Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman Updates 08/20/10

THE ART OF COLLABORATING
08.17.2010
Posted by: Brad

Good afternoon-

Just wanted to check in with everyone to keep you up to date with the latest happenings from the studio.

As you know, Keith doesn't like to waste time or momentum and had everyone back in the studio first thing Monday to start recording vocals and guitar overdubs on the dozen or so songs heʼs cut for his upcoming album.

As Iʼve been sitting in the studio the past few months watching all these extremely talented and accomplished musicians...Iʼve taken notice of how Keith collaborates so freely with these artists while still maintaining the leader/director role over the entire project. Even though Keith comes in with the songs and some very specific ideas of what he hears in his head, he still takes time to listen and entertain ideas that the other players suggest. Sometimes declining them with encouragement and thanks...other times throwing out his own ideas to substitute with a fresh and new slant from the band.

I donʼt only get to spend my days filming and photographing the making of this album (which is a very sweet gig)...but I also get daily lessons on how pros work with pros and how a great artist like Keith is able to keep genuine and talented people around him for so many years. Yes, Iʼm taking notes.

Keep checking back for more pics, videos and blogs over the next few months leading up to the release of the new album.


For more pics click HERE!


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Thanks to Country Music Tattle Tale for the heads up on yet another Country Weekly cover for Keith Urban!



Keith Urban covers the new issue of Country Weekly. In the 2nd part of a 4-part series on Country Stars Giving Back, Keith Urban spoke to the magazine about the charities close to his heart, why he got involved, and how it makes him feel.

“I came from nothing, basically. Our family—very, very working class—really had nothing. [We had] a pretty rubbishy car and a pretty rubbishy house attached onto the back of the corner store my parents ran. My brother and I slept on little horsehair mattresses on the floor,” Keith allows. “To come from that and to be in the strange, rarified air I find myself in these days, I can certainly feel a strong pull to want to give back. I’m immensely blessed with what I’ve been given in my life.”

Since music is his love and livelihood, it’s also a cause he holds near and dear to his heart. Keith was the honorary dean at this year’s Grammy camp.

“Getting instruments into kids’ hands is something that been really important to me all my life,” Keith says. “I started so young—I was six when I started playing guitar. I was fortunate to a) have parents that could afford to buy me a guitar and pay for lessons and b) fortunate that I went to public schools and they had music in schools and that was pretty basic, pretty standard curriculum, but it seems more and more that that’s one of the programs they’re taking out of schools for budgetary reasons. That’s a huge, huge mistake. Things like the Grammy Camp correct that and give these kids the opportunity to get instruments in their hands where they might not otherwise get that.”

Keith also has joined forces with his wife, Nicole Kidman, to bring awareness to causes. Nicole is the Goodwill Ambassador for UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) where she often talks about and against violence against women. The two have also shared support for flood victims in Nashville and wildfire victims in Australia.

“My wife has become involved with women’s rights and so I’ve found myself involved in that, and very gladly so, too. Not only violence against women, but women’s rights in countries where they are not being honored.”

“I don’t know that there’s a common thread other than just people in need and, in certain cases, where there seems to be an extreme lack of justice—we certainly like to get involved in that,” Keith explains of the causes he and Nicole support. “There’s absolutely limitless causes on a daily basis for everybody to be involved in, it’s just looking to the ones that for me and Nic, that we feel strongly about and feel that we can actually do something about as well.”

“It’s not in Nic or I to do things for our own benefit, so we’ve shied away from more of the public stuff in the past, but it was pointed out to us by certain people that if we were to take a bit more of a public face with some of these that it might actually be more help than just the financial aid,” Keith says.

You can read more about how Keith Urban gives back in next weeks Country Weekly magazine.

