name	Tom Shapiro
background	non_performing_personnel
origin	Kansas City, Missouri, USA
genre	Country
occupation	Songwriter, record producer
years active	197x-present
associated acts	Billy Dean Dusty Springfield }}

Tom Shapiro (born in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American songwriter and occasional record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. To date, he holds four Country Songwriter of the Year awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated, as well as the Songwriter of the Decade award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International. He has also written more than fifty Top Ten hits, including twenty-three Number Ones.

Musical career

Since the 1970s, Shapiro has been a prominent songwriter, doing most of his work in country music. Signed to a publishing contract with Tree International in the 1980s, with Eddy Raven, Crystal Gayle, Marie Osmond and Lee Greenwood being among the first country acts to cut his material. In 1978 The Shadows released their cover of his song "Love Deluxe." His career continued throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, with several of his cuts having topped the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. Among these Number One hits are "Wink" by Neal McCoy, which received BMI's Robert J. Burton award for being the most performed country song of 1993; "No Place That Far" by Sara Evans; "I Miss My Friend" by Darryl Worley (both of which were their respective artists' first Number Ones); and "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You" by Brooks & Dunn, which was named by ''Billboard'' as the Number one country song of 2001.

In addition, Shapiro has produced albums for Billy Dean and Dusty Springfield, as well as writing several singles for the former.

References

Category:American country songwriters Category:Living people Category:People from Kansas City, Missouri Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

name	Thomas M. Shapiro
birth date	April 24, 1947
birth place	Los Angeles, California
occupation	Sociologist, author
nationality	American
subject	Sociology
website	http://heller.brandeis.edu/faculty/guide.php?emplidf1f37909668ee529ab0c194eecc8c89d6a589fc8 }}

Thomas M. Shapiro is a professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Brandeis University and is the author ''The Hidden Cost of Being African American'' and the co-author of ''Black Wealth/White Wealth''. Shapiro's current professional titles include the Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy and the Director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy. The primary areas of focus for Shapiro's research and publications are racial inequality and public policy.

Background and education

Thomas M. Shapiro was born in Los Angeles, California on April 24, 1947. He received his B.A. Degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1969. Shapiro went on to receive both his M.A. degree (1971) and PhD (1978) from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

He has one child, his 20 year old son Izak Shapiro.

Writings

Thomas Shapiro's first book was ''Population Control Politics'', published in 1985, which focused primarily on female sterilization, the welfare state, and public policy in the United States

''Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States'' is a textbook on American social inequality compiled by Thomas Shapiro with contributions from classical and contemporary writers. ''Great Divides'' has gone through three editions; the first was published in 1998, and the other two editions followed in 2001 and 2005. According to Shapiro, the purpose of ''Great Divides'' is to examine the barriers between groups and individuals and to evaluate the impact that these barriers have had, and continue to have, on American society. Additionally, and unlike existing readers on social inequality, Shapiro seeks to meld older, more famous texts (from authors such as Max Weber and W. E. B. Du Bois) with cutting-edge research on the subject of inequality, thereby creating a more comprehensive and challenging text for students.

In his 2004 publication ''The Hidden Cost of Being African American'', Shapiro focuses on the importance of family wealth and the central role that it plays in passing down racial inequality from generation to generation in the United States. Drawing from interviews with 182 black, white and Latino families with school aged children in Boston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis, Shapiro argues that there continues to be a substantial racial wealth gap in the United States. Shapiro also claims that families lacking financial assets, characteristically the African American population, are hindered from becoming upwardly mobile in American society. 3/4 of the people that Shapiro interviewed were middle class and 1/4 were working class or poor. These same inherited, transformative assets are leveraged by whites, enabling them to take fuller advantage of economic opportunities and accumulate additional wealth, what many refer to as White privilege. This vicious cycle, Shapiro argues, has the effect of perpetuating and worsening racial inequality in the United States. Shapiro focuses on the “big picture” of wealth dynamics in the United States and explores how family money effects racial inequality. His book is organized around the ideas that inheritance and racial discrimination are making inequality between whites and African Americans worse. He coins the term “transformative assets” as money that is acquired through family that allows for social mobility beyond what their current income level would allow for. He shows that different starting lines of wealth for different people has a huge impact on inequalities and that race plays a huge role in determining your starting place. In terms of racial equality, inherited wealth and housing discrimination limit educational and employment gains which have a huge impact on social mobility. More narrowly, Shapiro also focuses on the advantages that transformative assets have on the value of housing and the subsequent quality of neighborhoods and schools, to the additional benefit of whites and disadvantage of blacks. This book is widely used in undergraduate sociology courses.

Critiques

The fact that Shapiro left out cities in the south is a major critique of his research for ''The Hidden Cost of Being African American''. It is speculated that if cities in the south were included in his research, there may be a different result that may have been found due to a different amount of segregation and percentages of blacks in the city.

Bibliography

{|width=100% |-valign=top |width=50%| Books

''Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality'' (with Melvin L. Oliver). Tenth Anniversary Edition. New York: Routledge, 2006.

''Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States''. Third Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

''The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

''Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality'' (with Melvin L. Oliver). New York: Routledge, 1995.

''Population Control Politics: Women, Sterilization, and Reproductive Choice.'' Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1985.

|width=50%| Selected Articles

"Economic (In)Security: The Experience of the African-American and Latino Middle Classes" (with Jennifer Wheary, Tamara Draut, and Tatajana Meschede). Demos and IASP. http://iasp.brandeis.edu/general/byathread2.html. February, 2008.

“By A Thread: The New Experience of America’s Middle Class” (with Jennifer Wheary and Tamara Draut). Demos and IASP. http://iasp.brandeis.edu/general/byathread.html. November, 2007.

“Race, Homeownership and Wealth.“ ''Washington University Journal of Law & Policy'' 20. (2006).

“The Racial Wealth Gap.“ ''African Americans and the U.S. Economy.'' Ed. Conrad, Whitehead, Mason & Stewart. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.

“Good Neighborhoods, Good Schools: Race and the Good Choices of White Families (with Heather Johnson).“ ''White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism''. Ed. Doan, Ashley & Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. Routledge, 2003.

“Wealth of a Nation: A Reassessment of Asset Inequality in America Shows at Least One Third of Households Are Asset-Poor“ (with Melvin L. Oliver). ''The American Journal of Economics and Sociology''. Vol. 49, No. 2. (Apr., 1990), pp. 129–151.

|}

Awards

Residency Fellow, Rockefeller Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy (2005)

''The Hidden Cost of Being African American'' named one of the Best Books of the Year, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (2004)

Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, American Sociological Association (1997)

C. Wright Mills Award, Society for the Study of Social Problems (1996)

See also

Race and inequality in the United States

References

Category:American sociologists Category:Brandeis University faculty Category:Washington University in St. Louis alumni Category:Living people Category:1947 births

name	Christian Kane
birth date	June 27, 1974
birth place	Dallas, Texas
occupation	Actor, singer/songwriter
years active	1997-present
website	www.christiankane.com
spouse	}}

Christian Kane (born June 27, 1974) is an American actor and singer/songwriter of Native American descent. He currently stars as Eliot Spencer on the TNT series ''Leverage''. He is best known for his roles in the television shows ''Angel'' and ''Into the West'', and the movies ''Just Married'' and ''Secondhand Lions''.

He is the lead singer of the country-southern rock band Kane; their album, ''The House Rules'', was released on December 7, 2010. The first single from the album, also titled "The House Rules", debuted at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Country Songs chart.

Early life

Kane was born in Dallas, Texas. He is of Native American descent and is a cousin of country singer Branden Hart. His parents participated in, and met at, the rodeo. The family moved around the South and Midwest, because his father was in the oil business, and finally settled in Norman, Oklahoma when Kane was in 8th grade. While growing up in Texas and Oklahoma Kane was a wrestler and played American Football (as a strong safety) . He studied Art History at the University of Oklahoma, but decided he wanted to be an actor and headed to Los Angeles before finishing the degree. In LA he worked at a talent management company where he delivered scripts in exchange for being sent on auditions.

