Keith Urban Opens Up About Overcoming Shyness and Finding His Stage Confidence

Keith Urban wasn’t always the confident, stage-commanding superstar fans see today. In fact, he describes himself as a “very shy” kid. But that all changed when he got his hands on the guitar and received a valuable piece of advice from a fellow performer.  

“It was like a little shield, like Linus with his security blanket, so it was quite comforting to have a guitar,” he explained of his guitar. 

He admitted he was not “a performer-performer” as a young boy, that is until he was playing in a band in Australia. He wasn’t the lead singer, an American frontman from Florida held that role, and Keith was learning the ropes on guitar and keyboards. One night, that frontman offered a simple piece of advice that would transform Urban’s approach to performing.

“He was a great entertainer. He was excellent, and I learned so much from him and I was playing guitar and a bit of keyboards in this band and trying to learn a lot from him as a frontman,” Urban recalled. “And one night he said to me, he goes, ‘Hey, when you play a solo, why don’t you go to the front of the stage, you know, and just play like that and lean into the audience and really play?’ And i’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I couldn’t do that.’ He goes, ‘Why not?’ I go, ‘Because they’ll think I’m like stuck up, like I’m hot, like I’m full of myself.’ He goes, ‘Well, are you?’ I said, ‘No.’ He goes, ‘Then they won’t.’”

That was the epiphany Urban had been waiting for. 

“And it was just like BOOM, this whole lightbulb went off. It sounds so obvious, but it was literally like if you are generally a down-to-earth, grounded, good, tongue-in-cheek type person, you can do anything and the audience will love it ‘cause they know you’re not an arrogant, cocky person at all.,” he explained. “You’re just putting on a show. But to his point, if you do think that you’re pretty hot, it won’t work. They’ll know you’re just a complete egomaniac and it won’t work, and you’ll strut and cop a pose and do all this stuff and they won’t like it. But if you’re tongue-in-cheek, if you’re down-to-earth and grounded, it’ll work. 

The next night, Keith took the advice, and it changed everything. He stepped to the front of the stage during a solo and found the audience instantly responding. It was a turning point that helped shape him into the performer he is today. 

Fans can witness Keith Urban’s incredible live show on his HIGH AND ALIVE WORLD TOUR. CLICK HERE to see if the trek is coming to a city near you.