Keith Urban joins Katie Neal for the ‘Superstar Power Hour’ to talk tour openers, new music, and more
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00:00Back to Kiva's Company this week, Mr. Keith Urban. How are you?
00:03Fantastic. How have you been?
00:04I've been so good. It's so great to see you.
00:06You too, Katie. Thank you.
00:07We're here in this incredible studio space.
00:09This has been a project for you since we talked last fall,
00:12but you were just saying you bought it a while back.
00:14Yeah, July of last year.
00:16Okay, so tell me about this space.
00:17It was a little bit of a fixer-upper.
00:21But I made a lot of records here,
00:24including a guitar solo on somebody like you
00:27and a bunch of things like that.
00:28So I've got a lot of history in this place,
00:31and I can't believe it's now mine.
00:33What made you want to buy it or have a studio?
00:37I've been looking for a studio for a long time.
00:40Wasn't quite expecting something of this caliber,
00:43but the timing was right,
00:45and I feel like I bought the school I went to.
00:49That's what it feels like.
00:50I know. We were just laughing
00:51because when they shut the door, it sealed off.
00:54I saw online, and I don't know if this was true
00:56because there wasn't a lot of information about this space,
00:58but they were saying the doors were made from NASA
01:01or something like that.
01:03Wow, so heavy duty.
01:04Who else has recorded big albums?
01:06I think all the Shania records were done here.
01:08Wow.
01:08A lot of the Kenny Chesney records, tons of records.
01:11This is so fun.
01:12So you've done all kinds of stuff.
01:13I remember you saying you learned everything
01:15about mold remediation.
01:16Yeah, I know too much about mold remediation.
01:19Well, it looks great.
01:20It does not smell like mold.
01:22It's beautiful.
01:23It's pristine.
01:24I was thinking about you because we've been having
01:25the best weather in Nashville, finally.
01:28The sun has come back out,
01:29and it feels like everybody has come to life.
01:31And your latest single, Straight Line,
01:33we've talked about how this song just feels like sunshine.
01:35Yeah, it feels like spring.
01:36And I think this is such a great time
01:37to have it on the radio.
01:38Oh, that's good.
01:39Talk about how this song started versus how it ended.
01:42Like, did you go in with this intention,
01:44or did it become this as you wrote it?
01:47It was really born of a spark of energy.
01:52I wrote it with Greg Wells and Jerry Flowers
01:55and Chase McGill.
01:56And Greg had a little drum loop going the day we wrote it.
02:00And Jerry Flowers, who I was writing it with,
02:03grabbed my little 12-string, mini 12-string,
02:06and just came up with the opening riff.
02:07And it just sounded exciting right out of the gate.
02:11And the euphoric spirit of the song
02:16really told us what the song was about.
02:19You know, it was written really from the music outwards,
02:21and it just sounded like a song that was breaking out
02:23of the monotony and claiming your life back again.
02:27Where did the title and the idea of Straight Line come from?
02:32Like, how did that come into it?
02:33Um, we were riffing on just melody, gibberish stuff
02:38as the music was playing.
02:40And I think it started out as Late Night Lover.
02:45You know, it's a late night lover.
02:47You know, because you're like,
02:49that's the right amount of syllables,
02:51but Late Night Lover sounds like a terrible song.
02:54And then one of them said,
02:58one of the guys was singing so quietly
03:00that when he said Late Night Lover,
03:01it sounded like Straight Line Lover.
03:03And we're like, oh, Straight Line Lover's interesting.
03:05What's that?
03:06And then we just got rid of the lover
03:07and it became Straight Line.
03:08That's so funny.
03:09I love that.
03:10And then something else that you and I
03:11have been talking about,
03:12you know, the last few times I saw you in the fall,
03:14I know that you've been itching
03:15to get back out on tour.
03:16And finally, the High and Alive tour
03:18starting in May in Orange Beach, Alabama.
03:21I feel like as it gets closer,
03:22you just get it like the anticipation
03:23has got to be so exciting.
03:25I'm super impatient right now.
03:26I wish I was touring tomorrow.
03:28Yeah?
03:29Yeah, I wish we would plan Orange Beach tomorrow.
03:32Have you been in rehearsals?
03:33What are you excited about right now?
03:34We haven't, but we sort of have
03:36because this production we put together,
03:38we built it for this tour,
03:41but we had a residency in Vegas looming,
03:43which was October last year.
03:45So we put together this production in time
03:48to do the Vegas residency
03:50and use it as a sort of experimental venue
03:55with people to figure out how to shape
03:58and utilize the set and everything.
04:01That's awesome.