Career

Acting

Kane landed his first acting role in 1997, as one of the leads in MGM's television series ''Fame L.A.'', in the series he played a country singer who moved to Los Angeles from Kansas. His television roles have included a recurring role in Joss Whedon’s ''Angel'' as the lawyer Lindsey MacDonald, the Jerry Bruckheimer produced series ''Close to Home'' on CBS, the TNT television film ''Crossfire Trail'' in which he appeared alongside Tom Selleck, and he played the role of Abe Wheeler in the Steven Spielberg produced miniseries ''Into the West''.

Kane’s appearances on the big screen include the 20th Century Fox film ''Just Married'' and New Line Cinema's ''Secondhand Lions'', as the younger version of Robert Duvall's Hub McCann, he has a scar on his upper lip from an injury he received while filming the movie. He also appeared in ''Taxi'', ''Life or Something Like It'', the Peter Berg directed ''Friday Night Lights'', and the Warner Bros. baseball film ''Summer Catch''. In 2007 Kane was featured in the Carrie Underwood music video "So Small", playing the role of one of the three converging stories. In 2009 he appeared in the psychological thriller ''Hide'', in which he played the lead role of Billy, and ''The Donner Party'' which is based on the true story of the Donner Party. In 2010 he starred in the romantic drama ''Not Since You''.

Since late 2008 he appears on the TNT television series ''Leverage'', which will return for its fifth season next summer. Kane does his own stunts and fights as Eliot Spencer, a retrieval specialist who teams up with four other specialists to undo the injustices perpetrated upon the helpless.

Music

In 1997 Christian Kane met Steve Carlson, who had taken over his old job. They started writing songs together and in 1998 they formed the Southern rock band Kane. They have toured the U.S. as well as England and Germany. The band has self-released two albums. Their debut, the self-titled ''Kane'', in 2000 and in 2004 they released a recording of a live acoustic set called ''Live in London''.

The band consists of Christian Kane (lead vocals, guitar), Steve Carlson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Jason Southard (lead guitar), Will Amend (bass guitar), and Ryan Baker (drums) and is signed to independent record label Bigger Picture Group (Zac Brown Band, Big Kenny, The Harters). Their label debut is called ''The House Rules'' and was released on December 7, 2010. It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers album chart and number 25 on the Country Albums chart. The album was produced by Bob Ezrin and Jimmie Lee Sloas.

The first single from the album, also titled "The House Rules" debuted at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Country Songs chart and was the 7th most added song on Mediabase Country stations on its official impact date. The video for the single was directed by Timothy Hutton and premiered on CMT's ''Big New Music Weekend'' on October 1, 2010.

Christian Kane is also signed to a songwriting deal with EMI Music Publishing, and writes much of his own material. Trace Adkins released a song written by Kane called "Happy Man" on his 2010 album ''Cowboy's Back in Town''. Kane's co-writing efforts include songs written with Blair Daly, Brett James, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, and Jerrod Niemann. "Thinking of You", a song he co-wrote with Blair Daly, featured in episode 3X06, "The Studio Job", of ''Leverage''.

Filmography

Actor

Title	Role
''Fame L.A.'' (1997) TV series	Ryan "Flyboy" Legget
''Rescue 77'' (1999) TV series	Wick Lobo
''EDtv'' (1999)	P.A.
''Angel (TV series)	Angel'' (1999–2001, 2003–2004) TV series	Lindsey McDonald
''The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy'' (2000)	Idaho Guy
''Love Song (2000 film)	Love Song'' (2000)	Billy Ryan Gallo
''Dawson's Creek'' (2001) TV series	Nick Taylor
''Crossfire Trail (film)	Crossfire Trail'' (2001)	John Thomas "J.T." Langston
''Summer Catch'' (2001)	Dale Robin
''Life or Something Like It'' (2002)	Cal Cooper
''The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron'' (2003)	Brian Cruver
''Just Married'' (2003)	Peter Prentiss
''Secondhand Lions'' (2003)	Young Hub
''The Plight of Clownana'' (2004)	Christian
''Las Vegas (TV series)	Las Vegas'' (2004) TV series	Bob
''Taxi (2004 film)	Taxi'' (2004)	Agent Mullins
''Friday Night Lights (film)	Friday Night Lights'' (2004)	Brian
''Into the West (miniseries)	Into the West'' (2005) TV mini-series	Abe Wheeler
''Her Minor Thing'' (2005)	Paul
''Keep Your Distance'' (2005)	Sean Voight
''24: The Game'' (2006) Video Game	Peter Madsen
''Close to Home (TV series)	Close to Home'' (2005–2006) TV series	Jack Chase
''Four Sheets to the Wind'' (2006)	David
''Hide (film)	Hide'' (2008)	Billy
''Leverage (TV series)	Leverage'' (2008–present) TV Series	Eliot Spencer
''Not Since You'' (2008)	Ryan
''Good Day For It'' (2010)	Dale Acton
''Minuteman'' (2010)	Peacemaker

Soundtrack

Title	Song(s) Featured
''Angel (TV series)	Angel'' (2001)	"L.A. Song"
''Life or Something Like It'' (2002)	"Sweet Carolina Rain" (as KANE)
''The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron'' TV (2003)	"More Than I Deserve" (as KANE)
''Just Married'' (2003)	"The Chase" (as KANE)
''Leverage (TV series)	Leverage'' -- "The Two Horse Job" (2008)	"More Than I Deserve" (as KANE)
''NASCAR 09'' (2009)	"The House Rules" (as Christian Kane)
''Keep Your Distance'' (2005)	"Right In Front Of You" (as Sean Voight/KANE)
''Leverage (TV series)	Leverage'' -- "The Studio Job" (2010)	"Thinking of You"

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"
''Kane''		* Release date: 2000	* Label: self-released	Compact disc>CD	—	—	—
''The House Rules''		* Release date: December 7, 2010	* Label: Bigger Picture Music Group	* Formats: CD, music download	25	178	1

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"
''Christian Kane''		* Release date: March 9, 2010	* Label: Bigger Picture Music Group	* Formats: CD, music download	28	159	5

Live albums

Title	Album details
''Live in London''		* Release date: 2004	* Label: self-released	* Formats: CD

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		! width="50"
2010	"The House Rules"	49
2011	"Let Me Go"A	58

^A Current single.

Music videos

! Year	Video	! Director
2010	"The House Rules"	Timothy Hutton
2011	"Let Me Go"	Roman White

References

External links

Christian Kane Official Facebook

Christian Kane Official Myspace

Christian Kane Official Twitter

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Texas Category:American country singers Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Columbia Records artists Category:People from Dallas, Texas Category:People from Norman, Oklahoma Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:Bigger Picture Music Group artists

ca:Christian Kane de:Christian Kane es:Christian Kane fr:Christian Kane it:Christian Kane nl:Christian Kane pl:Christian Kane pt:Christian Kane ru:Кейн, Кристиан

name	Kelly Clarkson
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kelly Brianne Clarkson
background	solo_singer
birth date	April 24, 1982
birth place	Fort Worth, Texas
origin	Burleson, Texas, United States
genre	Pop rock, pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
instrument	Vocals
years active	2002–present
label	RCA/19
associated acts	Reba McEntire
website	}}

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series ''American Idol: The Search for a Superstar'' in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special ''World Idol'' in 2003.

