Keith Urban is returning to TV, with the new talent show, The Road. Urban is teaming up with Blake Shelton and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, giving 12 aspiring singers a taste of what life is really like as a touring musician.
For Urban, who has been on both The Voice and American Idol, he was drawn to the premise of the show, which is why he agreed to be part of it.
“First of all, it’s a concept that Blake was one of the people behind it,” Urban says (via Coyote Country). “I loved the idea, and I loved that Taylor Sheridan was going to be involved in it, just from a visual standpoint and the style of the show. The concept of putting artists in a real-world environment versus a TV studio was really appealing to me, because I had not seen that before where there’s no vocal coach backstage, there’s no A & R’ing of their songs. They have to choose a cover, and they have to choose an original, and they’ve got to go out and make that work in front of an audience that isn’t there to see them.”
For Urban, it felt more true to life to have these artists performing in small bars and clubs, as opposed to a TV stage.
“This is a real venue,” Urban shares. “A real audience that probably lives locally, that come to the club all the time and have come to see me play. And these musicians are all competing to basically be my opening acts. Nobody knows who they are, and nobody cares who they are, just like a real club, and they’ve got two songs to come out and make an impression, and then the audience votes at the end of the night.”
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For someone who is used to commanding large stages, the father of two enjoys the chance to be in the audience, watching other aspriing singers perform.
“Blake and I are out in the audience watching all these artists perform — we have a little area that we sit in — and we make comments throughout the performance,” he reveals. “The artist doesn’t hear it; people at home are gonna get to hear our thoughts, but the audience votes in the club, and at the end of the night, somebody’s eliminated, so every city we’re losing an artist, and it’s amazing to watch it unfold.”
Part of the lure for Urban of being part of The Road is the chance to hear new artists. In spite of more than 30 years of making music, the 57-year-old still loves listening to new talent.
“I’m far more interested in new artists and new music, and get more inspiration from new music, new songwriting approaches, new recording sounds, just new ways of doing things,” Urban reveals. “Going to a concert and seeing a different way to play live, and a different way to put things together. It’s never-ending. It’s constant. Even if it circles right back around to something that was 30 years ago is fresh again. It’s really exciting to me.”
The Road will premiere on CBS this fall.