04:01And then coming out on the road with you,
04:03you've got Alana Springsteen, Chase Matthew,
04:05and then Carly Scott Robbins.
04:06Talk about.
04:07Carly Scott Collins.
04:08Oh, Scott Collins.
04:09I'm so sorry.
04:09Yes.
04:10Chase, I heard about a couple of years ago
04:12and I just loved his voice and his vibe
04:14and the songs are great.
04:16He's great live.
04:17And I thought my audience would really,
04:19really like him a lot.
04:22Alana Springsteen sat in with us
04:26when we played Summerfest in Milwaukee
04:28and we did a song together
04:29and I just loved her vibe
04:31and her voice is so good.
04:32Yes.
04:33So I asked her if she wanted to tag along
04:35and then Carly Scott Collins was an artist
04:37that a friend of mine, Nathan Chapman, was producing
04:40and he called me up and said,
04:42I've got this track I'd love you to play a solo on
04:44and went to the studio, heard it,
04:47loved her voice, loved the song,
04:50got to meet her
04:51and thought she's a great fit as well.
04:54So bringing all three of them out.
04:56It's going to be so fun.
04:56How often does it happen?
04:57I know that you duets do collabs
05:00but there's a bunch of songs
05:02that I'll hear like,
05:03oh, that's Keith Urban playing guitar on that.
05:05How often does it happen?
05:06Do you feel like anymore
05:07that you get to go in
05:07and just be the musician on the songs?
05:09I love getting to do it.
05:11Yeah, I love getting to play guitar.
05:13But I love getting asked, of course,
05:17but it's got to be a song
05:19that I feel like I could do something on.
05:21Right.
05:21The one I always forget is,
05:23is it Highway Don't Care?
05:24Yeah.
05:25I remember recently when I talked to Tim
05:26and he said that, I was like,
05:27I always forget that's Keith.
05:28Of course it's Keith playing guitar.
05:30That's so awesome.
05:31And then when you said
05:31you were bringing Chase out,
05:32I was excited because I know
05:33he's like a huge car guy.
05:35Yeah.
05:36You also a huge car guy.
05:37So I'm sure a lot to talk about that.
05:38I'm probably going to be learning more
05:39about how to fix him
05:40because I don't know how to fix him
05:41and he's all about that.
05:43Yes.
05:44He can definitely help with that.
05:46You also,
05:47you are going to be doing
05:47like a two-week stay
05:48on this world tour in Australia.
05:50Yeah.
05:51When you get the chance to go home
05:52and you've got a little bit of time there,
05:53I know you're very busy,
05:54obviously,
05:55traveling with a tour,
05:56but is there anything
05:56that you get excited to do
05:58when you go home
05:59or that you're looking forward to?
05:59Usually the beach,
06:00but it's going to be
06:01late winter, early spring.
06:04So up north,
06:06it'll be nice and warm
06:07because it's obviously
06:08everything is the opposite.
06:09So you go up north
06:11for the hot weather.
06:13That's like so funny to think.
06:15Because we're south of the equator.
06:17So yeah,
06:17everything's upside down.
06:19But yeah,
06:20the food,
06:20the people,
06:21the vibe,
06:21it's always good all year round.
06:23Yeah, very fun to come home.
06:24Is there something that you would recommend doing
06:25for your openers?
06:27Depends where we are.
06:28Like if we're in Sydney,
06:29they should climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge
06:31because that's really fun to do that
06:32and get a picture on the very top.
06:35I've got a picture
06:35at the front of my studio
06:36of me with all my band
06:37on the top of the bridge.
06:41Yeah,
06:41and then further up north,
06:42maybe Great Barrier Reef,
06:44you know,
06:44getting out there on a boat
06:45or something.
06:46Depends how much time we have.
06:47Yeah.
06:47There's a lot to do.
06:48Yeah, a lot to do.
06:49Speaking of a lot to do,
06:50you also have been working
06:51on this new TV show
06:52with Blake Shelton
06:53and Taylor Sheridan
06:54called The Road.
06:56Like talk a little bit about
06:56like what is the premise
06:57of this show?
06:58I know it's not coming
06:59until later this fall.
07:00In the fall, yeah.
07:01Yeah.
07:01The premise is an idea
07:03that Blake had
07:04for a show that picks up
07:06where all the other shows
07:07let you out,
07:08which is
07:08a real world situation
07:12where you're playing in a club.
07:13You're not playing in a TV studio.
07:14You're in a club
07:14in front of a club audience,
07:16not a TV audience.