In 2003, Clarkson released her debut album, ''Thankful'', which was a commercial success and established herself in the pop music industry. The release of its first single, "A Moment Like This" (2002), broke The Beatles' record for the biggest leap to number one, from 52, in the history of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. After parting ways with her management, Clarkson developed a more rock-oriented music with the release of her critically acclaimed sophomore album, ''Breakaway'' (2004), which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and which garnered Clarkson more worldwide success as a pop rock artist. The album's single, "Because of You" (2005), became the best-selling single by an ''Idol'' contestant worldwide. In 2007, Clarkson took full creative control for her third album ''My December'', which had had a more rock-inspired sound and was met with controversy and moderate success. Clarkson later returned to a more pop-oriented sound with ''All I Ever Wanted'' (2009), which became a commercial and critical success. The album's lead single, "My Life Would Suck Without You" (2009), currently holds the record for biggest leap to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Chart, breaking her own record of "A Moment Like This" as well as earning her first number-one single in the United Kingdom. Clarkson's fifth studio album, ''Stronger'', was released on October 24, 2011, preceded by the international hit single, "Mr. Know It All".

In a career spanning a decade, Clarkson has become the most successful ''Idol'' contestant around the world, with over 24 million albums and 37 milion singles worldwide, according to ''Billboard'' and Nielsen SoundScan. Clarkson's work also gained her numerous accolades, including two Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, four American Music Awards and a Women's World Award. ''Billboard'' also ranked Clarkson the number fourteen artist of the 2000s, as well as being also ranked on the top 200 album sellers of the Nielsen SoundScan era at number 187.

Early life

Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in the small town of Burleson, a suburb of Fort Worth. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Rose, a first grade English teacher of Greek descent and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of English descent.

Clarkson's siblings include her older brother and sister, Jason and Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents divorced after seventeen years of marriage. The family settled in Burleson, where Clarkson's mother married her second husband, Jimmy Taylor.

Clarkson's family struggled financially, and after her parents divorced, music became her refuge. Clarkson attended Pauline G Hughes Middle School and Burleson High School. She wanted to become a marine biologist but changed her mind after seeing the movie ''Jaws''. In seventh grade, a teacher (Mrs. Cynthia Glenn) overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir; Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training.

In high school, Clarkson performed in musicals such as ''Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' and ''Brigadoon''. She sang at her high school talent show, after which an audience member shared some inspiring words with her: "God has given you this gift. You've got to sing. You're destined to sing." Clarkson continued singing and soon started classical training, hoping that music would be her ticket to a college scholarship.

Upon high school graduation, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee, but decided against college because she had "already written so much music and wanted to try it on her own," and she figured "you're never too old to go to college." Clarkson later turned down two recording contracts from Jive Records and Interscope Records in the late 1990s, stating "They would have completely pigeonholed me as a bubblegum act. I was confident enough that something better would come along." She went to Los Angeles late 2001 to pursue a career in music, but worked as a waitress and appeared as an extra in such shows as ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' and ''Dharma & Greg'' to support herself. She worked with songwriters such as Gerry Goffin and recorded five tracks between January and March 2002 to try to get a record deal, but returned to Texas after four months in Los Angeles.

Music career

2002–03: ''American Idol: The Search for a Superstar'' and ''World Idol''

Clarkson auditioned for the first season of ''American Idol'' (under the full title ''American Idol: The Search for a Superstar'') in May 2002. She subsequently won the competition on September 4, 2002, earning 58% of the vote to 42% for runner-up Justin Guarini. Choking back tears, Clarkson performed the ballad "A Moment Like This", the song written for the winner of ''American Idol'', which would subsequently appear on her debut album, ''Thankful''. When released as a single in October 2002, it set a record on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart when it rose from number 52 to number one. This achievement was largely due to the impact from ''Idol'' as the CD single managed to sell 236,000 copies in its first week of sales in the U.S.; it spent five weeks at number one in Canada.

''American Idol'' season 1 performances and results

{|class="wikitable" |- !Week # !Theme !Song choice !Original artist !Order # !Result |- |Audition |Dallas |"Express Yourself" "At Last" |MadonnaEtta James |rowspan="4"|N/A |rowspan="5"|Advanced |- |Top 121 |Hollywood round 1 |"Respect" |Otis Redding |- |Top 65 |Hollywood round 2 |"I Say a Little Prayer" |Dionne Warwick |- |Top 45 |Hollywood round 3 |"Save The Best For Last" |Vanessa L. Williams |- |Top 30 |Semifinal/Group 2 |"Respect" |Otis Redding |9 |- |Top 10 |Motown |"You're All I Need to Get By" ||Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell |8 |rowspan="7"|Safe |- |Top 8 |1960s |"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" |Aretha Franklin |rowspan="2"|5 |- |Top 7 |1970s |"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" |Ben E. King |- |Top 6 |Big Band |"Stuff Like That There" |Betty Hutton |6 |- |Top 5 |Burt Bacharach Love Songs |"Walk On By" |Dionne Warwick |1 |- |Top 4 |1980s1990s |"It's Raining Men""I Surrender" |The Weather GirlsCeline Dion |37 |- |Top 3 |Judges' ChoiceIdol's Choice |"Without You""Think Twice" |BadfingerCeline Dion |36 |- |Top 2 |Finale |"A Moment Like This""Respect""Before Your Love" |Kelly ClarksonOtis ReddingKelly Clarkson |246 |Winner |}

''World Idol'' performance and results

9

Song choice !! Germany !! Australia !! Pan-Arabia !! Canada !! Netherlands !! South Africa !! Poland !! USA !! Belgium !! UK !! Norway !! Total !! Result
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	9	|	5	9	9	8	8	12	9	9	10	97	Runner-up

In December 2003, a competition titled ''World Idol'' was held at the ''Pop Idol'' stage in London, gathering the winners of the first seasons of ''Idol series'' around the world. Clarkson was contractually obligated to participate, and placed second behind ''Norwegian Idol'' Kurt Nilsen. She performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". She left immediately after the competition, later explaining to fans that she was not feeling well.

2003–04: ''Thankful''

Shortly after the completion of the first season of ''American Idol'', Clarkson was signed to RCA Records by Clive Davis and Simon Fuller. In 2003, Clarkson was later accused of working with a record company prior to winning ''American Idol''. ''American Idol'''s rules stated that a contestant was not allowed to compete on the program if they had been linked to a record company. However, she was cleared of all allegations, as she only had a contract in order to conduct demonstration work.

Following the release of "A Moment Like This", Clarkson's full-length debut album ''Thankful'' was released in North America by RCA Records on April 15, 2003 with several singers and songwriters including Christina Aguilera, Diane Warren and Babyface contributing on the tracks. It debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. To promote the album, Clarkson appeared on various episodes of ''American Idol'' in 2003. In October that year she performed in Australia at the 2003 NRL grand final. "A Moment Like This" was certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of two million copies on December 8, 2003 and platinum by the CRIA for sales of 100,000 copies on February 10, 2004. ''Thankful'' peaked at number 41 on the UK albums chart and at number 33 on the Australian albums chart.

Reviews for the album were generally favorable. However, several critics noted that her early achievement was established due to her performances on ''American Idol''. ''Allmusic'' critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for its vocal ability: "throughout this record, [Clarkson] makes it seem effortless and charming. She can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door". Rachel Kipp of ''JS Online'' criticized Clarkson for not having the same personality on ''Thankful'' that she had on ''American Idol'', and wrote: "on ''American Idol'', Clarkson showcased a great voice and an endearing, 'aw-shucks' personality. That personality is missing on ''Thankful'', and there lies the album's greatest fault". Kipp blamed the producers behind the album for not allowing Clarkson to be herself. Clarkson covered Danielle Brisebois' "Just Missed the Train" on the album.

