Keith Urban has released a video for his single “You Gonna Fly“. The track is currently #7 on the Billboard/BDS chart and is the fourth single release off of his Get Closer. The footage for the video comes from his Get Closer 2011 World Tour which spanned the U.S., Canada and Australia.

“We had cameras rolling every night on tour, which is a great way for us to capture all of those unpredictable things that seem to happen at our shows. In a way, the video is also a huge thank you to everyone that came out and made it so insanely fun night after night.” -Keith Urban

It’s a really fun, energetic video that let’s the fans who didn’t get to him in concert, get a closer look at the live shows! You can check it out below.

Watch “You Gonna Fly” Now!

Keith Urban’s first post-surgery performance will be at the Ryman Auditorium on Friday, February 3rd! This will be part of the conclusion of the Opry’s winter concerts.

Urban underwent throat surgery at the end of 2011 to remove a polyp which had formed on his vocal chords. Press releases stressed that Keith’s surgery was considered a minor out-patient operation. However, the aussie superstar understandably was still required to take a break from singing and performing to give his throat much needed rest.

We’re very happy that Keith’s surgery went well, and are glad that he’s getting back into the swing of things! No doubt, he’s just as pleased as his fans will be!

Urban will also be performing at The Grand Ole Opry House on Friday, March 9th.

]]> http://www.countrymusicnewsblog.com/keith-urban-first-post-surgery-performance/feed/ 0 http://www.countrymusicnewsblog.com/keith-urban-thanks-fans/ http://www.countrymusicnewsblog.com/keith-urban-thanks-fans/#comments Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:55:53 +0000 MissMolly http://www.countrymusicnewsblog.com/?p=6156 A Thankful Keith Urban Sends Message to Fans Pre-Surgery.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Keith Urban took just a couple of minutes to thanks his fans! This personal message from Keith to his multitude of fans comes at an especially important time for the country rock star, as he recently announced that he required throat surgery due to the formation of a polyp on his vocal chords.

While this is considered a minor operation with out-patient status, it has meant that Urban has had to do some rescheduling of shows and performances. However, he did maintain his scheduled appearances at the 2011 CMA Awards including a stellar performance of “You Gonna Fly” that really had the crowd going, and a collaboration with Vince Gill and Brad Paisley saluting Glen Campbell. During the “You Gonna Fly” performance (which you can view below), the strain on Urban’s vocal chords is audible, but he still seriously rocked it, showing his dedication to his fans! Take a couple minutes and hear Urban give thanks before he has to take a break to rest up his vocal chords!

Watch Keith’s Personal Message to Fans Here!

In case you missed it…Watch Keith perform at the 2011 CMA Awards

Keith Urban is set to have throat surgery later this month. A polyp as been found on his vocal chords and the surgery has been scheduled to remove it. Luckily it is a minor, out-patient surgery, but will still require him to get lots of rest!

His appearance/performance at the “All For The Hall” benefit has been postponed. Any performances he has had committed to prior to the surgery where he will sing one song will still happen. Any performances that require him to sing multiple songs will be moved to the beginning of the new year.

We wish you the best Keith! Here is to a healthy and speedy recovery!

President Obama will be offering a special call to action during CMT’s Music Builds: CMT The Disaster Relief Concert which airs live tonight at 9pm on CMT and cmt.com. The President will be urging citizens to get involved with relief efforts for those coping with the aftermath of the recent storms. Additionally, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain will also be lending their voices to urge people to provide aid in any way they can.

This fund raising event was originally initiated by Hank Williams Jr., and over the last week it has grown to larger and larger proportions. The 90-minute live special will highlight a number of regions affected by recent storm, tornado and flooding damage including Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala.; Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss.; Vidalia, La.; Memphis, Dyersburg and Tiptonville, Tenn.; and Raleigh, N.C., as well as others.

This show will be live out of Nashville without a studio audience and performances will include Hank Williams Jr., Lady Antebellum, Ronnie Dunn, Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Sara Evans, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Gretchen Wilson. The show will be co-hosted by ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, HLN anchor Robin Meade and comedian Ron White.

If you miss the concert tonight it will be re-aired on Sunday, May 15th at 9pm ET/PT

CMT One Country, the network’s pro-social initiative, encourages viewers to support those affected by the storms by visiting the American Red Cross website, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

As previously announced, CMT will be airing a special relief concert, Music Builds: CMT Disaster Relief Concert, this Thursday, May 12th in an effort to raise funds to support victims of the recent storms which devastated many throughout the U.S., and more and more artists are using their talent to pitch in!

Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins, and Little Big Town have added themselves to the already substantial list of participants including Hank Williams Jr., Sara Evans, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Ronnie Dunn and Keith Urban.

The concert will air live out of Nashville at 9pm ET/PT on CMT and will also be streaming on cmt.com, so you can check it out and get involved with these relief efforts!

CMT One Country, the network’s pro-social initiative, encourages viewers to support those affected by the storms, flooding and tornadoes. Viewers can get involved by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to support the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts.

