From Innocent Boy to Music Legend: Keith Urban’s Incredible Journey

Watch 16-Year-Old Keith Urban Audition for an Australian Talent Show

Carrie Underwood, American Idol winner, isn’t the only former reality show contestant among the co-vocalists of “The Fighter.” At just 16 years old, Keith Urban appeared on the long-running Australian talent show New Faces in 1983.

Watch Keith Urban’s 1983 Australian Talent Show Debut

Long before he became a member of The Ranch or gained fame as a country music superstar, Whangarei, New Zealand-born Keith Urban took the stage on New Faces, covering Aussie legends Air Supply’s “All Out of Love.” The show’s hosts gave him valuable advice on vocal delivery and encouraged him to form a band. Whether Urban followed that guidance at the time, both changes came long before his road to country music stardom and the release of his self-titled debut album in 1999. As one of the judges notes, the teenage Urban was dressed like a member of the Bay City Rollers.

New Faces aired in Australia for 24 seasons, beginning in 1963, and was a precursor to the British version of the same name.

This wasn’t Urban’s first foray into reality television. At just 9 years old, he appeared on a different show where a judge critiqued his stylistic choices.

Keith Urban: From High School Dropout to Country Music Icon | The Courier Mail

“I was told, ‘I desperately encourage you to escape the mediocrity, get out of country and western music, and try something more ‘real.’ Otherwise, you’ll end up sounding like Dolly Parton and be absolutely useless,” Urban recalled in an interview with The Courier Mail. “That had a big impact on me. The same judge also told me, ‘Kindly learn to sing in tune, because you are intrinsically a good musician.’”

Keith Urban’s New Faces 1983 Performance – YouTube

The New Faces series wasn’t the only time Urban gained national recognition early on. He was spotlighted twice at the Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Music concerts, in 1998 with The Ranch and again in 2000, leading his own band and embarking on his solo country career that would lead to Nashville stardom.

It’s difficult to picture a household name like Keith Urban before chart-toppers like Fuse, Ripcord, and Graffiti U; before winning four Grammy Awards, consistently topping the Billboard charts, and becoming a country superstar. Yet, here he is, reminiscing about how he saw a radio announcer gig as his golden ticket to country music fame.

Watch 16-Year-Old Keith Urban Face the Talent Judges

More recently, Urban’s talents have been showcased as a judge on Australia’s The Voice during its debut season, as well as on the U.S. version of the show alongside fellow country artist Blake Shelton. He also served as a judge on American Idol alongside Nicki Minaj and other stars.