"Miss Independent" was released as the second single from ''Thankful''. It reached the top ten of the U.S. and Canadian singles charts, and earned Clarkson a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". When the single was released in the United Kingdom and Australia, it reached the top ten of the charts. "Low", the third single from ''Thankful'', reached number two in Canada, but it was unable to make the top 40 of the US chart. The final single, "The Trouble with Love Is", was released as a promotional single for the British romantic film ''Love Actually'' and failed to chart in the United States, she then promoted the song on ''Pop Idol'' in 2003.

2004–06: ''Breakaway''

Distancing herself from her ''American Idol'' image, Clarkson parted ways with 19 Entertainment and took more creative control with her second studio album ''Breakaway'', to develop a more rock-oriented image. Clarkson co-wrote six of the songs with songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody, David Hodges and producer Max Martin; the title track was co-written by punk-pop singer Avril Lavigne.

''Breakaway'' was released by RCA Records on November 30, 2004. The album debuted within the U.S. top five and Canadian top ten, but sales were initially low in comparison to ''Thankful''. The singles from ''Breakaway'' were very successful, and the album become only the fourth album in history to stay in the ''Billboard'' 200 top 20 for a consecutive year, as well as being certified six times platinum in the U.S. in late 2007 and five times platinum in Canada in May 2006. With worldwide sales of over 12 million copies, ''Breakaway'' is the most successful album by an Idol.

''Breakaway'' received different responses from critics; ''Rolling Stone'' commented that "on Kelly Clarkson's second album, ... she embraces her rock side rather than the pop pageantry that put her on top of the ''American Idol'' heap". ''TeenInk'' noted the strength of her vocals on ''Breakaway'', and praised the change from pop music to contemporary rock: "[Clarkson] retains the incredible power and beauty of her voice while switching to rock". ''Stylus'' magazine also enjoyed Clarkson's foray into rock music, however, she was called out because of her ''American Idol'' image, which reviewer Charles Merwin believed she had yet to lose. He praised the non-singles and wrote that they "maintain a quality high". ''Allmusic'' called the album "a nice, low-key relief". "Breakaway" served as the original song for ''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement'' (2004) and achieved considerable success across the world; it became Clarkson's third top-ten single in the U.S. and fourth top-ten single in Canada. It reached number ten in Australia, and number 22 in the UK. The second single, "Since U Been Gone", which was produced by Max Martin, became the most successful release from the album. It reached number two in the U.S. and the top five across the world. It also earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance"; she won a second award for "Best Pop Vocal Album".

The third and fourth single releases, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You", also followed with chart success. The video for "Because of You" won the 2006 MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, her second consecutive win in that category (following "Since U Been Gone"). Clarkson was the most-played artist of 2006 on American radio, despite releasing only one single in the entire year, "Walk Away" (the fifth single from ''Breakaway''). She was also the most radio-broadcasted artist of 2006 in Australia and "Because of You" was the third most broadcast song of the same year, despite being released in 2005.

In 2005, Clarkson made a performance during the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend as part of the festivities leading up to the All-Star Game. Later that year, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons She also performed that spring as part of the 2005 NCAA Final Four festivities in St. Louis, Missouri.

Clarkson performed during the festivities of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. In mid 2006, Clarkson lent Ford Motor Co. a song titled "Go", written by Clarkson and Rhett Lawrence ("Miss Independent"). The song was used in the company's advertising campaign in 2006, "Bold Moves" and the song, along with its music video, was made available free at Ford's ''AddictedtoKelly.com'' website (now defunct).

2006–08: ''My December''

During her tour in Europe in 2006, Clarkson began writing songs for her third album, ''My December''. The first single from ''My December'' was "Never Again", which peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number eight. Clarkson released "Sober" as the second single. She returned to ''American Idol'' for the season 6 finale, performing "Never Again" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry during a Beatles medley.

Clarkson parted with her management, The Firm, in June 2007, amid low radio airplay for "Never Again" and low ticket sales for her then-upcoming tour. Clarkson would then sign with Starstruck Entertainment, run by Narvel Blackstock — the husband of Reba McEntire – on July 2, 2007. The same month, Live Nation announced that the tour—her first nationwide arena tour—had been canceled due to underwhelming ticket sales, to be rescheduled after the release of the ''My December'' album at smaller, more intimate concert environments. Clarkson reinstated plans to tour the U.S. during 2007, with a much smaller tour than the one she canceled in June. She began her My December Tour in October 2007 in venues significantly smaller than those previously booked. The August 2007 issue of ''Blender'' included a feature on Clarkson and her new album, as well as her music label woes.

''My December'' was released in the U.S. on June 26, 2007. The album debuted at number two in the U.S. with 291,000 albums sold, a slightly higher debut than Clarkson's previous album, ''Breakaway'', which debuted at number three. In Canada, the album was awarded a platinum certification for shipments of more than 100,000 copies. ''My December'' was certified platinum in December 2007 by the RIAA. It has sold more than three million copies worldwide.

In April 2007, Clarkson appeared on the ''American Idol'' ''Idol Gives Back'' charity show aimed at raising money for tackling poverty, hunger and AIDS in Africa, as well as the Hurricane Katrina appeal. Clarkson noted that she was in a dispute with her record label bosses and executives as to which song to perform for the event. Clarkson refused to perform her new single "Never Again" viewing it as simple self-promotion through a charitable event. She is quoted as saying,

She opted to perform Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain". After the performance, the audience who watched Clarkson perform live gave her a standing ovation. ''American Idol'' judge Simon Cowell described her as "incredible", saying, "When you let her [Clarkson] come back on the show it makes everybody else look like an amateur." Clarkson later sang "Never Again" in the ''American Idol'' grand finale on May 23, 2007. On July 7, 2007, Clarkson performed on the American leg of Live Earth. Clarkson was invited to be a celebrity mentor for ''Canadian Idol'' during its Top 5 week of the fifth season, aired on the CTV network on August 20, and she performed on the results show the next night. Clarkson also performed the grand finale of ''Swedish Idol'' in December 2007. Clarkson also performed at the 2007 NFL opening kickoff where she sang the national anthem and songs from ''My December''. Clarkson also performed in the halftime show for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets game on Thanksgiving Day.

In addition to her roles as spokeswoman for the acne treatment Proactiv as well as Vitaminwater, Clarkson partnered with NASCAR for the 2007 season. She appeared in televised advertising spots, performed at pre-race concerts, promoted NASCAR Day, and appeared at the Champions' Banquet in December. In April 2008, Clarkson participated in a Papal Youth Rally at the campus of St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie in Yonkers, New York performing a mini-concert for those in attendance. This was the Papal Visit of Pope Benedict XVI. She performed Schubert's "Ave Maria" for the Pope later in the day following the Pope's speech. Clarkson, raised a Baptist, was said to be honored by the invitation and appreciative of the rosary given to her and her band by the Pope, who were invited over by the Pope immediately following the performance for the rosary honor.

Clarkson performed "What Hurts the Most" with Rascal Flatts at the ACM Awards in 2006 and returned again to sing a duet with Reba McEntire in 2007. This was her second performance on a country music award show, even though she is in the pop/rock genre. Along with her performance with Rascal Flatts, Clarkson also performed "Cigarettes", with the country duo The Wreckers during one of their shows in Texas.

Building on her country music status, Clarkson and Reba McEntire, who first met after Clarkson won the first season of ''American Idol'', recorded an hour-long ''CMT Crossroads'' special at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium on February 22, 2007. It aired on CMT and Palladia (then known as MHD) on June 24, 2007. Previously, Clarkson was a performer on CMT's ''Giants: Reba McEntire''. where she sang McEntire's hit song "Why Haven't I Heard From You", introduced Dolly Parton, and later also sang McEntire's hit "Does He Love You" with Martina McBride. Clarkson also appeared on an episode of McEntire's sitcom ''Reba'', that aired on January 14, 2007.