07:17So what they do
07:19is they've asked me
07:19to come out
07:20and basically headline
07:23each night
07:23in these clubs
07:24and in effect
07:26all the people competing,
07:27all the musicians competing
07:28are my opening acts
07:31at the club
07:32playing in front
07:33of my audience
07:33who have come to see me,
07:35not the opening acts
07:37and they've got two songs
07:38to make an impression
07:40and get the vote
07:42from the audience
07:43because the audience votes.
07:44Oh, wow.
07:45They get to do a cover song
07:47and they get to pick it.
07:48They've got to live and die
07:49by their choice of cover.
07:50Some of them pick
07:51the most obscure covers
07:52and you're like,
07:53what are you thinking?
07:54Nobody knows this.
07:56It's weird.
07:58And then the next week
07:59they'll figure that out
08:00and do a way more known cover
08:01and kill it
08:02and they get to do
08:03an original song
08:04which is always hard to do.
08:05So it's the same people
08:06at each stop then?
08:07You started out with 12
08:08and then we eliminate one
08:09every night.
08:10Oh my gosh.
08:11Yeah.
08:12What I love,
08:12I didn't realize
08:13that was like the hook of it
08:14that it picks up
08:15where other shows leave off.
08:17Pretty much, yeah.
08:18Yeah, because I was curious
08:19like you've obviously done
08:20The Voice in Australia,
08:21you've been a judge
08:21on American Idol
08:22and I was like,
08:23I wonder what like,
08:24you know,
08:24drew you to being a part of this.
08:27The fact that Blake
08:28wanted to do it
08:29because I love working with him
08:30and the fact that Taylor
08:31was going to be overseeing
08:33the look and feel of the show
08:35because Taylor Sheraton's
08:36got such a real,
08:39just a gritty,
08:40and this thing is shot
08:41very documentary style.
08:42Okay.
08:42So I don't think it's going to be,
08:44I don't think it's going to look
08:44like anything
08:45that anyone's ever seen before
08:47in this kind of singing competition
08:50puts it into a particular category
08:52that I think it's visually
08:53going to be very different.
08:54Yeah, I'm excited to see
08:55like what his take on this will be
08:57because everything he touches
08:58turns to gold, obviously,
09:00but then he does things
09:01in a very specific way.
09:03Yeah.
09:03And I was like,
09:04I wouldn't think of Taylor Sheridan
09:06as wanting to get involved
09:07with like a show like this.
09:09So I was like,
09:10it must be something
09:11that like there was
09:12a great vision for.
09:13Yeah.
09:13So that's exciting.
09:14I think the authenticity of it
09:15is what appealed to Taylor.
09:17The fact that there isn't
09:18any vocal coach backstage
09:19helping them figure out
09:20how to sing.
09:21It's like,
09:22you got to figure it out.
09:23This is it.
09:24I mean,
09:25when you walk up on stage,
09:26you pick the song,
09:27you figure out the arrangement,
09:29this is what you chose to wear,
09:31this is what you want to do,
09:34this is your moment
09:35to connect with this audience.
09:36Which is probably
09:37the most realistic version
09:38of what you actually go through
09:39in the years cutting your teeth
09:41and becoming an artist.
09:42Totally.
09:42Yeah.
09:43You play,
09:43you just make a bad choice
09:45and play that song
09:46in front of that audience
09:46and they could care less
09:47and you're like,
09:48oh no.
09:49So you're not having
09:50much interaction with them
09:51then as far as like
09:52guidance and direction.
09:54Oh wow.
09:55This is very fun.
09:56Yeah.
09:57As the show's gone on
09:58and we're down
09:59to sort of five or six,
10:00I'm going into soundcheck
10:02in the afternoon
10:02and watching
10:03and giving some pointers
10:05that might help them
10:06but that doesn't mean
10:07they take the advice.
10:08Which is crazy to me
10:10that Keith Urban
10:10would be sitting in
10:11on your soundcheck.
10:12That's part of being
10:12an artist though too
10:13is just discarding
10:14people's input
10:15and going,
10:15no,
10:16I'm going to do this
10:17because sometimes it works.
10:18You know,
10:19there's no rules
10:20in any of this.
10:22There's just the result
10:23of what you decided to do.
10:24Did it work
10:25or didn't it work?
10:26Yeah.
10:26Oh my gosh.
10:27I'm really excited
10:27to see that.
10:28I think that's going
10:28to be great.
10:29Obviously the tour
10:29is going to be phenomenal.
10:31Very excited to see that
10:32here in Nashville
10:32this fall
10:33and loving hearing
10:34Straight Line
10:35on the radio.
10:36It's so good to see you.
10:37Yeah, you too.
10:37Thank you for having us
10:37in this beautiful space.
10:38My pleasure.
10:39Glad you're here.