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Craig Hill
Oracle of DelphiKeith Urban: what's the appeal?
April 20th 2006 14:02
deadset goose
So what's the deal with Keith Urban - I know he's Australian. a country music star and the owner of one hell of a jawline - but seriously - what does this guy bring to the table artistically. From what I've heard (admittedly not a great deal) his music seems to be your run of the mill Nashville country/pop/rock.
Sure, the fact that he's an Aussie is a trump card of sorts - I mean look how far it's got Paul Hogan. That guy couldn't act his way out of a oversized stubby cooler and he's world famous nothing else but acting super laconically Aussie.
jive turkey
But back to Urban - he's a bundle of contradictions. His music is not political, generally it's pretty standard romantic themes. It entertains America's religious right (a core country music demographic) by extolling the benefits of faith - as the tattoo of the cross of Urban's forearm makes clear. At the same time Urban is masculine (the jaw) but also feminine (he dresses well and has long highlighted hair).And with all the cross genre stuff that goes on in his music and clips maybe the key to his success lies in the fact that he can appeal to many different demographic groups.
hipster doofus?
Don't get me wrong - I am not a Keith Urban fan - in fact , despite his apparent popularity, I've never met a self confessed fan of his. And I don't think that Urban is someone like, say, Rob Thomas, who, if you're a fan you'd never own up to it - I think Urban has a little more street cred than that - if only for the fact that he's 'Strayan'
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Comment by Lia
I confess I've never heard any of his music before, and don't know any fans, but with the wonders of the internet- ta daaa
'We arrived early that morning knowing that the crowd would be large given the fact that the fan club party for Keith Urban had sold out and was just shy of 2,500 seats filled.' - Keith Urban's Fan Club Party.
So the key to the mystery- the guy does have fans, they're just all in America!
Comment by Roz
how about thinking and researching before you do any speaking? ok, given, he's an aussie, dresses well & has great hair, and is definitely easy on the eyes, but for anyone who has ever seen him live, he is absolutely one of the most talented and inspiring artists out there...he's an amazing picker (it's like he just gets into his own zone)...and as far as being mutli-talented goes, he pretty much does it all - writing, producing, guitar, banjo, ganjo, keys, drums......i could keep going....let's just say that both my brother and stepdad are true fans of his after seeing him live, which is amazing considering how anti-country they were before.....
oh, and lastly, that tattoo he has on his left forearm?? you might want to do a little research...it's actually a thunderbird....
so needless to say, i think you might want to do a little more fact-checking before writing blurbs on artists you barely know....besides, since when does average win top male vocalist (3 consec. yrs.) and entertainer of the year??
Thanks for reading,
Roz
=0)
BTW, not "all his fans are in america"....i am Canadian, and there happen to be many of us Canadians who are proud Keith Urban fans....
Comment by sam
Thanks for the informative resonse, and i apologise for the factual inaccuracy of my post. But I woud like to clarify a few things. Undoubtedly, as you point out, Keith Urban is a talented artist. However, the basic point that I suggest in my post is that Urban's appeal essentially derives from other sources. Think about it, there are a lot of skilled musicians out there are not all of them achieve Keith Urban's level of fame. So what is it then that makes Urban so popular. I suggest its his ability, as a result of marketing, genre fusion, and image cultivation, to appeal to a very broad demography.
I hope that clarifies things.
Comment by Anonymous