At the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, 2007, Clarkson and McEntire sang a duet of Clarkson's own 2005 single, "Because of You", which also became the lead single from McEntire's album of all-star duets. The music video for this version of the song later debuted on June 20, 2007. This collaboration with McEntire earned Clarkson a CMA Award nomination for "Musical Event of the Year" in 2007 and a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Country Collaboration With Vocal" in 2008. Additionally, the song was featured on ''Now That's What I Call Country'', which was released in August 2008.

Clarkson was a surprise guest at the 2007 CMA Music Festival in Nashville on June 7, 2007, where she performed "Does He Love You" and "Because of You" with Reba McEntire during the internationally-renowned annual event. The performance of "Because of You" was taped and aired as part of the "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night To Rock" television special that aired on ABC on July 23, 2007.

On January 17, 2008, Clarkson embarked on the 2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008, a co-headlining tour with Reba McEntire. Reba and Clarkson have since stayed in touch and Clarkson is now managed by McEntire's husband Narvel Blackstock.

On May 18, 2008, Clarkson performed on stage at the Academy of Country Music Awards All-Star Jam with Reba McEntire and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn. The All-Star jam is the final event of the week taking place immediately after the awards show. Clarkson was not announced ahead of time for an appearance.

2008–10: ''All I Ever Wanted''

Clarkson's fourth album, ''All I Ever Wanted'', was released on March 10, 2009. During recording of the album, Clarkson worked closely with producer-songwriters Ryan Tedder, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Howard Benson, among others. In its first week of sales, it sold 255,000 copies in the U.S., debuting at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200; it stayed at number one for two weeks. ''All I Ever Wanted'' received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Album". Clarkson was placed eighth on ''Billboard'' Magazine's Top Female Artists of 2009 and ninth on ''Billboard'' Magazine's Top Hot Artists of 2000s. She was ranked second on ''Billboard'' Magazine's Best of 2000s: Pop Song Artist, behind Pink.

The first single from ''All I Ever Wanted'', "My Life Would Suck Without You", entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 97 and rose to number one the following week; this broke the record for the largest leap to the top spot, formerly held by Britney Spears' "Womanizer".This was the second time Clarkson broke this record. Moreover, "My Life Would Suck Without You" was Clarkson's first number one in the United Kingdom and it made her the first ''American Idol'' winner to achieve a number one single in the UK. The album's second single, "I Do Not Hook Up", peaked at number 20 in the U.S. "I Do Not Hook Up" did not fare very well overseas and the believed reason for this is due to a lack of radio support because a previous version had been recorded by Katy Perry. The third single, "Already Gone", reached number 13 in the USA but failed to achieve international success, attaining only number 66 in the UK.

"Already Gone" sparked another conflict between Clarkson and her label. There was a widely reported scandal with the album's third single, which Clarkson wrote with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder. Many critics had noticed that the backing track and style of the song sounded similar to Beyoncé's "Halo". After becoming aware of the comparisons, Clarkson did not want to release the song out of respect for Beyoncé, instead requesting release for a self-penned song, "Cry", which later hailed extremely positive reviews, most notably from the BBC. However, her record company refused, publishing "Already Gone" against Clarkson's wishes. In response to the entire fiasco, Clarkson penned a song called "Wash Rinse Repeat" in which she states her view on the lack of creativity record labels give their artists; it is widely believed the song is an attack on Ryan Tedder.

The fourth single was "All I Ever Wanted". Clarkson performed as one of many guests for the return of ''VH1 Divas'' in September 2009. Clarkson also became a guest mentor on the Dutch television series ''X Factor'' in November 2009.

Clarkson was announced as one of the VH1 Save the Music Foundation ambassadors for 2009–2010. She began her 32-date ''All I Ever Wanted'' tour in October, following a string of summer concerts around the United States. Clarkson toured all over the world with the album, reaching territories such as Europe, South Africa, Oceania and Asia.The fall tour shows were performed in arena/theater type venues, with the summer tour being performed in outdoor amphitheatres. Her Indonesia show was initially sponsored by tobacco company Djarum, but after complaints from some fans and anti-tobacco groups, the promoter removed the sponsor. The tour ended in May 2010 in China.

2010–present: ''Don't You Wanna Stay'' and ''Stronger''

On August 23, 2010, it was announced that Clarkson had recorded a duet called "Don't You Wanna Stay" with country star Jason Aldean for Aldean's upcoming album, ''My Kinda Party''. They performed the song at the 2010 CMA Awards on November 10, 2010 and again on April 14, 2011 during the elimination show of ''American Idol'' season ten. On the week ending February 27, 2011, the song moved to number one on ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs, making Clarkson her first number one hit on the chart. As of July 21, 2011, "Don't You Wanna Stay" has sold nearly 1.9 million digital singles, becoming the most downloaded country music collaboration of all time. "Don't You Wanna Stay" is nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Country Duo/Group Performance".

Clarkson's fifth studio album, ''Stronger'', was released on October 24, 2011. Clarkson began writing the material on November 2009 and was originally intended for a late 2010 release. Clarkson collaborated with several producers including Greg Kurstin, Ester Dean, Darkchild, Toby Gad, Steve Jordan and Howard Benson. Clarkson completed recording on February 28, 2011, and stated that it "was influenced by Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Radiohead and there's a little bit of a country vibe/influence on a couple of songs." On March 15, 2011, she announced that the album had been pushed back to September 2011. Rodney Jerkins told ''The Hollywood Reporter'' that it was a "smart decision", while Claude Kelly, said to MTV News that the move could work in her favor. ''Associated Content'' also reported that the delay was caused by the company restructuring at Sony Music with the former Universal Music Group chairman Doug Morris entering as its new CEO. The release of the album was accompanied by a limited release of Clarkson's first extended play, ''The Smoakstack Sessions'', which featured alternate versions of ''Stronger'' and ''All I Ever Wanted'' songs.

The first single, "Mr. Know It All", premiered via a live webcast on on August 30, 2011 and was commercially released on September 5, 2011. The song entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 18, becoming her second highest debut since "Never Again" (2007); On November 3, the song ascended to number 10, earning Clarkson her ninth top ten single. On October 2, 2011, Clarkson performed the song at the 2011 NRL Grand Final in Sydney, Australia, marking Clarkson's first appearance at the event since the 2003 NRL Grand Final. The following week, "Mr. Know It All" hit #1 on the Australian charts, the first single of her career to top the charts in that country. 'Mr Know It All charted at number 4 in the UK and 8 in New Zealand. The song recieved 2x Platinum in Australia and Gold in New Zealand. The album's second single, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", was released in December 2011 and impacted radio on January 17, 2012. The song has charted at number 2 in the United States, 4 in both New Zealand and Poland and 8 in the UK.

The song "Tell Me A Lie" on the debut album by the boy band One Direction was co-written by Clarkson, which was originally intended for ''Stronger''. The song was leaked onto the internet a few months before. Clarkson's second extended play, ''iTunes Session'', was announced on November 23, 2011, and was released on December 27, 2011. On December 2 Clarkson released her first Christmas single, a cover of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" which is included on ''iTunes Session'' EP.

Clarkson is also confirmed to mentor country singer Blake Shelton's contestants on the second season of ''The Voice'' in its live shows in 2012. With this feat, Clarkson becomes the only reality singing competition contestant to appear on ''Idol'', ''The X Factor'' and ''The Voice''. Also, at Super Bowl 46 Clarkson sang the American National Anthem.

Politics

On December 29, 2011, Clarkson posted on Twitter her endorsement of US Congressman Ron Paul as a 2012 presidential candidate, saying, "I love Ron Paul. I liked him a lot during the last Republican nomination and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican Party in 2012 he's got my vote. Too bad he probably won't."