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David Thomson who is screening Nicole Kidman's Birth as part of NYFF, has written a peice, listing his top Films That Time Forgot

Here's what he has to say about Birth

"How can a picture made so recently be lost or forgotten? Maybe it's because few critics understood Birth when it came out – so I find many people who haven't seen it or even heard of it! It's the story of Anna, whose husband dies, jogging in the snow in Central park. For 10 years she mourns and then she agrees to marry again. But at the engagement party a boy appears, and tells her he is her husband. Anna laughs, but the boy is serious, and gradually the occult idea breaks down her sanity or security. I won't say more about the story, or what the film means, but as directed by Jonathan Glazer (he made Sexy Beast – which you may have seen), this is a mysterious and haunting study of emotional insecurity. Nicole Kidman is Anna, and if you have ever doubted her, this is the film to see. For a few years I have been doing all I can to get everyone to see Birth. Try it – you will see, and you won't believe anyone got away with making a film like this."

To see the rest of his list click HERE.

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Keith Urban interview for Parade Magazine

Keith Urban: 'Family Is Very, Very Strong in Our Lives'

by Erin Hill

Keith Urban is spreading the love. The country crooner is bringing the backyard barbecue experience to his fans -- along with KC Masterpiece -- as he stops off at outdoor festivals across the country on his Summer Lovin' Tour.

The music star told Parade.com that he is happy to take a break from playing bigger venues for the chance to connect with fans in a more intimate setting. Plus, how he balances his career with life at home with wife Nicole Kidman and two-year-old daughter Sunday.

Also, starting today, Parade readers will have the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience: a private barbecue and concert with Keith Urban. Find out how you can enter for the chance to win!

Enjoying the great outdoors.
"We're in the midst of making a record, so it's been a year of a few shows and a lot of time in the studio. We haven't played outside in a long time. It seems as if a majority of our tours are in arenas, so all the festivals this year have been wonderful. It's just been great to play for a lot of people who probably haven't seen us play. Every night, faces of strangers out there singing along every word and just the energy in the audience is really amazing. It's all pretty magical to me."

Combining two American loves -- BBQ and country music.
"I always seem to be the guy providing the entertainment more than cooking. Grilling out and country music does seem to go hand-in-hand, and there's certainly no shortage of tailgaters before our concerts. At home, I do a little bit of cooking. My wife and I share the cooking duties a little bit."

How he balances home life while on tour.
"I don't know if there's any secret to it. Everybody sort of finds their own way to keep their life balanced. I know for me, family is first and I just make sure that I spread my time amongst the things that I love to do as well. Balance is never achieved, it's just maintained. And so far I've been able to maintain it."

Nicole is the perfect partner in crime.
"I'm fortunate to have a wife who understands about career as well. We're very blessed to have each other, and you recognize the importance of all the facets of our lives. But family is very, very strong in our lives."

What the future holds for country music.
"Right now, it's just as strong as it's ever been. What's great about country is it's quite a broad genre. If you say you're country, you almost have to say what kind of country because it seems to encompass a lot. It's got a great, rich history of always embracing current styles and trends within it in order to keep it relevant and keep moving forward."

Working on a new album.
"We're about almost halfway through. It's still very much in the formative stages. I'm just really enjoying being in the studio and anxious about getting this songs out on the road next year."

His inspiration when it comes to songwriting.
"Just life in general, and love. I tend to write from a rhythmic, melodic riff place. A lot of the times the story comes after the music has been written. The music comes from inspiration."

Recording was halted after losing valuable equipment during Nashville's devastating flood.
"I lost probably 98% of my equipment -- guitars, amplifiers, everything. A couple of guitars I've been able to resurrect, but the majority of it was destroyed so I've just started over again."

He's proud to call Nashville home.
"It's extraordinary. It's certainly not called the Volunteer State for nothing. The town's got such good community spirit. It seems like there was little national awareness to it because Nashville has a tendency to just jump in and take care of itself. I'm very, very proud to live in that city."


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Keith's single "I'm In" is holding steady at #2 this week on the charts. We should be seeing it hit the top spot the next go round. Fingers crossed!