Member Reviews
Thank you to Kensington Books | Citadel and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I love Keith Urban and have seen him a lot of times in concert, so I was really excited to see this book on NetGalley.
I thought the author did a great job talking about Keith's life, the good the bad, the ups and the downs. This is a good biography.
I thought this did an OK job of wrapping up Keith Urban's life but I don't feel that I got any special insight into his character or his past. The author doesn't seem to have got much access to people in Keith's life and so there aren't any huge revelations here. Nonetheless, it was well put together and a good read.
Music has always been a big part of my life. Even back when I was a kid. My parents did a great job instilling a love of music into our lives. We listened to everything. When I saw the opportunity to read this book, there was no way I was passing it up.
I’ve seen Keith live in concert, and he puts on an incredible show. It’s amazing to read about everything he went through and all the small shows and contests he participated in just to make it to Nashville. Even though he wasn’t the tradition country type of the 90’s, he created his own niche and become country royalty.
Like so many celebrities, Keith had his share of addiction problems, but somehow he made it through to the other side and has maintained a successful career and solid home life with Nicole and their children.
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington books for my gifted copy and ARC of this book.
Enjoyed the book. Well written. Would recommend to others. Organized. He is an interesting character.
I'm not a fan of Keith Urban. I'm not even familiar with his music. I was drawn to this book by curiosity. An Aussie in country music, with drug issues, married to NIcole Kidman a successful actress. It was a must read. Kidman has the patience and understanding of a saint. I really was expecting a more sensational tabloid book, but discovered a prettty straight forward story bout a pretty interesting guy. Fans will likely enjoy this book far more than me, but it was well worth a read. Maybe I'll check out some of Urban's music.
This was a well-detailed telling of Keith Urban's career and general life and those who are bigger fans of Urban will probably love it. I wish I had more to say. I thought it was a little hard to read at times, but that's probably my fault. I read biographies and memoirs from time to time, but mostly I listen to the audiobooks, especially if it's read by the author. If Keith decides to write and narrate one himself, I'll be all over it.
In this book, Keith Urban's journey to stardom is detailed. You learn about his ups and downs, as well as his family and relationships. His musical journey is described and we learn what drives Keith as he made his way from his hometown to Nashville.
I am not a person who reads a lot of non-fiction. I am a country music fan and a fan of Keith Urban, so I went into this book to learn more about both. I enjoyed learning about how his songs came about and more about his relationship with Nicole. There were times I felt like we were jumping back and forth in time, but I don't know if that was me or the book. If I am reading a biography, I prefer a more chronological approach. Overall, I feel that this was a very good resource for someone wanting to know more about Keith Urban.
Thanks to NetGalley and Citadel Press for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This biography is extremely detailed, and really for big fans of Keith Urban. I mostly wanted to read about his Brisbane childhood, and his marriage to Nicole Kidman. This book describes his meteoric, but tortuous rise to stardom in the U.S., his struggles with addiction, and his marriage to the beautiful Nicole. Keith was inspired by his Dad, a country music lover, to dream of Nashville, but he had a hard time getting ahead from a poor childhood in SE Qld. At one stage, the family house burned down, and they had to be helped by charities. The all-round good Aussie guy never forgot this, and he is a big giver to charity now. His father was an alcoholic, and they had a somewhat troubled relationship, but he really loved him.
Keith's had a few well-known stints in rehab. Nicole saved him last time, and she seems to be a real angel, as well. Keith just sounds like a lovely guy, as well as a great musician, so anyone looking for scandal here can forget it! I enjoyed reading most of this book, but some of it went into too much detail for me.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed learning more about Keith Urban in this biography. It's always instersting learning about one of your favorite singers.
I love Keith Urban, he's been one of my favorite singers since forever. So of course I jumped at the chance to read this. There were some things that I already knew, but there were a lot of things that I learned as well, that made this even more interesting to me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this title.
I love reading books about celebrities. It's amazing to know what they go through. This book was good. It took a while to get through it but it was worth reading it to the end. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.
I am a Country Music fan and Keith Urban is one of my favorites. I knew he had a rough childhood, addictions and triumphed over those adversities to become a Star. He is the most gifted guitarist I have ever heard, and his songs touch my soul. Unfortunately, this book isn't about the soul touch I feel and hear when I listen to Keith's music. It's about the minutia Keith endured that made him the musician who took Nashville by storm after a lot of long hard work. Somewhat interesting, but not what I really wanted to know about Keith Urban. This book is focused more on his industry journey rather than his personal journey. I wanted to know more about the man.