Film career

Soon after the first season of ''American Idol'' ended, Clarkson starred with ''Idol'' runner-up Justin Guarini in the movie ''From Justin to Kelly'' (2003). The film was poorly received by critics and grossed only $5 million at the North American box office, less than half its reported budget. Clarkson has mentioned in interviews that she is shocked when people send her scripts after ''From Justin to Kelly'', often citing contractual obligation as her sole reason for involvement in the film. Clarkson was quoted telling ''People'', "I knew when I read the script it was going to be real, real bad, but when I won, I signed that piece of paper and I could not get out of it." The script was written by Kim Fuller, Simon Fuller's brother.

She played Brenda Lee in the television drama ''American Dreams'' and appeared in the sitcom ''Reba''. She also participated in sketch comedy on ''MADtv'' (2002) and ''Saturday Night Live'' (2005).

Filmography (acting roles only)

Source: IMDb {|class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Episode |- |rowspan=5|2002 ||''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' ||rowspan=3| as an extra (uncredited) || "The Whole Ball of Wax" |- |''Dharma & Greg'' || |- |''That '80s Show'' || "Valentine's Day" (S1, Ep2) |- |''Issues 101'' ||Crystal (as an extra) || Theatrical film |- |''MADtv'' ||Herself / Skits || Season 8, Ep 1 |- |rowspan=2|2003 ||''From Justin to Kelly'' ||Kelly Taylor|| Theatrical film |- |rowspan=2| ''American Dreams'' ||rowspan=2| Brenda Lee || "And Promises To Keep" |- |rowspan=2|2004 || "Tidings of Comfort and Joy" |- |''King of the Hill'' || Herself/Dawn|| "Stressed For Success" |- | rowspan=2|2005 || ''Saturday Night Live'' ||Herself / Skits / Musical Guest|| Host – Jason Bateman |- |''Damage Control'' ||Herself||Season 1, Ep. 1 |- |2007 ||''Reba'' ||Kelly|| "As We Forgive Those" |- |2009 || ''Saturday Night Live'' ||Herself / Musical Guest|| Host – Tracy Morgan |- |2011|| ''Phineas and Ferb'' ||Herself || "A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas" |- |2012 || ''Saturday Night Live'' ||Herself / Musical Guest|| Host – Charles Barkley confirmed on air |}

Vocal ability

Clarkson possesses the vocal range of a soprano; her vocal talents and abilities have been met with praise from critics and celebrities alike. On an interview with ''Good Morning America'', Simon Cowell was asked of the then six ''American Idol'' winners, who he thought had the best voice. Cowell immediately answered that Clarkson did "by a mile", noting that she was "up there" with other great singers such as Celine Dion.

Arion Berger of ''Rolling Stone'' has said of Clarkson that "her high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her ''American Idol'' overlords."

Dr. Luke, a songwriter and producer of some of Clarkson's hits stated that "She has powerful lungs. She's like the Lance Armstrong of vocal cords."

''Esquire'' wrote that Clarkson has “the best voice in the history of pop music".

Discography

''Thankful'' (2003)

''Breakaway'' (2004)

''My December'' (2007)

''All I Ever Wanted'' (2009)

''Stronger'' (2011)

Tours

;Headlining

Breakaway World Tour (2005–2006)

My December Tour (2007–2008)

All I Ever Wanted Tour (2009–2010)

Stronger Tour (2012)

;Promotional

Kelly Clarkson in Concert (2003)

Kelly Clarkson: Live in Concert (2009)

;Co-headlining

American Idols LIVE! Tour 2002 (with the American Idol Season 1 Finalists) (2002)

Independent Tour (with Clay Aiken) (2004)

2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (with Reba McEntire) (2008)

Awards

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance airplay chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Top 40 chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. country chart

List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

List of best-charting music artists in the U.S.

List of Idol series winners

References

Further reading

Phares, Heather. [ "Kelly—Biography"]. ''Allmusic''. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

Lamb, Bill. "Kelly Clarkson—Profile". About.com. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

Phares, Heather. "Kelly Clarkson—Biography". Yahoo LAUNCHcast. Retrieved February 11, 2006.

International charting information. ''Top40-Charts.com''. Retrieved February 12, 2006.

''Kelly Gets Cocky''. ''Idol'' winner fires Simon Fuller. PopSugar.com. ''Blog Archives''. Retrieved February 25, 2006.

. ''E! Online''. [''Some films defy criticism''.] Retrieved May 4, 2006.

Croatto, Pete. ''From Justin to Kelly''. [''Watching From Justin to Kelly, one question looms over the entire production: Why was this movie made?''] Retrieved May 4, 2006.

External links

Category:1982 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:American Christians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American Idol winners Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American record producers Category:English-language singers Category:American sopranos Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:RCA Records artists

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Name	Keith Urban
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Keith Lionel Urban
Born	October 26, 1967Whangarei, New Zealand
Origin	Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
Instrument	Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Banjo, piano, bass, mandolin, bouzouki, Ebow, drums, sitar
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1990–present
Label	Capitol Records Nashville
Spouse	Nicole Kidman (2006 – present) Children Sunday Rose (7 July 2008) Faith Margret (28 December 2010)
Associated acts	The Ranch, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Dann Huff, Radney Foster, John Butler Trio, John Mayer, Trisha Yearwood, Nelly Furtado, John Fogerty, Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood, Richard Marx
Website	KeithUrban.net }}

Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992. Eventually, Urban found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Records and charted two singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts.

Still signed to Capitol, he made his solo American debut in 1999 with the album ''Keith Urban''. Certified platinum in the U.S., it also produced his first American Number One in "But for the Grace of God". His breakthrough hit was the Number One "Somebody Like You", from his second Capitol album ''Golden Road'' (2002). This album also earned Urban his first Grammy Award win for "You'll Think of Me", its fourth single and the fourth ''Billboard'' Number One of his career. 2004's ''Be Here'', his third American album, produced three more Number Ones, and became his highest-selling album, earning 4× Multi-Platinum certification. ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'' was released in 2006, producing the record-setting No.17 country chart debut of "Once in a Lifetime", as well as Urban's second Grammy for the song "Stupid Boy", while a Greatest Hits package entitled ''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids'' followed in late 2007. This album was re-released a year later as ''Greatest Hits: 19 Kids'' with one track added: the number one "You Look Good in My Shirt", which he had previously recorded on ''Golden Road''. Additional albums ''Defying Gravity'' and ''Get Closer'' were released on 31 March 2009 and 16 November 2010, respectively.

Urban has released a total of nine studio albums (one of which was released only in the United Kingdom), as well as one album in The Ranch. He has charted more than fifteen singles on the U.S. country charts, including ten Number Ones. Urban plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as banjo, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, sitar, bouzouki and drums.

Life and career

Background

Keith Lionel Urban was born in Whangarei, New Zealand but later moved and lived with his parents in Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. By age six, Urban was already thinking about getting into the music business. He began learning the techniques at age seven and began winning young singing contests by age eight.

A few years later he began to make inroads into the Australian country music scene with regular appearances on the Reg Lindsay Country Homestead TV Program, Mike McClellands Music Program and various other TV Programs performing in duet with Jenny Wilson, local Brisbane girl with whom he won a golden guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. He also performed regularly on stage at the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club near Caboolture.

In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first solo album, which charted four No. 1 country hits in Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Urban toured as a back-up to Slim Dusty in 1993-4. In the mid 1990s, Dusty and Urban recorded a re-worked duet of Dusty's classic "Lights on the Hill" and Urban appeared for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry backing Dusty.

In 1992, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he found work as a guitarist for Brooks & Dunn and can be seen backing Alan Jackson in his music video for "Mercury Blues". Later, Urban formed The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997. Originally the front man for The Ranch, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career in 1998. In 1999, Urban found "Vocal Coach to the Stars" Brett Manning, and worked with him up until 2001.

