Keith Urban "Booked" in Australia

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Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban on the CMA Awards Red Carpet at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, broadcast live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Association.


Dec. 29, 2008 — With Keith Urban set to release a new album in March, he’s also the subject of a new book that comes out in Australia Jan. 5.

Fortunate Son: The Unlikely Rise Of Keith Urban, written by Jeff Apter, covers Keith’s pre-stardom upbringing Down Under as well as his American recording career and his marriage to Nicole Kidman. In fact, an excerpt in The Sydney Daily Telegraph suggests that their relationship might not have succeeded if Keith hadn’t already transformed himself by addressing his chemical dependency.

"Without that, I don't think Keith would have been in a position to cope with a relationship with the public visibility that he now has with Nicole,'' Aussie country singer James Blundell says in the reprint. "After a time you really develop the skin of a rhino, but it can [mess] people up. But I think he's coping brilliantly."

Whether the book is released in the U.S. remains to be seen. The company’s American website does not list Jeff Apter among its authors, and Amazon shows no listing for Fortunate Son. Keith is currently nominated for a Grammy recognizing his collaboration with Trisha Yearwood on "Let The Wind Chase You."

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