A Time to Change?

There appears to be a bit of a metamorphosis going on with Keith Urban right now. It is subtle, but a change is happening. It is becoming more and more obvious that Keith Urban is becoming an Adult Contemporary artist. Keith, no longer Country? That can't be right, can it? It became crystal clear the night of the CMA's, that Country music has moved on from the scruffy barefoot poet. What is a middle aged crooner supposed to do?

Keith Urban was never really a country artist. He never fit in. In most reviews of his shows you will see the words ‘not a typical country concert’. It’s not. They are rock shows, not unlike those put on by Journey, Styx or Billy Squier in the 1980's. They are high energy shows built on radio rock. Today that kind of Rock is what Country music is made up of, however, Country has had a habit over the years of drifting back towards traditional, roots Americana music. This is what is happening along with the bubblegumming of the genre with people like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

Paisley, who has the chops and the credentials to be a traditional performer, chooses to include a number of hokey, simple, funny songs that deride his true talent. Keith has never been in the same league as a George Strait or Reba who can keep contemporary but never lose their connection to the roots of the music. Kenny Chesney is taking some time off at a good time. He knows what has been normal for the last few years is no longer. Garth Brooks is going the Vegas route just as Cher, Sir Elton and Mr. Manilow did. He knows he has the fans that will go to see him. This leaves Keith Urban.

You will start seeing this change very soon. Til Summer Comes Around has just been released as the new single. This moody haunting song of loss and obsession is not a country song. Of course, Making Memories of Us, Tonight I Wanna Cry and You'll Think of Me aren't either. With Summer, Keith is turning away from Country and what it is becoming. He tried to conform; Sweet Thing and Kiss a Girl are both songs that can fit in the bubblegum country that is on the charts, but Keith is much more talented than those songs. His fans know that. He knows that. It is time to make a change that will put him in the future. The video for Summer was filmed recently. The pictures that were released, and this is a first that the gossip sites got full layout pictures from an Urban video shoot, show ‘Keith Urban – Crooner’. He is playing his guitar, but he is also walking along the beach, crying in the mist, doing something that he hasn't for a very long time - acting. There is no band with him; he looks good, too. The video wasn't shot by a director known for doing Country videos, Noble Jones. This director is known for working with non-Country acts and from seeing the shots of Keith on set this is going to be a great video and will move him beyond country.

So why make the move? Keith is of the age that moving into a new genre with his established fan base will be fairly easy. This move means he can still tour the arenas but also the clubs and cabarets. As his wife said recently, Keith is very ambitious. He always has been. Working with new writers like Timbaland and John Mayer and recording a new CD very soon are all signs that he is moving away from the country rock into the introspective singer songwriter arena. We will see if he is going to do as his friend and former tour mate, Faith Hill, has done and drop Borman Entertainment as management. We will see if he chooses a new record company, as rumors of his parting with Capitol Nashville get louder and louder, but we can see the changes that are starting; and for this long term Keith Urban fan this will be a good thing.