In Nashville, Urban became a frequent user of cocaine. After reaching a personal nadir in 1998, he became determined to give up the habit and checked into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville. After cleaning up, Urban released his self-titled American debut in 1999, which produced three top 5 hits and secured for him the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2001 Country Music Association's Horizon Award. Widely regarded for his guitar skills, has performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks' ''Double Live'', Dixie Chicks' ''Fly'', and Paul Brandt's ''This Time Around''.

Urban performed "Lights on the Hill" for Tamworth's 2004 tribute concert following the death of Australia's Slim Dusty, an artist whom Urban had both written for and covered.

Urban was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards.

''Golden Road'' & ''Be Here''

Urban released ''Golden Road'' in 2002, and the success of the single "Somebody Like You" sent his career into high gear. Touring as a supporting act for renowned country acts Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney honed Urban's skills and stage-craft. Country video channel CMT signed on as the title sponsor of Urban's first headlining arena tour titled ''Keith Urban Be Here '04'' with opening act Katrina Elam. Urban continued his meteoric rise to fame in 2005 with a very successful tour with Elam called ''Alive in '05''. He performed in the Live 8 Philadelphia concert on 2 July 2005 and had been chosen by The Gap to appear alongside seven other musical stars in their "Favorites" campaign. He was named the 2005 CMA's Male Vocalist of the Year. He released a DVD in late September 2005 entitled ''Livin' Right Now'', recorded in at the Wiltern Theater in California in December 2004.

In 2005 Urban played in front of European audiences for the first time. In May Urban supported Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour, which included dates in Earls Court, London, SECC, Glasgow and The Point, Dublin. On 6 June a UK only album, ''Days Go By'' was released, this album contained songs from both ''Be Here'' and ''Golden Road'' .

In October Urban returned for a headlining tour with Nerina Pallot and Richard Winsland as support acts.

Urban has recently performed "Better Life" on the CMA Awards and "You'll Think of Me" on the American Music Awards. He also performed at the Grammys playing "You'll Think of Me" and "The Lucky One" with Faith Hill. At the 2006 ACM Awards Urban performed "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and played guitar for Brooks & Dunn's song "Believe."

''Love, Pain, & The Whole Crazy Thing''

On Monday 21 August 2006, Urban made history when his new single "Once in a Lifetime" debuted at #17, setting a new record for the highest-debuting country single in the 62-year history of Billboard's country charts. The record was formerly held by Garth Brooks' "Good Ride Cowboy" and Eddie Rabbitt's "Every Which Way But Loose", both of which debuted at #18. "Good Ride Cowboy" was the highest in the BDS era (1990–present). The song however would soon be beaten by Kenny Chesney's ''Don't Blink'', which debuted at #16, and later Garth Brooks' "More Than A Memory", which debuted at #1.

Urban is also a winner of numerous "Golden Guitars", which are presented annually during the Tamworth Country Music Festival at "The Country Music Association of Australia's Annual Awards" in Tamworth, Australia. He is also a former winner of the Toyota Starmaker Contest, which is held each year in conjunction with the CMAA Awards and the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Keith was named artist of the month for July 2007 on the television network GAC (Great American Country). He answered a question of the day every day that month, and did multiple interviews about love, life, his new album and his stay in rehab.

On 7 July 2007, Keith performed with Alicia Keys at one of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts held around the world. The concerts were held to raise awareness of global warming. Keith performed at the concert held in New York City and said in an interview that global warming is not a political issue, and what he is doing to help the environment is running all bio-diesel buses in his Love, Pain and The Whole Crazy World Tour.

Urban released his first greatest hits collection, ''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids'', on 20 November 2007. The CD contains all of his top 10 hits, along with two new songs, "Romeo's Tune" and "Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)."

In January 2008, Urban embarked on the Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour with fellow country singer Carrie Underwood. In early May 2008, Urban debuted a new song at the Grand Ole Opry titled "A New Sunshine". And in late May 2008, Urban re-recorded a song from his sophomore CD, "You Look Good in My Shirt". The song was released on the radio at the end of May. "Over the years it ("You Look Good In My Shirt") has always played like a hit song," said Keith. "That, combined with numerous requests from both fans and radio about why it was never a single, inspired us to get back into the studio and re-record the song."(keithurban.net) The single was a pre-cursor to the "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour" concert DVD release in the Fall of '08. Urban's newest release "Defying Gravity" was released 31 March 2009.

"You Look Good in My Shirt" was the first single from Keith Urban's re-recorded 2007 album, ''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids''. The album was released under a different title, ''Greatest Hits: 19 Kids'' on 19 August 2008. Keith Urban was also featured on Brad Paisley's instrumental album titled ''Play'', on a song called "Start a Band."

''Defying Gravity''

Urban recently announced that the lead single for his forthcoming 5th studio album will be titled "Sweet Thing". This song became the first No.1 single off the album. The song was co-written with Monty Powell, who wrote some of Urban's past hits, and co-produced with his longtime producer Dann Huff. The album, ''Defying Gravity'', was released on 31 March 2009, through Capitol Records. Its second single, "Kiss a Girl", debuted in March 2009. Urban performed this song on American Idol, during the season 8 finale, as a duet with eventual winner Kris Allen. Its third single, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", is another chart-topping song, co-written by Steve McEwan and John Reid. Defying Gravity debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200. This was Urban's first No.1 CD. His past two albums debuted at #3.

Keith Urban has received four nominations on the 2009 CMA Awards, including Entertainer Of The Year and Male Vocalist Of The Year for a fourth consecutive year in a row. He also earned a nomination for Album Of The Year for ''Defying Gravity'' and shares a nomination with Brad Paisley for Music Video Of The Year for "Start A Band".

A video for "Hit The Ground Runnin'" premiered on 2 October on CMT and CMT.com.

Urban's 2009 Escape Together tour, supporting the album, ''Defying Gravity'', featured many big name opening acts, including Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Jason Aldean. On 27 June 2009 Keith filmed a video for the song, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

On 5 May 2010, whilst being interviwed by CNN about the flooding in Nashville, Urban stated that he was about to begin recording a new album, but all his guitars were now underwater.

Urban's 2010 Summer Lovin' tour consisted of mostly festival shows.

''Get Closer''

In May 2010, Urban entered the studio to begin work on a new album. The recording process was documented in a blog on his official website. At the beginning of September, it was announced that the album would be titled ''Get Closer'' and would see release on 16 November. At the same time, "Put You in a Song" was revealed to be the first single and was released digitally and to radio on 13 September.

Keith Urban appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on 10 November 2010.

To promote the new album, Keith played surprise concerts at New York City's Penn Station as well as a train station in Philadelphia. The impromptu concerts included a 4-song set list mixing in new and old hits.

On 30 November, Keith played a free concert at The Ice Palace of the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Fans lined up days in advance to hear him play the first single (Put You in a Song) from "Get Closer" and a short collection of past hits. He also played a tribute to Johnny Cash with "Folsom Prison Blues" and Steve Miller's "The Joker"

On 15 December, After appearing on Oprah's Australian special, Keith decided to play an acoustic set in Pitt St Mall in Sydney Australia. There he played in front of 2500+ people. He also called up a young fan to play his single Put You In a Song.

Urban announced the "Get Closer – World Tour 2011", an Australian, American and Canadian tour in support of the album. His American tour features country artist Jake Owen supporting. The Canadian leg features The Band Perry as the opening act.

Personal life

Starting in 1992, Urban dated veterinary technician Laura Sigler for eight years. Urban proposed to Sigler in 2001, but the pair eventually split in 2002.

Urban dated supermodel Niki Taylor on and off from 2002 to 2004.

Urban met Australian actress Nicole Kidman at ''G'Day LA'', a Hollywood event honoring Australians, in January 2005, but they reportedly didn't begin dating until 6 months later. Kidman and Urban were married on Sunday, 25 June 2006, at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel on the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney.

