What is a country music star to do while he awaits word on whether or not he will be back on a reality show? Record a new album. That’s exactly what Keith Urban, who judged on the last season of American Idol, did. The Australian country star has a new album coming out in the fall, which he is working on while he spends the summer waiting for word from Fox.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Urban, 45, said that he has no idea if he’ll be back for season 13 of Idol.
“I have no official information of anything,” he said. “I’m pretty much in the same boat as everybody else here with the rumors that have been floating around. I don’t know anything more about what’s happening next season. It was like this before I signed on ... so it’s not unusual for the Idol folks to be in this place of figuring out what they want to do, then they always pull it together.”
It is widely expected that Urban, along with Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey, will not be back. Randy Jackson has already confirmed that he’s leaving and there are rumors that Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson and other Idol alums might be replacing them.
While Urban waits for Fox to make an official decision, he recorded Fuse, his first album since 2010’s Get Closer. It’s due out on Sept. 10 and he’ll tour to support the album this summer.
Urban told Billboard that the key for Fuse is its diversity. He’s worked with Dann Huff, Nathan Chapman, Butch Walker, Mike Elizondo, Jay Joyce and Zach Crowell in Nashville and Los Angeles to record it.
"I'm just seeing what comes out of me working with those guys,” he told Billboard. “I love working with people who play a lot of instruments, and really, all these guys play lots of instruments and they program and play synths and they can build an entire track just on their own.”
If Fox does ask him back, it sounds like Urban would accept the job. He told the AP that he loved hearing the inexperienced singers perform. “I love the beginnings of artists when all they’ve got is raw talent and nothing else,” he said. “They’ve got no star power, just nothing going on but just this raw talent that’s just beautiful to see, and you look at them and just go, ‘All you’re needing is life experience ... because you’ve got everything else ready to go.’”
image: Fox