Keith Urban Makes "Fashion" Statement

Keith Urban performs at the 2008 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: Stephanie Mullins / CMA.

Aug. 7, 2008 — Keith Urban’s current single, "You Look Good In My Shirt," has a fashion-conscious lyric, and while Keith usually plays his concerts in a T-shirt and jeans, there was a time when he was much more dressy.

He was "always immaculately dressed" when he lived and performed in Australia prior to his move to the U.S., Keith said in the Fashion Rocks insert in GQ, Vanity Fair and other magazines. Keith picked up some Best Dressed awards Down Under, where he wore designs that borrowed from country-rock pioneers the Flying Burrito Brothers.

"My dad made my clothes at that time, these pretty elaborate embroidered ensembles, more like Gram Parsons than a Manuel kind of vibe," Keith observed.

The less-elaborate look is more appropriate for Keith these days, as his on-stage apparel matches his somewhat routine daily life. Keith and wife Nicole Kidman are trailed frequently by paparazzi, who find the couple at such non-glamorous locations as Target, the gym or a Nashville hockey game.

"It’s tragic for them: ‘Here they are at the Starbucks again?’," Keith laughed.

The Fashion Rocks insert pegs Keith’s appearance at the annual Fashion Rocks concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall Sept. 5. The show — which also features Beyonce, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, Justin Timberlake and Mariah Carey, among others — will air as a CBS special Sept. 9. While he’s in New York, Keith will also take part in an NFL kickoff event in Columbus Circle Sept. 4. No other acts have been announced yet for that date, which marks the start of the pro football season. In recent years, the NFL kickoff concert has been part of a network TV special.