On 19 October 2006, Urban checked himself into the Betty Ford Center in California. 20 October, Urban issued a statement saying: ''"I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me. One can never let one's guard down on recovery, and I'm afraid that I have."'' On 18 January 2007, Urban announced his completion of rehab and his plans to go on tour to promote his new album, ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing''.

On 2 February 2007, Urban filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey painter by the same name, who has a web site KeithUrban.com. The singer wanted to acquire the rights to the URL. Keith Urban the singer's URL is KeithUrban.NET. The painter counter sued. The lawsuit was settled in the painter's favor.

On 1 October 2007, while riding, Urban skidded off his motorbike when a paparazzo followed him near his home in Sydney; Urban was not hurt. In a statement released by his publicists, Urban says the incident was "the result of one person's desire to do his job and my desire to maintain my privacy." Urban says he tried to avoid an oncoming car and dropped his bike. He says the photographer came to his assistance without taking photos.

On 7 January 2008, Nicole Kidman confirmed she and Urban were expecting their first child together. Kidman's publicist said "the couple are thrilled and cannot wait." Kidman gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, on 7 July 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. She weighed 2.93 kg (6 lbs, 7.5 oz). On his website, Urban stated,

"Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today."

On 28 December 2010, Urban and Kidman welcomed a second daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, via surrogate at Nashville's Centennial Women's Hospital. The baby is biologically Urban and Kidman's. On 17 January 2011, Keith posted this statement on his website: "Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret. No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier." Faith's middle name is after Kidman's late grandmother.

Discography

Studio albums

''Keith Urban'' (1991)^A

''Keith Urban in The Ranch'' (1997)

''Keith Urban'' (1999)

''Golden Road'' (2002)

''Be Here'' (2004)

''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'' (2006)

''Defying Gravity'' (2009)

''Get Closer'' (2010)

Compilation albums

''Days Go By'' (2005)

''Greatest Hits: 18 Kids'' (2007)^B

Number one singles

"But for the Grace of God" (2001)

"Somebody Like You" (2002)

"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" (2003)

"You'll Think of Me" (2004)

"Days Go By" (2004)

"Making Memories of Us" (2005)

"Better Life" (2005)

"You Look Good in My Shirt" (2008)

"Start a Band" (with Brad Paisley) (2009)

"Sweet Thing" (2009)

"Only You Can Love Me This Way" (2009)

"Without You" (2011)

^A Released only in Australia, but later re-released independently in 2005. ^B Re-released in 2008 as ''Greatest Hits: 19 Kids'', with one track added.

Tours

Official Tours

Get Closer 2011 World Tour (2011) – supporting his seventh studio album, ''Get Closer,'' released on 16 November 2010

Summer Lovin' 2010 (2010) – supporting his sixth studio album, ''Defying Gravity,'' released on 31 March 2009

Escape Together World Tour 2009 (2009) – supporting his sixth studio album, ''Defying Gravity,'' released on 31 March 2009

Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride (2008) – supporting his fifth studio album, ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'' touring with Carrie Underwood supporting her album ''Carnival Ride''

Love, Pain & the Whole crazy World Tour (2007) – supporting his fifth studio album, ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing''

Still Alive in 06 (2006) – supporting his fourth studio album, ''Be Here''

Alive In 05 (2005) – supporting his fourth studio album, ''Be Here''

Livin' Right Now Tour (2004) – supporting his fourth studio album, ''Be Here''

Supporting Tours

Eagles Summer 2010 Tour (2010) – touring with The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks. It was announced on 16 March 2010 that Keith will be hitting the road with The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks for a North American stadium concert tour. 5 concert dates have been announced so far, which include Boston, and Chicago.

Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show 2001

Band

Touring Band

2010–2011

Danny Rader has recently been added to Urban's touring band.

2010

After four years with the band, Chris Rodriguez and Brad Rice departed. Coming off the Escape Together World Tour, the two were told Urban would not be mounting big tours for awhile, and that a smaller band was all that was needed. The following band was from 2010 onwards for the CMT Crossroads and the Summerlovin Tour, as well as the current tour with The Eagles:

Keith Urban – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, bouzouki, e-bow, drums

Chris McHugh – drums, percussion

Brian Nutter – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals, drums

Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals

2007–2009

The following band was used for Keith's Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour (2008), Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour (2007) and soon for the Escape Together World Tour (2009):

Keith Urban – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, bouzouki, e-bow, drums

Chris McHugh – drums, percussion

Chris Rodriguez – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals

Brian Nutter – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals, drums

Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals

Brad Rice – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin, background vocals

2005–2006

Jerry Flowers replaced Mark Hill as the bass player. Jerry was a member of The Ranch in 1997 and 1998.

2004

The following band was used for Keith's Be Here 2004 Tour:

Mark Hill – bass guitar

Steven King – piano, keyboards

Chad Jeffers – acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin, dobro

Chris Rodriguez – Instruments above

Chris McHugh – Instruments above

Pre-2005

The following band was used before 2004

Peter Clarke – drums

Jason Mowery – fiddle, mandolin

Scotty Huff – acoustic guitar, banjo, rhythm guitar

Tim Horsely – drums

Robbie Harrington – bass guitar

Randall Waller

Jimmy Mattingly

Millard Powers

Awards & honors

! Year	! Awards	! Category
1977		''Best Solo Act'' (junior)
1978	''Special Encouragement Award'' (10 years & under)
1980	''Best Junior Guitarist''
1981	''Best Gospel Singer''
	''Best Duet''
''Best Junior Guitarist''
1983	''Junior Male Vocalist''
1990	''Star Maker Award''
	''Golden Guitar Award''
''Best New Talent''
	''Golden Guitar Award''
''Male Vocalist of the Year''
1997
1998
	Academy of Country Music Awards	Top New Male Vocalist
Country Music Association Awards	Horizon Award
ARIA Music Awards	Outstanding Achievement award
VMA Awards	Male Vocalist award
	ARIA Music Awards
	Song of the Year; "Somebody Like You"
TCMA Awards	Video Clip of the Year; "Somebody Like You"
	Country Music Association Awards	Male Vocalist of the Year
FCMA Awards	Best Foreign Music
		Album of the Year; ''Be Here''
Top Male Vocalist
French Association of Country Music	Artist of the Year
ARIA Music Awards	Country Album of the Year; ''Be Here''
	Male Vocalist of the Year
Entertainer of the Year
International Artist of the Year
	Top-selling Pop Catalog Album of the Year; ''Golden Road''
	Grammy Awards	''Best Male Country Vocal Performance''; "You'll Think of Me"
Academy of Country Music Awards	Top Male Vocalist
French Association of Country Music	Best Live Performance
Country Music Association Awards	Male Vocalist of the Year
2007	ARIA Music Awards	Best Country Album; ''Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing''
2008	Grammy Awards	Best Male Country Vocal Performance; "Stupid Boy"
	Academy of Country Music Awards	Vocal Event of the Year; "Start A Band" (w/ Brad Paisley)
Country Music Association Awards	Musical Event of the Year; "Start A Band" (w/ Brad Paisley)
CMT Music Awards	Collaborative Video of the Year; "Start A Band" (w/ Brad Paisley)
American Music Awards	Country – Favorite Male Artist
	Grammy Awards
People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Artist
CMT Music Awards	Best Male Video
	Grammy Awards	Best Male Country Vocal Performance; '''Til Summer Comes Around''
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Music: Male Country Artist

Notes

External links

Category:1967 births Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian pianists Category:Australian guitarists Category:Australian country guitarists Category:Australian country singers Category:Australian country singer-songwriters Category:Australian expatriates in the United States Category:Australian multi-instrumentalists Category:Lead guitarists Category:Australian people of New Zealand descent Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Whangarei Category:People from Queensland

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