, you seem hung up on trying to dismiss the past. People and artist evolve.
But one thing most people don't do even if its a tiny tiny part of their lives is settle. Hopefully he will find whatever that muse is and use it. Thats why I am still here and why I believe he can do better.

123xyz said...

I've been around just as long, Tara. I know what he's capable of as well. I'm not dismissing the past just saying that he's moved on. Country music has changed in those 7 years. I think he's just trying to change with it. What if he doesn't find that muse again? Maybe he's found a different muse that he's following now. From your posts on this subject you give the impression that you think he's settling now. Yet, you say that people don't settle with their lives??? So how long do you wait? He's proved he can do this for years on end, already. What's in it for you if he continues on like he is now? What's you're cut off point? Or do you just wait around forever? I'd rather be doing something productive. Enjoying him for who he is now and having fun with friends when we go to see him. I think that's better then wanting for something that may or may not happen. Projecting on him what you want him to be, songs you want him to sing, people you want him to associate with isn't going to change him. He's got to want to do all that himself.