The first half of the book delt with Urban's troubles childhood and his striving for recognition in Australia's Country Music scene. It was not an easy fit. As the song goes Keith was a little bit country and a little bit rock n' roll. But, above all, Keith Urban was destined for Nashville. And, once in Nashville, it was a tough scene for an Aussie to break into. Keith paid his dues and a lot more for the recognition he achieved.
The second half of the book delt with meeting and falling in love with Nicole Kidman and how his addictions almost cost him his marriage and career. When Keith finally got clean and sober after his third trip to rehab his career went into orbit with some of the best music he ever produced.
The book is written in a straight timeline from Keith's birth through the Covid pandemic years. If you want the facts and the names that made Keith's career it is all here, and I do mean ever minute detail. The author obviously did no personal interviews with Keith, Nicole or anyone else connected with Keith Urban. All the information provided is publicly available data. It made for a rather dry reading. But, as the author stressed, Keith Urban is a very private man who guards his privacy and personal life closely. 3 1/2-Stars
My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.
Good overview of Keith's life. Not very detailed other than his work life. I would give it 3 stars as a good read, not a great read.
I've seen Keith Urban in concert twice and I loved everything about this book!! I think anyone can enjoy the story of a man who has overcome so much to achieve his dreams. Urban's unwavering gratitude and humility shine through in his story and his candidness about his experiences was truly refreshing.
I'm not a huge country music fan but I did listen to our local station quite a bit. One night late I happened to catch a music video with Keith Urban. I had heard the name and some of the songs but somehow that video really caught my attention and I've been a fan since. I knew he married Nicole Kidman and had a drug problem but this told so much more of his story. As with most biographies I have read it seems more like a term paper. Maybe because I am a fan it didn't seem so dry. I especially had fun hunting down music videos and listening to his earlier work.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for providing me with a digital copy.
In this biography of country superstar Keith Urban, the reader gets a rarely seen view into Keith's life, seeing not only the rise of his career, but also the challenges he faced along the way. This book is a great read for any Keith Urban fan and provides the insight that so many fans crave about an artist and/or performer.
I liked the writing style of the author, Jeff Apter, and his ability to portray Keith Urban and the life he has led up to this point in his career. I also appreciate the glimpse into his personal life and the relationships he's had, particularly with Nicole Kidman and his children.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advance reader copy of this book.
This was a fantastic biography about Keith Urban. It was honest and captivating, but also well written and researched. Urban fans and those who are unaware of him will enjoy a glimpse into his personal life and his hardships (that are written with compassion and empathy). He has been through a lot and still has remained level-headed and without a bad ego unlike some other musical sensations. Yes, Keith had some demons, but he won.
This is defnitely one of the best biographies I have read this year. Definitely recommended!
Thanks to Jeff Apter, Netgalley and Kensington Books Citadel for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Already available
Keith Urban
Written By Jeff Apter
Release Date September 26, 2023
This was an all around great book about an artist I honestly knew nothing about. I have heard his music and am not really a country music fan but I am a fan of Jeff Apter. He has authored several books that I have thoroughly enjoyed and really wanted to see what was in store for this book. There was so much that I did not know about Keith Urban. The only real things I knew were that he is a country music musician, he struggled with addiction and he is married to Nicole Kidman. After reading this book, I learned way more such as how he persevered to get where he is now with hard work and dedication. He also has not let the fact that he is famous go to his head. People talked about how humble he is and that he stand firm in his roots.
Apter, of course, delivered a hit when he chose to write this book. It is very detailed and ambiguous in the sense that you can take away many things from the book in general. The chapters flow very well ’ the book was a quick read for me. Once started I could not stop until I finished due to the interestingly way that it is written. Starting from Urbana’s humble beginnings to his worldwide stardom. I loved how the author built up each aspect of Urban’s life and allowed the reader to see more than a glimpse into the life of the man who is Keith Urban.
Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.
I am a huge Keith Urban fan and have seen him live 4 glorious times…one of the concerts was even mentioned in this book!!!
This book confirms what I hoped about Keith. He is a talented, generous and all-around nice guy who can play the heck out of a guitar!!!
From his upbringing in Australia and his single-minded goal to get to Nashville to his rise to stardom I enjoyed all of the details of his amazing life.
This is definitely a must-read for Keith fans!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the chance to read and review this wonderful book!
Having been a Keith Urban fan since he began, this book filled in the backstory of his life. Trial, tribulations, and triumphs are all represented. He knew he wanted to be a musician since he was a youngster, and Nashville was his goal. He achieved that and so much more. I really liked the 'backstage tour' the author gave of of Keith's marriage to Nicole Kidman and their children.
I enjoyed this book. Readable and great information for a Keith Urban fan.
I was gifted an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Kensington. The review is my own.