Keith Urban announced today that his eighth studio album will be called Ripcord.  Speculation surrounding the details of the release began back in June when Urban put out “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” billed as the first song from the forthcoming album – which became his 19^th No. 1.  It not only set an historic country radio mark for the highest one-week spin count and point total on Country Aircheck/Mediabase, it extended Urban’s lead as the artist with the most consecutive top 10 songs on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart, a streak that started in August of 2000.

Just this past week Urban released the melodic, mid-tempo ballad “Break On Me,” the second single from Ripcord.  The song debuted as the #1 most added single at country radio.

You can catch Keith perform on The 49th Annual CMA Awards with John Mellencamp live on November 4th at 8pm ET on ABC from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. There’s no word on what song the two will perform together, but Mellencamp’s moniker, John Cougar, is actually referenced in Urban’s latest chart-topper, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

Keith Urban celebrated his recent No. 1 success for “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” at a morning celebration – complete with sausage and biscuits and French toast skewers – on Wednesday (October 21st) in Nashville. As per his usual modus operandi at No. 1 parties, Keith performed the song with the tune’s writers – Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne – as well as with producer Dann Huff.

Apparently, the final recording was a bit different from the original demo, however, that didn’t take away from the song. “For me, it was just a great song. It kinda didn’t matter how it was done, it was a great song. It was solid, great melody. Even from a singer’s standpoint, there’s certain things about rhythmic qualities of consonants and vowels and where they fall in a melody and where they fall in the rhythm that matter to me; maybe not even just matter, but they resonate with me that way,” says Keith. “So, you can have a song that’s really well-written lyrically, but it’s not great to sing. It doesn’t sing well. It reads well, but it doesn’t sing well, and this is one of those songs that does everything.”

Keith, who will perform during this year’s CMA Awards, is nominated for Music Event of the Year for “Raise ‘Em Up” with Eric Church.

Keith has released his new single, “Break On Me,” which is from his forthcoming album.

This Monday, October 19^th at 2:00 p.m. CT, four-time Grammy Award winner Keith Urban will release “Break On Me,” the second single from his forthcoming eighth studio album.  Urban broke the news to his fans online early this morning from London at http://smarturl.it/KUtease. The song’s release falls in line behind an historic, record setting 34 Top 10 songs, 19 of which have hit the Top spot, including his latest “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

“Break On Me,” written by Ross Copperman and Jon Nite and co-produced by Nathan Chapman and Urban, is a melodic, mid-tempo ballad – Urban’s first ballad since FUSE’S third single, “Cop Car.”

Urban not only wrapped American Idol’s farewell season judging rounds this past Sunday, seeing in excess of 100 contestants, he also saw the conclusion of his summer tour with his first concert, before a sold-out crowd, in Honolulu’s Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

You can catch Keith perform on The 49th Annual CMA Awards with John Mellencamp live on November 4th at 8pm ET on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. There’s no word on what song the two will perform together, but Mellencamp’s moniker, John Cougar, is actually referenced in Urban’s latest chart-topper, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

Keith Urban and John Mellencamp are set to perform together during The 49^th Annual CMA Awards. Keith’s “Raise ‘Em Up” featuring Eric Church is nominated for Musical Event, a category Urban has won three times: “Start A Band” with CMA Awards host Brad Paisley (2009), “Highway Don’t Care” with Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift (2013), and “We Were Us” with fellow nominee Miranda Lambert (2014).

Winners of “The 49th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. 

In anticipation of “The 49th Annual CMA Awards” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will pave the road to the CMA Awards by welcoming some of the genre’s most notable stars. The lineup includes performances from Brett Eldredge, Kip Moore, Chris Young, as well as 2015 CMA nominees Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, and more. Jimmy Kimmel and Jill Leiderman serve as executive producers. Jason Schrift, Douglas DeLuca, Erin Irwin and David Craig serve as co-executive producers. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is shot live in front of a studio audience and produced by Jackhole Industries in association with ABC Studios. (CLOSED- CAPTIONED) Enjoy “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on the web at abc.com/JimmyKimmeLive and at youtube/JimmyKimmelLive.

Fans can get more information on “The 49th Annual CMA Awards” and sign up for CMA emails and exclusives, as well as view a full list of announced performers, by visiting CMAawards.com.

John Mellencamp (aka John Cougar) is one of the inspirations behind Keith’s recent No. 1 hit, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

The CMA Awards will air live Wednesday, November 4th (8:00-11 PM/ET) from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC.

**Suggested Tweet**: Catch @KeithUrban perform w/ @JohnMellencamp on the #CMAawards 11/4 on ABC! More: {Link URL}

Luke Bryan and Eric Church, along with Carrie Underwood have been announced as headliners for the 2016 Stagecoach Country Music Festival April 29th and 30th and May 1st. The three-day event in Indio, California, will also include performances by Sam Hunt, Eric Paslay, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, The Band Perry, Dustin Lynch, A Thousand Horses and Old Dominion.

Lauren Alaina was chosen as this year’s hottest bachelorette by Nash Country Weekly readers. Lauren’s self-titled EP is available now, and it includes her single “Next Boyfriend.”

Keith Urban joined Taylor Swift during her sold-out 1989 Tour stop in Toronto, to perform with the pop superstar. The pair collaborated on his 2002 No. 1 hit “Somebody Like You,” along with his most recent chart-topper, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

Lady Antebellum will perform at the NASH Presents Hearts Unsung – a special evening of music benefiting Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals. The event will take place November 9th at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center and will be part of the full-length feature film, Hearts Unsung in theaters nationwide January 21st.

Keith Urban earned his 19th No. 1 song this week as his latest hit, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” moved to the top of the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart. The song, written by Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Ross Copperman, is the first release from his forthcoming album.

During his recent No. 1 party for “Raise ‘Em Up,” Keith Urban discussed the connection he felt in recording both “Raise ‘Em Up” and his new No. 1 song, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

“In some ways, I think these songs probably do have, they have a thing about them that feel family, communal in nature,” says Keith. “So, whatever is in them, the spirit, I guess, is what I connect to. I think it’s just the spirit. I think that’s it.”

Keith is back on the road vetting up-and-coming stars for the 15th season of American Idol, which returns to FOX in January.

Keith Urban is poised to take over the top spot on the country charts with his latest single, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.” It’s a song from his forthcoming album, and he says he was intrigued about the song when he first saw the title, since he didn’t write it.

“I saw the title of the song first and was curious to what that song would be,” Keith tells Lon Helton, host of the syndicated Country Countdown USA. “Some songs grab me at first listen. Other songs creep up on me. I love those songs too, but this was immediate. I played it maybe three times, and then went and grabbed my guitar and came out and I sort of sang along with it, and I thought, ‘I think this really, really suits me. I love this song, and I think it suits me.’”

Keith will take “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” to Las Vegas October 3rd when he’s scheduled to perform during the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Keith Urban performing his latest hit, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights album continues its reign at the top of the country album charts. The collection, featuring his chart-topping hit “Kick the Dust Up” and his current single, “Kill the Lights,” sold another 38,000 copies to land at the top of the country chart, as well as at No. 3 overall. Kill the Lights is shy of just a couple thousand copies to selling gold (500,000).

Keith Urban performs his latest single, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (September 8th).

Keith Urban’s “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” received another video treatment, this time by a director in L.A. using stop motion. He titled the video cover “Walks of Life.” (see video below)

Darius Rucker is scheduled to perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday (September 9th).

Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum will perform during the second annual Route 91 Harvest event, taking place October 2nd – 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Others set to perform include Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Jake Owen, among others.

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