Awards season is definitely in high gear as those trophies get polished and carpets get rolled out! We’re kickin it off with the 2011 Grammy’s this Sunday evening on CBS! It seems this year we’ve got some great representation for the country music industry. Here’s who to watch for and why:

2011 GRAMMY® PERFORMANCES:
Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride (In tribute to Aretha Franklin)

2011 GRAMMY® PRESENTERS:
Keith Urban
Dierks Bentley
Blake Shelton
Zac Brown

2011 GRAMMY® AWARD NOMINEES:
Best Female Country Vocal Performance
“Satisfied” – Jewel
“The House That Built Me” – Miranda Lambert
“Swingin’” – LeAnn Rimes
“Temporary Home” – Carrie Underwood
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Gretchen Wilson

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
“Macon” – Jamey Johnson
“Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” – Toby Keith
“Turning Home” – David Nail
“’Til Summer Comes Around” – Keith Urban
“Gettin’ You Home” – Chris Young

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
“Free” – Zac Brown Band
“Elizabeth” – Dailey & Vincent
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
“Little White Church” – Little Big Town
“Where Rainbows Never Die” – The SteelDrivers

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
“Bad Angel” – Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert & Jamey Johnson
“Pride (In The Name Of Love)” – Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers
“As She’s Walking Away” – Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson
“Hillbilly Bone” – Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins
“I Run To You” – Marty Stuart & Connie Smith

Best Country Song
“The Breath You Take” – Casey Beathard, Dean Dillon & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (George Strait)
“Free” – Zac Brown, songwriter (Zac Brown Band)
“The House That Built Me” – Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Rivers Rutherford, Annie Tate & Sam Tate, songwriters (Gretchen Wilson)
“If I Die Young” – Kimberly Perry, songwriter (The Band Perry)
“Need You Now” – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)

Best Country Album
Up On The Ridge – Dierks Bentley
You Get What You Give – Zac Brown Band
The Guitar Song – Jamey Johnson
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
Revolution – Miranda Lambert

Best Country Instrumental Performance
“Tattoo Of A Smudge” – Cherryholmes
“Magic #9” – The Infamous Stringdusters
“New Chance Blues” – Punch Brothers
“Willow Creek” – Darrell Scott
“Hummingbyrd” – Marty Stuart

Hope ya’ll had a Hillbilly Holiday! Let’s start the New Year off by talking about your music.

Back in December, I saw some offers to download Keith Urban’s latest release Get Closer for only $4.99 from Amazon. It’s still available for $5.99. Target on the other hand offers this CD for $8.99 with a Deluxe Edition for $11.99. In today’s economy, that may mean the difference between making or not making the purchase…or does it?

Long gone are the days when the only option was to pick up an album (am I dating myself?) or a CD. Nowadays, you can also get your music streaming online via free or subscription based music services, via radio stations that offer a live audio feed online, through satellite radio or songs a-la-cart through iTunes, Amazon or Wal-Mart.

I would say I’m still old fashioned in this regard. While I listen to country music online, when it comes to purchasing my music, I’ll pick up the CD.

Here’s the process that works for me. Once I hear at least 2 songs by an artist that I like, it’s probable that I’ll like a few more tracks off their CD. Or, if I already have a track record with an artist, I’ll pick up their CD anyway. Otherwise, if an album comes highly recommended from someone who’s opinion I trust, I’ll pick it up.

I like CDs for a few reasons. When away from a computer, I listen to a lot of music on a portable music player, but my car has a 6-CD player and no auxiliary input for said portable music player. I even have one of the FM transmitters but they don’t work all that well. And once said portable music player is in it’s protective case, it doesn’t fit in the FM transmitter holder. Grrr…

I also like to look at the liner notes. See who wrote the tracks, the lyrics, some photos and other amusing information. Even though some digital purchases now offer something similar to download and view, who’s going to do that.

Oh, and usually as soon as you open the CD, a little card falls out with instructions on how to get free ring tones of these songs on your phone. Great. CDs also make great Holiday gifts.

Lastly, I like they way they look on the shelf. Your music collection says a lot about you, so when friends come over, are they going to peruse the titles on your portable music player?

The one thing I dislike is that it takes me around 10 minutes to finally free a CD from its “coat of armor.” Seriously, the cellophane plastic rips into a million pieces sticking to everything with static, then the tape that seals the CD shut, I can never get started! There must be an easier way.

But every now and then I’ll download a track. If it’s a single oldie or a brand new song that I don’t want to wait until the CD is released.

What do you think? Is Physical going the way of the Dodo?

Keeping it Countriversy,
Jim Nash V.

Jim Nash V is a contributing writer with a passion for country music. Jim works to promote line dancing and country music in Long Island New York. For more on Jim, find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jim.nash.vafeas or visit www.YeeHawLI.com.

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman revealed yesterday that they are the proud new parents of a little baby girl named Faith. Faith was brought into the family through the help of a surrogate mother, who carried the child discreetly and gave birth just a few days ago. All parties involved are excited and glowing about the newborn’s arrival, and we wish Keith’s family the best for this new member!

Keith Urban fans keep taking those pictures, because you never know if it might help change the world! The 2011 Keith Urban Calendar features photos of the guitar caressing crooner, taken by members of his fan club. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this calendar are donated to the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Each calendar is only $15 and would make a great Christmas gift for both a country music fan and a child at St Jude’s!

The calendar is part of Country Fans Care for St. Jude Kids, a fundraising program that seeks to unite the fans of country music’s new and established stars. Since 2002, Keith Urban’s fan club has helped raise funds for St. Jude. To date, the calendar has raised over $500,000 for the kids of St. Jude. The 2011 calendar marks the ninth edition of the calendar.

To purchase your Keith Urban Calendar, visit KeithUrbanStore.com or KeithUrbanFans.comCountry Music Photo Gallery